The Maxwell Freedom 500 scored high in all areas. Here, it’s mounted on a friend’s 33-foot Hydra-Sports center console.

Around here, one test often leads to another. While pulling anchors all day for a recent anchor test (see December ’03), what idea do you thing came to mind? You guessed it—power windlasses.

With the proliferation of 25- to 35-foot center console, express fisherman, and family cruisers, the demand for small boat windlasses is on the rise. So we scanned the windlass market for units specifically designed and priced for boats in this size range—and found nine candidates.

What We Tested

The goal was to test under-$1,000 windlasses designed for boats up to 35 feet. One windlass slipped over that price limit. A windlass is categorized as horizontal or vertical. With a vertical…