Tidebreaker 9000 anchor winch

The Tidebreaker is the winch we build for boats that anchor every day rather than twice a summer. Specifications and price are on Products. This page covers what you need to know before you fit one.

Will it fit my boat?

The Tidebreaker suits decks from 26 to 48 feet. It needs a flat mounting pad of at least 240 mm by 180 mm and 90 mm of clear fall below the deck for the gearbox. Below 26 feet the chain locker is usually too shallow for the gypsy to self-stow, and the winch will pile chain against the underside of the deck. Bring your deck measurements to the counter and we will tell you plainly if it will not fit.

What comes in the box?

The winch, the QuickCleat remote, a mounting gasket, and the bronze deck-switch. It does not include chain, rope, the anchor, or the breaker. The Tidebreaker draws enough current to need its own 150-amp breaker, which we sell separately for $64.

Can I fit it myself?

Most owners do. It is four bolts, a gasket and two cables, and the manual is written for someone doing it once. The one job worth paying for is the cable run: undersized cable is the cause of nearly every Tidebreaker we see back on the bench. Use 25 mm² from the battery if the run is under six metres, and 35 mm² beyond that. We fit winches at the quay — see Support for what that costs and how soon we can do it.

Servicing

Strip and grease the gypsy once a year, and replace the deck gasket every third year — it is $12 and it is the difference between a dry chain locker and a wet one. The gearbox is sealed and has no service interval. We keep every Tidebreaker part back to the 3000 series of 1994 in stock, so a winch of any age can be repaired rather than replaced.

Trading in an old winch

Bring any working winch — ours or anyone else's — and take 15% off a Tidebreaker 9000. It has to turn under power; a seized one is scrap and we cannot credit it. See warranty claims if the old winch is a Tidebreaker still inside its seven years, because a repair may cost you nothing at all.