Trac Outdoors Deckboat 40 AutoDeploy-G3 Electric Anchor Winch - Anchors Up to 40 lb. - Includes 100-feet of Pre-Wound Anchor Rope with Use (69005), Gray

This anchor winch works great. Easy to install and easy to use. No more hauling up my 20 lb. vinyl coated anchor from 30 feet. Even shows up on my sounder and I can track the depth and see when its almost to the surface. I'm also going to use it for my 8 lb. downrigger weight. I can remotely raise or lower it with the remote control. I have spot lock on my trolling motor so I don't really need an anchor anymore. So I'll using the winch for the trolling weight.

So far this is an awesome add to the pontoon. After understanding what this is capable of and what it is not, should enjoy for many years. I have a 16lb river anchor for a 20' pontoon that I mostly anchor in shallower water and never go boating on windy days. Auto-deploy works flawlessly and horizontal storage is fantastic. You cannot let this thing pull harder than it is designed for or you will just break it. When ready to retrieve anchor, just short pulses on the up button will easily turn your boat to line up the line and then just keep using short duration pulses to draw boat to the anchor. When line is about to be vertical, reach down and pull the line to "unstick" anchor from the muddy bottom then you can winch right up. After a short time with this winch you can hear the amount of grunt it is experiencing and that is telling you that it is about to be overworked, just stay within it's abilities and it is easy, practical and WAY better than anchoring by hand!!

I say don't buy his product!! This is not somthing you use evey day, afther using it the first year the small spindle broke. After numerous calls got ahold of someone to order the part and got sorry, we don't have that as an available part to order. So since it was out of warranty, I had to track down at all kinds of stores to get something similar. Fast forward 2 years the boat was not used due to windy weather and of course boat issues. Took pontoon boat up North to the lake after first set down now the big spindle broke, Today I have been on hold as I type 45min. this does not include the first call which was 25mins earlier before I hung up. I keep getting a message saying I am #1 please hold and someone will be with me shortly.......I say do not do not buy this product since customer service and or realiailty of parts are not both in good standards with me!!!! I wish someone would contact me!!!!

My wife and I are in our 60's and it was getting harder to pull up the anchors so we purchased two of these electric anchors, I installed one at each end of the boat and mounted the switches by the drivers seat so both can be deployed at the same time, they also come with remotes so they can be operated from any where in the boat. We are very happy with the anchors they have been on the boat and in use for over a year and have had no issues.

This unit can handle a pretty heavy anchor and is perfect for the front of a pontoon boat. If your deck is a bit flimsy, you will probably want to reinforce the deck with a metal "cut-out" or a piece of plywood shaped like the winch. We had a fab shop cut us a 1/4th" thick piece of aluminum "diamond-back" metal and drilled mounting holes in the metal and plywood deck, which is sturdy. And the wireless remote control is very handy for operating the anchor from the captain's chair, or anywhere else on the boat. It's already almost three years old and still works like a charm.

I installed the Deckboat 35 on my 21' pontoon early this summer. I use a 15 pound vinyl coated river style mushroom anchor with it. I was concerned that it might not have the power to pull it out of our mucky lake bottom, so I emailed Trac. They said not to use it to lift it out of the bottom, use the boat power to pull it free first. Boy, that negates a lot of the need for a powered anchor. So totally ignoring their advice I have been using it to retrieve the anchor from deep muck. The winch slows down as it frees the anchor from the muck, but does not stall. If it overloaded the winch it should blow the fuse, right? I love that I just push the auto anchor button once from the helm and the anchor drops to the bottom and slowly plays out line so as not to tangle it on the drum, until it magically stops with just enough scope to hold the boat. To retrieve it, you must hold the UP button until the anchor is just below the surface, reach down and swish it back and forth to knock off any remaining muck and carefully bring it up the rest of the way to the storage position. Keeping your fingers out of the way, I might add. I go rogue and don't use the safety clasp as then I couldn't drop the anchor from the helm. So far, so good. Oh and it complements nicely my key fob remote for my hydraulic boat hoist.

When it worked, it was great. The first trip out the rope jumped off the pulley and apparently bent the front unit, jamming between the pulley. Repaired that part and now, after just 4 week-long fishing trips total, the anchor wouldn't deploy, only raise. The next day it stopped completely, probably a main control or motor issue. I was using a 30 pound anchor so well within the specs. Loved the product, but the dependability is really poor.

Not a fan , front roller broke off and the remote it’s touch and go . Minkota