Wizard Recovery Gear Hawse

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
14,046
Location
Merritt Island, Fl
Mr Blaine asked me to help him validate the hard black anodized finish on his new hawse fairlead product - being that I'm in Florida and the sun completely root-beered my cheapie that used to be black in about 1 year.

DSC01544.JPG

Old on top, Wizard hawse on bottom.


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A set of VERY nice stainless hardware came with it, unfortunately, I was unable to use it due to the "Rough Country" winch plate placing the winch so damn close to the hawse mount, that I had to use shorter bolts and jam nuts. Nothing whatsoever to do with Blaine's product, I had similar problems with the old hawse as well.

DSC01549.JPG

Barely enough room for even the jam nut with a shorter bolt. Standard parts aren't, interchangeable parts won't. The "unsupervised pseudo-standard" of winches and plates means you'll end up with problems like this from time-to-time.

DSC01553.JPG

I had been putting off re-spooling the line for several months, this made me to ahead and get it done. Note the TRE thimble is starting to fade.

I suspect that there'll be zero problems with the anodizing if it was done right. We used the same treatment for aluminum parts we bolted onto offshore moorings when I worked in a marine related field. Some of those things were used literally for decades and held up quite fine - never corroded nor changed color! But - this is why we test....
 
Mr Blaine asked me to help him validate the hard black anodized finish on his new hawse fairlead product - being that I'm in Florida and the sun completely root-beered my cheapie that used to be black in about 1 year.

View attachment 355447
Old on top, Wizard hawse on bottom.


View attachment 355448

A set of VERY nice stainless hardware came with it, unfortunately, I was unable to use it due to the "Rough Country" winch plate placing the winch so damn close to the hawse mount, that I had to use shorter bolts and jam nuts. Nothing whatsoever to do with Blaine's product, I had similar problems with the old hawse as well.

View attachment 355449
Barely enough room for even the jam nut with a shorter bolt. Standard parts aren't, interchangeable parts won't. The "unsupervised pseudo-standard" of winches and plates means you'll end up with problems like this from time-to-time.

View attachment 355450
I had been putting off re-spooling the line for several months, this made me to ahead and get it done. Note the TRE thimble is starting to fade.

I suspect that there'll be zero problems with the anodizing if it was done right. We used the same treatment for aluminum parts we bolted onto offshore moorings when I worked in a marine related field. Some of those things were used literally for decades and held up quite fine - never corroded nor changed color! But - this is why we test....

Thank you for evaluating this for us. WTF is that thing on the bottom of the thimble? Please tell me it is not a cushion of some sort? The beauty of the ST is it won't damage the rope groove no matter how hard you pull on the winch line. That is why it has a flat base that you can't hardly force into the fairlead opening. ;)
 
Thank you for evaluating this for us. WTF is that thing on the bottom of the thimble? Please tell me it is not a cushion of some sort? The beauty of the ST is it won't damage the rope groove no matter how hard you pull on the winch line. That is why it has a flat base that you can't hardly force into the fairlead opening. ;)
Its a cushion of some sort. Don't want scratches! Hey - at least I spooled over the tail this time! :D
 
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Mr Blaine asked me to help him validate the hard black anodized finish on his new hawse fairlead product - being that I'm in Florida and the sun completely root-beered my cheapie that used to be black in about 1 year.

View attachment 355447
Old on top, Wizard hawse on bottom.


View attachment 355448

A set of VERY nice stainless hardware came with it, unfortunately, I was unable to use it due to the "Rough Country" winch plate placing the winch so damn close to the hawse mount, that I had to use shorter bolts and jam nuts. Nothing whatsoever to do with Blaine's product, I had similar problems with the old hawse as well.

View attachment 355449
Barely enough room for even the jam nut with a shorter bolt. Standard parts aren't, interchangeable parts won't. The "unsupervised pseudo-standard" of winches and plates means you'll end up with problems like this from time-to-time.

View attachment 355450
I had been putting off re-spooling the line for several months, this made me to ahead and get it done. Note the TRE thimble is starting to fade.

I suspect that there'll be zero problems with the anodizing if it was done right. We used the same treatment for aluminum parts we bolted onto offshore moorings when I worked in a marine related field. Some of those things were used literally for decades and held up quite fine - never corroded nor changed color! But - this is why we test....

My red TRE thimble has faded as well, and I don’t get near the UV power way up here.
 
Mr Blaine asked me to help him validate the hard black anodized finish on his new hawse fairlead product - being that I'm in Florida and the sun completely root-beered my cheapie that used to be black in about 1 year.

View attachment 355447
Old on top, Wizard hawse on bottom.


View attachment 355448

A set of VERY nice stainless hardware came with it, unfortunately, I was unable to use it due to the "Rough Country" winch plate placing the winch so damn close to the hawse mount, that I had to use shorter bolts and jam nuts. Nothing whatsoever to do with Blaine's product, I had similar problems with the old hawse as well.

View attachment 355449
Barely enough room for even the jam nut with a shorter bolt. Standard parts aren't, interchangeable parts won't. The "unsupervised pseudo-standard" of winches and plates means you'll end up with problems like this from time-to-time.

View attachment 355450
I had been putting off re-spooling the line for several months, this made me to ahead and get it done. Note the TRE thimble is starting to fade.

I suspect that there'll be zero problems with the anodizing if it was done right. We used the same treatment for aluminum parts we bolted onto offshore moorings when I worked in a marine related field. Some of those things were used literally for decades and held up quite fine - never corroded nor changed color! But - this is why we test....

Curious to see the results, thanks for sharing.

I still remember the summer heat from my Florida days. I am a total heat wuss now .. can't wait for the rain/cooler weather to start again. Not hot by Florida standards in the absolute sense, but we have had a VERY hot summer. Note that most older houses do not have central air (most new constructions have it given the climate these days) and it becomes very hard to handle once it goes past 90-95F since the peak of the heat is between 3pm-7pm. The UV index has been crazy last couple years and I feel that this is the norm for the PNW going forward - the days of few hot days in the summer and living without AC are all gone.

The pattern on your old one is interesting in a wabi-sabi kind of way.
 
Partly from the thimble always ending up in more or less the same place.

My father likes fountain pens. I gifted him an urushi coated pen from Japan for his 65th birthday (he retired the same year). When I go back home next time I gotta get a picture of how beautiful the wear pattern is after 10 years where he holds it and writes.
 
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Anybody who wants the old hawse can have it for the shipping. Its still in great shape other than the fading...
 
Knowing Blaine you should be good for some time. My original thimble is 15 now and the Alaska sun has barely changed it. Cannot say the same for the rope.

View attachment 355472

As always, we are at the mercy of what they tell us we are going to get versus what we actually get. I despise little else more than anodizing that changes color or fades in the sun so getting what I order is always something I fully have to verify. I know no other way than to put it out in the sun and test it so I appreciate Zorba doing that for us.
 
how long does Zorbas sample need to stay color-stable before you know it meets your expectations? Is it one of those things where it's either good long term, or you know within a matter of weeks or months?
 
how long does Zorbas sample need to stay color-stable before you know it meets your expectations? Is it one of those things where it's either good long term, or you know within a matter of weeks or months?

If they are going to change color, it will start in a month or two, sometimes faster. If it is good after 6 months, it will likely be good for a very long time.
 
If you want another test, I live at 6,000 feet in New Mexico. The sun here is relentless. I'll put one up on the roof and see what happens to it if you want to really bake that bitch, 300+ sunny days per annum.

I keep the Jeep in garage so the one I just ordered won't be getting the full NM blow torch effect.
 
If you want another test, I live at 6,000 feet in New Mexico. The sun here is relentless. I'll put one up on the roof and see what happens to it if you want to really bake that bitch, 300+ sunny days per annum.

I keep the Jeep in garage so the one I just ordered won't be getting the full NM blow torch effect.

I was thinking something similar, but at 10,000ft. Similar sunny days.
 
If you want another test, I live at 6,000 feet in New Mexico. The sun here is relentless. I'll put one up on the roof and see what happens to it if you want to really bake that bitch, 300+ sunny days per annum.

I keep the Jeep in garage so the one I just ordered won't be getting the full NM blow torch effect.

I appreciate the offer but with what we get here and his, we should know in short order.