Great!

Jan 1st and a beautiful day so I installed the Deckhand 40 on my small pontoon boat. It is very quiet and has good power. I plan to order a remote switch now. The reason it requires a minimum 20lb anchor is it's freefall drop capability. It will not drop freely with less weight and they really don't explain this feature in the sales literature. I didn't know it even had that feature. I have a 20lb anchor and it worked great, sitting on the trailer, in January. It freely drops the anchor and pulls it up and parks it horizontally. Optimum anchor weight is probably 30lbs. I bought this needing a 20lb anchor but the Deckhand 25 didn't seem as nice. My guess is from testing it today that if you are using the maximum anchor weight or even greater it may bind the rewind spool tight which explains the negative reviews. The same thing happens on my SxS when I pull excessive weight on its winch. If your boat is big enough that you need a minimum 40lb anchor then don't buy a winch that has a 40lb max capability.

Get the remote switch with it! Easy to use. I have 2, one for the front and one for the back. I run a 25# Pyramid off the front and a 20# pyramid off the back. Keeps my 16 ft Princecraft in the position perfectly.

I installed the MinnKota Deckhand 40 on my Tracker ProGuide V175 with remote switch and 30lb anchor. This gives me an extra option over the position (anchor) lock I have with my trolling motor and a ProNav setup. The ProNav is great but if you really want to hold a position in wind and waves you need a real anchor. I have a bad shoulder so I needed something that would deploy and retrieve at a touch of a button.The installation was challenging but not the fault of the winch itself. The deck at the bow of my boat has limited room and I had to build a platform for the winch. This required me to move my navigation light and remove a cup-holder and tool caddy (never used them anyway). Since removing these items from the deck left large holes I added an aluminum plate under the deck for added strength. Otherwise, the winch would have just been mounted to marine grade plywood and I wasn't sure the deck would hold up to the repeated stress.I found it easier to remove the cover and motor assembly from the frame for the install. This required unplugging the wires for the load sensing switch and the motor. I removed the motor from the unit which can be done by removing a c-clip and carefully rotating the motor assembly out of the unit. Just be sure not to lose the spring and plastic block at the end of the motor shaft. These parts act as part of the load sensing mechanism in conjuction with the switch. After the removal of the cover and motor you will have complete access to the mounting plate and holes for drilling and mounting the plate. Re-assembly was quite easy. The connectors on the circuit board are marked M+ and M- for proper orientation of the motor wires. The switch wires can be put on either way. The hardest part was getting the motor positioned properly to slide back into the frame. After the motor is in place you can re-install the spring, block, and c-clip. Re-attach the wires and cover and you are good to go.The main electrical connection wires are quite short. I was able to splice these directly into the trolling motor power as both would not be used at the same time. If your power source (battery) is not within a few feet plan on picking up some heavy gauge wire and good splice connectors.If you are not comfortable with altering and drilling holes in your boat and making electrical connections / splices I would suggest you have the winch installed by someone who is.Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase and I am considering a second winch for the aft of my boat.

I used the Winch last week when we went for our annual fishing trip. We were at Clear and Stoney lake. This unit is one of the best made and easiest to install. The performance out of 10 would be 12. It picked up heavy amounts of weeds like they were feathers. The drag worked perfectly and kept us stable during rough waters Used it for 7 days and did not have to boost the battery. I used a 20 lbs anchor and it locked in perfectly and didn't move going through waves a 30 miles an hour. I did not get the remote control because I have a 70 year old remote control who was always tossing the anchor out and hauling it back in. The only thing that got tired on him this time was his finger pushing up and pushing down. He wanted to sleep in the boat so one would touch it. I would recommend this product to anyone who fishes a lot like myself. If you fish alone the remote control is perfect for you. You can sit at the back and control the winch in the front. Life is to short, enjoy fishing as much as you can and the Minn Kota Deckhand 40 will make much more pleasurable