Are Andersens worth the extra $$$

[WF]

I'm buying new self-tailers for my Yankee 30, which I'll be sailing to the Sea of Cortez from PNW for an extended cruise.  I want Andersens, however, Lewmars are about $500 cheaper, which could buy something else.  Are the Andersen's worth the $500?  If it's just a matter of a bit of performance, I'll use the $500 somewhere else, but are they significantly easier on the line?  That's the only thing that could convince me to spend the extra cash I think.  Any thoughts or opinions out there?
BTW - these are for the Genoa and I'm looking at the 40s.

[AdriftAtSea]

Get the Lewmars, since I doubt there's a significant difference between the performance.

[WF]

adrift-
As of now I'm going with the Lewmars, but vanity has me wanting someone to convince me to get the Andersens.  However, $500 is a lot to me, that's almost the down payment on a Monitor windvane, so my brain says Lewmar.  If I were to get significantly more life out of the Genny sheets than I might be able to justify it, but I have my doubts as to whether the Andersens would save me the extra money they cost for quite a while.

Also, my personal preference is for Lewmar over Harken, anyone have an opinion?  I could save a little more going with the Harkens.

No matter what I'm getting some new self-tailers and it'll no doubt be a huge improvement over the 35 yo standard winches. 

[Captain Smollett]

A couple of things to consider:

Price and availability of parts in your cruising grounds
Ease of disassembly/repair

Might these considerations help make the decision between the Lewmars and Harkens?

Just my opinion, there is NO WAY I'd spend $500 on the vanity (your word) of a name-brand based purchase.  As you said, that $500 is a lot that can be used elsewhere.

Sorry to not be the one to try to talk you into throwing your money away.

[WF]

Captain Smollett-

I love this board!  I can't get you to talk me out of 500 bucks.  Probably just what I needed to hear. 
I was just being honest about my really liking the Andersens, cutting the dock lines is the most important thing, no matter what.  As I said, I'd need a really good reason to spend an extra $500.  If the Andersens performed significantly better, or allowed my lines to last longer, well that is one thing, but marginal performance gain or line life isn't enough.
As I said, after sailing exclusively with standard winches my whole life any self-tailer will be a pleasure.
Thanks for the tough love there smollet.   

[AdriftAtSea]

$500 can re-rig the running rigging on most of the boats on this forum. :)

[s/v Faith]

FWIW,

  I have the STC16's Lewmars that I bought here. and have been very happy with them.  When Rose and I sailed another Ariel that had them (actually it had the 14's) we had sailed no more then 15 minutes when she said she wanted to get them, no matter what they cost.  I had just mailed my check for the ones I bought...  ;D

  We have had them for a while now, and still like them alot.

[rtbates]

Like you I wondered if the Andersens were worth the money. Long story short, I bought the Andersens and the answer is a absolutely. Especially, and this is where the Andersens beat all others hands down, when it comes to maintenance time. They have very few moving parts and can be taken apart in your sleep with both eyes closed. That said, they recommend twice the interval between teardowns than others, 2 years. Find a link that shows self tailing winch INTERNALS and you'll see how large the bearing surfaces are and how few parts are involved in getting the job done.

You will get what you pay for I can assure you....

[WF]

rtbates-
I don't doubt the Andersens are worth the money, however to me I just don't think I can justify $500 to have fewer parts that I'll dig into maybe five times over the next ten years.  I love the andersens but I'd rather have lewmars and an extra $500.

[WF]

Got the Lewmar ST40s last night.  They were out of the chrome, so I got the bronze.  No regrets about saving $500 as I'll put that towards anchor/chain or a new windlass.  I wish all my hardware was bronze, sure is pretty(at least to start with!)

[CharlieJ]

I wish all my hardware was bronze also. I'm gradually switching things over to bronze as I find things that fit. All of my deck cleats are bronze, as are the turnbuckles and toggles. All of my mast cleats however, are wooden.

Winches are also bronze-We wash 'em down with soap occasionally, otherwise we let 'em alone. Barlow # 16s by the way