About Stress Free Marine
Hi my name is Dean Forster, the mastermind behind the development of the Stress Free Anchor Winch.
17 years ago, I decided to leave secured employment as an engineer and turn my lifelong enthusiasm for fishing into a business where I could transfer my knowledge and passion for angling to other people. I designed and built a 9 metre craft to survey over a period of 9 months. The craft was fitted out with modern conveniences and the latest electronic devices. In fact, the boat had everything that one could possibly want, with the exception of an electric winch.
The boat had to have an electric winch, there was just no compromise. I researched the market for potential products. I wanted a product that was unobtrusive, out of site, fast, reliable and low maintenance. I was unable to find a winch that met all of the key criteria so I decided to put on my engineer's hat and design my own. The research process including consumer feedback identified that the traditional gypsy type winch was not ideal for trailer boats due to the minimal fall in the anchor well, causing the rope to twist and jam on retrieval causing the winch to malfunction.
My concept was to develop a user friendly product with a drum where the rope and chain spooled on and off. This design would eliminate the risk of malfunction inherent of the traditional type winch.
 Dean with his son, Jay and wife, Shauna |
A prototype was constructed and trialled on Stress Relief 11, our craft used for chartering. As a charter operator we fish many grounds in a day, so the winch was certainly given a workout. I soon realised that I was able to pull up anchor and shift quickly to the next ground whilst the boaties around me were still thinking about moving off. Boaties started to show interest and asked where they could buy one. We started making to order from our domestic shed but within 5 years, found we could not keep up with the demand and moved into dedicated premises where we could start producing in bulk. In 2008 we purchased our own purpose built premises where we could set up flow lines and streamline processes to maximise production.
hrough years of research and development, the Stress Free has been refined, improved and modified so that we have the best product that we can possibly have on the market. The process of refinement is evolutionary and will continue to ensure we have the best drum-style winch on the market.
Whilst STRESS FREE MARINE™ enjoyed enormous success with the original power up/power down Stress Free, I always felt that a freefall model was warranted: a winch that would unspool a whole lot faster to enable more accurate positioning on those hard to reach fishing grounds and also a winch that would eliminate the risk of an over run which is an inherent problem of any power up/power down drum-style winch. It took some time to perfect the patented free fall version but the wait was certainly worthwhile. The release of the Next Generation Stress Free) NG Series took the brand to a new level. The NG Series Stress Free has Power Up; Power Down and Freefall features; all functions are executed with the flick of a switch from the helm. No adjustments to the winch required.
The NGs free fall system allows the anchor to drop immediately and reach the bottom right over your intended target area – will drop 5 times faster that the power down. As the drum can only free spool when there is weight pulling down therefore once the anchor hits the seabed floor the drum will automatically stop. This feature totally eliminates the risk of an over run which will occur when too much rope is payed out on anchoring. Another huge advantage – in the event of an electrical failure the drum can be mechanically moved off the drive system to allow the anchor to be deployed. The reliability of the Stress Free is backed up with a 3 year warranty for recreational users.
Those who already own an original Stress Free winch can have the free-fall facility retrofitted – an offer which is currently being snapped up. With the NG Series, the chances of missing your target area are reduced dramatically with the speed at which the anchor drops.
The NG Series Stress Free is the ONLY Free Fall drum winch that has Power Up; Power Down and Free Fall features all done from the helm without having to do any adjustments to the winch in a confined anchor well.
The reliability of the Stress Free is backed up with a 36 month warranty to recreational users and 12 months to professional fisherman and/or charter operators. Warranty does not apply to wiring Looms, rope kits, anchor swivels and rope and chain guides.
Over the years STRESS FREE MARINE™ has won several commendations, including a Business Champion Award in 2007 and Telstra Business Award in 2008. We were also a finalist in the prestigious IBEX Awards Miami 2009 in the Innovative Products section.
In closing all I can say is, with research and development as an on-going process at STRESS FREE MARINE™, chances are the range of winches and allied products will expand even further in the not too distant future. As boaties head further offshore and require more sophisticated equipment, we will be keeping an eye on what's needed to keep pace with current and future trends.
Until we speak again 'just use it and enjoy'. Hence the name 'Stress Free', we believe the brand says it all.