A Fork in the Road: Windlass Issues

Friday, August 28, 2020

Windlass Issues

It seems like one thing or another has kept us near our home port this summer. Our big expense, aside from the usual annual maintenance--fluid and filter changes, etc. was to be our new dinghy which I have already written about in an earlier post. And it has turned out to be a nice purchase.

Then, we noticed the batteries were starting to not a hold a charge so those had to be replaced. At about $80-90 a piece (times 5) that too was a financial hit. I saved some money by purchasing them myself, hauling them to the boat and hauling the old ones in for the core rebate. Hauling those suckers about killed me but it saved us a couple hundred dollars.

Then, on the shakedown cruise to see how the new batteries were doing (they are great), the windlass went belly up. I wound up pulling 200' of line and 36' of chain and anchor up by hand. Yikes! That too about killed me.

So, instead of heading off to another spot to anchor for a few more days, we headed back to port and I started looking at new windlasses. I contacted Pacific Marine Yacht Services, my go to electricians, and got in line to have them do the work. A couple of weeks later they called to say they weren't willing to do the job. Back to square one. I got in line for the guy that does most of the work on our boat and he was willing to take it on. So, I started looking for a windlass that would work on our boat. That turned out to be a bigger job that I thought as there were no windlasses out there that would work the way the old one had.

I spoke with a boat buddy who owns an identical boat and asked him to walk me through what he'd done when he replaced his windlass. I recalled he had modified a bow locker into an anchor locker by himself so he knew what he was talking about. After chatting with Steve I was pretty sure of the windlass I wanted.

It is a Maxwell HRC 10-8. Its a beauty! After my windlass arrived from Fisheries Supply in Seattle, my go to chandlery, my technician arrived and we began the project.

First the old windlass and the pedestal it was mounted to were removed. Then a new Starboard pedestal was built up and the new windlass mounted to it. A hole had to be drilled through the deck so the howse pipe the anchor rode went through could be fitted. With that complete we went below deck to prepare the new space for the rode.

At the very bow of our boat is a little teak door about a foot tall and nearly the same in width. Opening that door you gain access to an unused empty space. This was to be the new anchor locker, replacing the one on deck adjacent to the windlass.

New heavier duty wiring was run to the locker as well as the wiring for the new foot switches (up and down). With the wiring in place and windlass powered up we next needed to seal up the locker and ensure it was waterproof. My buddy had inserted a 1/4" panel of plexiglass which he both bolted and sealed in place with silicone. My guy opted for 5200 instead.

Lastly he cut a hole in the plexiglass and fitted a 5" deck plate giving access to the locker if needed. He attached the bitter end of the anchor rode to the backside of the tow eye by bolting a metal strip to the backside of the tow eye and cinching it down.

Finally we were ready to start feeding the rode into the locker. Sadly, the windlass didn't want to easily take in the rode. The 2-strand 1/2" line kept jamming and had to be forced down the pipe. By the time we got to the 36' of chain there wasn't enough space left in the locker for it to fit and it too fought back.

Something had to give which became obvious when we took the Key of Sea out for a shakedown. The windlass didn't like paying out or retreiving the rode so, once again, I was forced to pull it up by hand.

I just piled it all into the old anchor locker and we headed home. Much more research needed doing.

I contacted my buddy Steve who came over to our boat and looked over what we had done so far. His conclusions were:

1) We should have put in a 4" deck plate as he suggested originally instead of in the face of the plexiglass. The one in the plexiglass won't hurt but it really needed to be cut into the deck. This would allow the person on deck to reach down and move the rode to one side or the other so more can fit in.

2) We need to get new rode. He recommended 150' of 5/16' G4 chain and 100' of 5/8" 8 plait anchor line. 8 plait because it lays down more like chain rather than spreading out all over the locker as the current line was doing. The two elements of the rode will be spliced together with an appropriate anchor splice.

After calling the Maxwell dealer rep in Seattle, exchanging several emails and phone calls, he agreed with my buddy Steve's thoughts.

So, new rode was ordered today from Fisheries Supply.

The old anchor rode will go into the old locker as a back up and or secondary anchor if needed. Along with that a new raw water wash down system is being installed there to hose the mud and debris off as the rode is brought aboard. And the 4' deck plate will be installed at the same time.

I am beginning to see light at the end of this very long tunnel. It has been both a fascinating and frustrating experience. Hopefully it will be the final project for the season. We'll see.