Windlass up the mast

[John Langford]

I needed to go up the mast to replace my dead deck light bulb so I pulled the main halyard bitter end out from under the dodger, reversed the direction of the block at the base of the mast and lead the halyard forward to a snatch block attached to the base of the Schaeffer furler with a line and then down to the windlass drum. Kate used her toe to winch me up the mast effortlessly. The windlass is worth its weight in gold!

BTW, the lense on the dead 20w reflector bulb can be removed and put on to a new bulb/reflector with a little clear sealant thereby increasing the life of the bulb.

I did some reading on windlass loads in preparation for this adventure. The Maxwell VC 500 has a maximum static load of 1000 lbs. My claw anchor and 200 ft of hi test 1/4" chain weigh 183 lbs. The West Marine windlass advisory suggests that the maximum load on the windlass should accommodate at least three times that weight (549 lbs). The Maxwell would appear to be appropriately sized for the boat. If only I could figure out how to check the oil level in the sucker without removing it I would be a totally happy camper.

[Roc]

John,
How does your windlass work with the chain rode??  I contacted Maxwell a few years back and they told me the easiest way to refit the drum is to buff the chrome off and just use the drum to winch up the chain (if the chrome was left on it would flake off with the chain, that's why they said to take it all off, down to the bare metal).  I've done this to the drum, but it isn't that effective in retrieving the chain.  Just curious what works with you.

Thanks!

[John Langford]

I have the optional gypsy on my windlass installed by the dealer when the boat was delivered to the first owner. On my previous boat (a 320) I used the standard drum to pull up the rode and the 60' of 1/4" chain and it did the job quite well. If you are interested in installing the gypsy I believe that Maxwell will sell the kit for about $500 and it is an easy job to make the change.