maxwell freedom 800 anchor windlass maintenance

[Jim Hardesty]

Shamrock has a great anchor windlass with a vertical drum/chain wheel. Maxwell freedom 800.  Only thing I've ever done is replace a bad solenoid.  As I don't have another project this spring considering doing service/maintenance.  I've read the manual and googled, saw service kit at  https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276108|2276149|2276152&id=1013069
I don't want to dig in to something that has been working fine for many years without really knowing what I'm doing or trying to accomplish.  Not really having something broken to fix.
What do others do for windlass service? 
Maybe I should just stay dumb and happy. 
Jim

[KeelsonGraham]

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Jon W]

I have a horizontal windlass Maxwell HRCff-8 that works great. Annually I remove the clutch cone and look for wear on it, and the pressure arm. Then regrease, and put it back together. All work done above deck, and is about a 20 minute job. Don't know about maintenance for a vertical windlass.

[Ron Hill]

Jim : Just what Jon has mentioned is about the extent of the windlass maintenance. Everything else is self contained.

When I installed mine, I gave all of the connections on the solenoid a healthy spraying of BO 7 Boshield to protect them from future corrosion.  If you ever have the panel at the Vberth foot OFF you could check the solenoid connections for corrosion.  Other than that -- do as Keelson said - if it ain't broke don't fix it!!

A thought

[Colonel Butler]

I decided to inspect mine two seasons ago and it was a good thing I did. First discovery was that the rubber seal on the vertical drive shaft at the clutch was mostly disintegrated. Further inspection revealed no oil in the gearbox and evidence of it having leaked out. The culprit was the shaft seal on the input shaft. I was able to source the parts from Defender.

[DaveBMusik]

It's not uncommon for the shaft to become frozen. I believe Maxwell recommends inspecting twice a year.
I removed mine last year, greased the shaft and replaced the gear oil and seals.  Not too tough a job.
Meanwhile my dock neighbor was using a dremel and various saws to remove his after ignoring it.