Maxwell Winch Service

[mike lofstrom]

I have one of the late Mark I boats that has a Maxwell rope windlass mounted horizontally in the anchor locker.  Since my boat is a 1992, and I'm sure the windlass has never been serviced, It's probably about time to drain and replace the oil and check the motor brushes.  The question is:  How the heck do you get to this thing?  There is a 5" access port above the winch, but it is too small for anything other than a visual inspection.  Does the forward V-Berth panel come out to be able to access this area?  Has anyone done this?  I did a couple of searches on Maxwell on the board, but couldn't find anything related to removing the windlass.  Any info on the easiest way to do this job will be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Ken Juul]

Access to the motor is gained by removing the panel at the front of the Vee berth after removing the shelf.  I neglected to check the windlass when I purchased Luna Loca in January, by time summer came around I found that it was inop.  I removed the panel and started to take it out.  Found that the drum needs to be removed first.    Of course the set screw was in the wrong position and the shaft would not rotate.  Sprayed a bunch of PB Blaster followed by some grease in the Zerk.  Next morning the drum/shaft turned.  Got the set screw loose and found the drum was stuck on the shaft.  Beat on it a while to no avail, decided I would rather sail than fix it,  On a lark I tried the switch and the motor worked.  Put everything back together.  Needless to say the windlass now gets run at least monthly, regular shots of grease and a fresh water wash down after each use.  Hope you have better luck getting yours apart.  I don't have any documents on the windlass and my experience is about 3 years old, the following comments are based on what I remember and may be fact or fiction. When I had the panels off it appeared to have a grease filled gearbox, not sure if any maintenance is needed if there is no leakage.  I think the brushes can be replaced in place.  If you have the manuals it should say, or a call to Maxwell with your part number should get you the answers.

[kerk fisher]

I tried to get the shelf off and undid every screw I could find, including screws I found up and inside and it still stuck on one corner, so i finally gave up. Any thoughts. Seems it should have been much easier. Kerk

[Ken Juul]

I took a quick look at mine today.  I don't remember having any problems getting it off.  Looks like 2 screws at each bottom corner, and some at the top behind the teak trim piece that is  held on by 6 screws.  Think you pull the bottom aft and then down to get the upper corners free of the side trim pieces  There might also a center screw on the sides behind the shelf.  It should come free.

[John Langford]

Here is what Joe Lima at Maxwell sent me when I inquired about checking the oil level in the VW500:

"Unfortunately in order to view the oil lever the entire unit will have to be removed from the boat and placed vertically on a bench.

To further the bad news, the manuals are not available on line yet. We are working on it but it will be some time before you will be able to download a manual. If you like I can mail you an owners manual for the VW 500 to the address listed below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Thank you,

Joseph R. Lima
Customer Service & Sales Rep  [joel@maxwellmarine.com]"

[mike lofstrom]

Thanks for the info guys!  I finally got down to the boat last weekend and scoped out the windlass access.  It looks like the forward bunkhead is another area of the Mark I boats that may have changed over time.  My boat, ( 1992)  has two forward bulkhead panels.  The bukhead is split in two along the shelf.  The upper one sits on the V-Berth shelf and can be removed without taking the shelf out.  It has three screws on the bottom edge along the shelf, and 6 screws through the trim panel at the top.  I also had to remove the two teak trim panels along the sides of the hull under the deck to get the panel out.  Once the panel is out, the winch is very easy to access.  Unfortunately, removing the windlass was another matter.  The drum seems to either be pressed onto the shaft, or it has siezed over time.  I fiddled with it for a half an hour, and gave up.  The weather was nice, so I put the panel back in and went sailing instead!   ( important  tip:  maintenance is interesting, but sailing is better!)  Anyway, my windlass still works, so I will defer the maintenance a little longer until I can locate an appropriate gear puller to get the drum off.

[Stu Jackson]

Mike

Stan O'Hoppe recently purchased a good sized gear puller to get his wheel off the spindle.

Try him at sogohop2@earthlink.net (Stan O'Hoppe).

[Paul Bosquet]

Well I too will need to get my windlass serviced, at least it seems the brushes are sticking. I manage to remove the forward bulkhead and at the suggestion of a friend, I pounded on the casing a few times with a rubber mallet and got it going again but only temporally until too a good load was applied then it stopped. I guess I will need to replace the brushes.
Has anyone changed the brushes and can it be done by a small electric motor specialist or do I need to send it to Maxwell for service?
Paul

[Michael]

Earlier posters on this thread seem to have had the right idea - to leave the windlass alone if it isn't broken and go sailing instead of fiddling.

Unfortunately, I did otherwise when, as a side adventure to replacing the forward fresh water fill hose and having the panels forward of the V-berth off, I found the motor terminals on the Maxwell 500 rope windlass motor were rusted.

Those terminals on my model are two of the four bolts that pass through the bottom of the motor housing.  The terminal bolts have eccentric heads (inside the motor housing) to which the electrical wires feeding the brushes are soldered (or otherwise fitted).  Unfortunately, in trying to get the terminal bolt nuts off, I sheered one of the terminal bolts.  So now the hunt is on for a replacement terminal bolt-wire-brush set.

It would have been better (a) not to have fiddled in the first place or (b) somehow to have soaked the nuts on the vertical bolt in penetrating oil before trying to undo them.  Ah, well.

If anyone has found a good source for these terminal/wires/brushes set, please let me know.  I think the motor manufacturer might be "King" as that name appears on the bottom of the motor housing together with the symbol of a crown.

Regards.

[tonywright]

Give Western Marine on Powell Street a call at (604) 253-7721. They are the reps for Maxwell in Canada.

Tony

[Michael]

Tony, thanks for the feedback.  In fact (confession), I posted my query about where to get the terminal-brush-wire sets to this thread after botching the removal and visiting Western Marine and then doing my homework.  All things done in the wrong order. Anyway, Ken Hatch at Western Marine tells me he has call in to Maxwell about the problem, so we will see what turns up.

However, I suspect that Maxwell sources its motors from someone else (King? in this case) so I was rather hoping, as we do with our Universal engines and Kabota, to be able to get to the original equipment manufacturer and its parts list.  I will go look for King motors and, if anything useful turns up there or from Western Marine/Maxwell, post about the result.