Maxwell VW500 2-way control and manual

[tonywright]

We recently chartered a boat that had a hand-held power up/down control for the windlass, and this got rave reviews from the Admiral. So of course the question came: can we put this on our boat, since this makes anchoring so much easier?

Sure enough Maxwell provides options to do this. Has anyone implemented such a modification, and if so any pointers?  So far it seems that I need both a control unit, a reversing solenoid, together with associated wiring, and a 3 amp circuit breaker in the power cicuit to the controller.

I made an enquiry with Maxwell Marine, and as a bonus received a comprehensive updated owners manual in PDF format for the VW500 (standard windlass on a MKII), which I will be happy to share/provide for upload to the main site if anyone is interested. 

Tony

[jmnpe]

Hi Tony,

Since I have a windlassless Mk I, I'm not sure what comes standard on your Mk II in terms of foot switches for the windlass. If your boat currently has deck mounted foot switches for UP and DOWN control of your VW500 windlass, the reversing solenoid and circuit breaker are already installed. All you will need to add is the remote switches per the diagram you provided. You can use their remote control, which will probably come with a mating connector, or you can build your own if you are just reasonably handy. Just make sure that whatever switches you use are rated for at least 2 or 3 amps at 12 vdc. On units I have built for my own previous windlass-equipped boats, it's also handy to include an LED power ON indicator on the remote control to remind you when you haven't remembered to turn on the CB for the windlass before you are ready to drop or retrieve anchor: it saves lots of looking stupid in front of the Admiral......

John

[Tom Clay]

The MK11 standard is a foot operated up switch only.

I contacted Maxwell and was told the reversing solenoid would be required. Price for the parts quoted was $200.00-250.00. You might find the parts cheaper through a 3rd party.

I decided for the little effort it is lowering my anchor and chain it was not worth making the change. I can control the speed at which the anchor and chain drop with the windlass.

Also I had to have my windlass rebuilt under warranty this spring as a seal went out and dumped all of the gear oil onto the V-birth. Luckily we had some packaging under the v-birth mattress so the oil did not ruin the mattress..... very very sticky oil (gear lube).

[tonywright]

Thanks for the pointers.  I confirm the foot switch is unidirectional, up only. To lower requires loosening the clutch, putting body parts in close proximity to a lowering chain.

The clutch brake often lets go with a lot of sudden speed, making for occasional surprising "emergency speed" dumps of the chain. This is not recommended by Maxwell, doesn't favour smooth anchoring when all in the anchorage are watching, and seems sometimes downright dangerous (the clutch brake lever is attached by a length of cord so we don't lose it: it would be easy to get something tangled when a length of chain rushes out).

It sems for any of these reasons that installing the upgrade is worthwhile. 

By the way, we really like the first anchoring upgrade we made: the two-way full duplex headsets for communicating back to the helm. No more ambiguous hand signals, or yelling over the engine noise.

Reading Tom's post,  I think I will put a large oil-absorbing pad in the compartment under the windlass.


Tony

[Tom Clay]

Tony,

We had the same problem with lowering the anchor that you are expressing. I was looking into adding the down control becuse the clutch had to be so loose the chain would fly out.

After finding the oil leak and talking to the Maxwell rep he had a suggestion for us. He said Maxwell recommends you grease the windlass at least once a year, twice in harsh conditions. I pulled the clutch and in 10 minutes had everything greased. It made a huge difference in letting the anchor out. The electric up/down solution with the remote will be a great addition if you move forward with it. Let us know how it goes.

I concur with your comment about the 2 way headsets. We bought a set this spring and used them almost every day on our 3 week cruise to the Canadian Gulf Islands.
For $60.00 the safety they provide in anchoring or getting a mooring buoy is a no brainer. Also the Admiral does not yell anymore........I am the quiet one.......LOL.

[Ken Juul]

They should market the headsets as "Marrage savers"!  Use ours regularly, give them away as wedding presents to sailing friends.

[Momentum M]

I've also looked at the conversion to the 2 way solenoid but did find it expensive and the time/trouble to install it wasn't worth while for me.   
I much prefer to lower the anchor by hand...I keep a pair of leather glove in my Pitt for that purpose.  It also tell me when I hit bottom so I know the depth of water for my scope.
I've marked my chain (200') with tie wrap....at fifty (my first marker) I've put five red ties...at 70, 1 red and 2 green and so on....you can work out your system of marking......I've used it all summer and the tie wrap don't interfere with the windlass and I haven't lost one marker yet.
I never used the clutch to free fall the anchor.

We also have the walkie talkie headphones and I recommend like all the others here that it's by far the best investment you can make (60$).

[Momentum M]

Tom...strange enough I just arrived at the boat and find a little film of some oily stuff floating  in the bilge.
Traced it up to the bow.  Underneath the V berth there was a little streak of some yellowish liquid comming down. The only oil in the bow is the windlass.
Strange that this morning I was reading you post and a few hours later I find my windlass leaking.
Now You have mentioned that you talked to the Maxell rep and he said to grease it!!! when you had oil that came out of the unit.
Or is it that the grease melted down under heavy sun (we had in the last  week or two) and leaked on the floor?
Can you help since I am confused...about oil and grease.
Thanks

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Where did everyone buy the headsets? My marriage could always use some help.

Mike

[Tom Clay]

Mike,

The link below will take you to the Lattitudes and Attitudes site where we purchased ours. We have recommended these to 3 other couples, they have all bought and can't believe the difference in anchoring.

They are called marriage savers......LOL
Best $60.00 you will ever spend on the boat.

http://www.seafaring.com/shipstore/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=marriage+savers&x=27&y=8

Ken Juul addition.  They are also available at www.cruisingsolutions.com

[Tom Clay]

Serge...

Sorry I was not clear, 2 separate issues.

The oil you see is 90W gear oil and is leaking out of the seal between the motor and the windlass. This is the seal that I had replaced under warranty, and leaked under the v-birth. You can get to the bottom of the windlass and electric motor by pulling the wood panel in the front of the v-birth.

The grease I spoke about was for the clutch on top. When I released the clutch it would catch because of old dry grease, cleaning the assembly and adding new grease solved that problem.

Tom...strange enough I just arrived at the boat and find a little film of some oily stuff floating  in the bilge.
Traced it up to the bow.  Underneath the V berth there was a little streak of some yellowish liquid comming down. The only oil in the bow is the windlass.
Strange that this morning I was reading you post and a few hours later I find my windlass leaking.
Now You have mentioned that you talked to the Maxell rep and he said to grease it!!! when you had oil that came out of the unit.
Or is it that the grease melted down under heavy sun (we had in the last  week or two) and leaked on the floor?
Can you help since I am confused...about oil and grease.
Thanks

[Momentum M]

Thanks Tom..... I will look into it.

[tonywright]

One of the things I found out about the windlass by talking to reps at the boat show, and reading the manual (method of last resort  ), is that you are not supposed to use the windlass to take up any strain related to breaking out the anchor. IE if the anchor will not easily break out, then the strain is supposed to be taken off the winch by using a snubber or a chainstopper, then using the engine to break out the anchor. Not always easy to remember, but we definitely did this last weekend. In fact I even resorted to Stu's technique of running a line back to the primary winch to help the breakout

We are also careful to remove the rode from around the windlass when at anchor, and run it directly to the cleat in the locker.

Is there any chance that some of the reported gearbox leaks could be strain-related, or is this a general problem with the windlass?

Tony

[Tom Clay]

Tony,

We also heard the same thing in talking to the Maxwell rep., do not use the windlass to break out the anchor.

We always use the cleat in the locker to tie off the anchor. We also use the boat to free the anchor.

I believe I just had a bad seal that failed after 2 years.

[tonywright]

Tom

What kind of snubber or chainstopper have you found works best when breaking out?

Tony