Noisy Galley Maid Anchor Windlass

[bobk]

Well, after putting more time on the windlass in the last six years than all the PO's did in the previous 25, I have a new issue with it. When powering down the anchor (all chain rode), it has started to run noisily and pay out eraticlly. Galley Maid says the thing was not made to pay out rode with the down switch, it doesn't have a thrust bearing for the down direction, and I should just use the free fall. Well, I don't like free fall for a variety of reasons including the danger of a fast moving chain near hands and legs, so my question to you guys is has anyone figured out how to modify these things to add a thrust bearing? If so, how difficult was the modification?

After rebuilding the foredeck and all the work to rebed and seal the damned thing I don't want to replace it.

Bobk

 

[MikeP]

This has come up several times and one would think you could fit a thrust bearing to the shaft in question. The Galley Maid windlass was a copy of the Ideal windlass (Ideal filed a lawsuit against GM many years ago) but Ideal lost BECAUSE GM modified the design by leaving out the relevant thrust bearing! SO it would seem that if it truly is a copy, it may be possible to find a suitable bushing and "retrofit" the windlass so it was an exact copy of the Ideal which can power up or down.

Don't have a clue if this is really possible but seems worth a look...

 

[bobk]

I caught up with Rick Schaeffrick of Galley Maid (he is the guy who works as a tech for them) and he has indeed modified a few of these winches to provide a thin needle bearing thrust bearing for the power down mode. He estimates about $300 to do it so it will be done once we return to Florida. It is not a 'perfect' solution as the bearing will be located between the motor and the gear box, so it does not get continuous lubrication. Meanwhile we will use free fall for anchoring.

Rick is happy to do free lance work on Galley Maid products. He can be reached at 561-262-8104 (C) or 561-747-5616 (H). He is located near West Palm and commutes to Galley Maid in Okeechobee FL.

Bobk