Windlass Replacement

[Capt Chad]

We currently have the factory Galleymaid windlass on our 46c. The wife has never cared much for recovering the anchor. Especially the chain that comes up by hand.

Has anyone retrofitted a self storing windlass with a chain gypsy on a 46?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

We currently have the factory Galleymaid windlass on our 46c. The wife has never cared much for recovering the anchor. Especially the chain that comes up by hand.

Has anyone retrofitted a self storing windlass with a chain gypsy on a 46?

Send the windlass into GalleyMaid, they will rebuild it with a longer shaft and a wildcat so you can run all chain.

 

[Capt Chad]

Looking at their windlasses with the wildcat under the capstan on line I like the idea. So then I just fab up a SS pipe at an angle that will let the weight of the chain take it into the locker?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Looking at their windlasses with the wildcat under the capstan on line I like the idea. So then I just fab up a SS pipe at an angle that will let the weight of the chain take it into the locker?

They will send back the hawse pipe and a new electrical control box and foot switches.

 

[Pascal]

I m glad I had my galley maid rebuilt. It already had the chain wildcat. It was 30 years old when I brought it to them. Contrast that with a pair of Maxwell 4000 on the boat i run which are making awful noises and just 11 years old

 

[Capt Chad]

I like it. Thanks for the information.

 

[madhatter1]

I just changed out my galley maid to a Good Automatic windlass. Most work was removed the old windlass and it was in great shape. Operating it with wireless controls and still have foot switch for “up”. Need to add one for down. Good supplies each windlass with rope and chain combo. You would need the 850-C-DW.

 

[43DoubleCabin]

I like the idea of Galley Maid rebuilding them. On my 43 DC I only have power up and no wildcat. And no hawse pipe. Things can be a bit hairy cutting that anchor loose. And then when retrieving the chain likes to get squirrelly in the capstan when the rode comes in. Not to mention the mess on the deck due to no hawse pipe.

 

[Pascal]

If anchor out frequently the right windlass requiring no human help is not just a convenience but a safety item. I would never own a boat with it. Just as important is being able to control the windlass from the helm(s) so you don’t need to have somebody on deck in weather

 

[drburke]

Speaking of rebuilding, my Ideal Windlass will need to be refurbed soon (Galley Maid is a clone). There was a time when the company repairs seemed to be down to a few old guys months behind.

Since that time, Ideal has been acquired by Schaefer Marine and seems to be doing pretty well.

I like the idea of old-school US hardware over newer China stuff, even if more expensive up front.

https://www.schaefermarine.com/our-products/ideal-windlass/

DAN

 

[Capt Chad]

I agree 100% Pascal. I have left the bridge myself in a couple instances just because I didn't want anyone else on the forward deck. Not an ideal situation. Especially in the wind. A thin layer of ice on deck makes everything big fun.

 

[Capt Chad]

OK, I got my Galley Maid education from Rick at GM yesterday.

If you have rectangular gear box you are out of luck. They can't get them apart to retrofit the longer shaft. If you have the newer style rounded gearbox they can modify it for you.

Mine is of course rectangular.

So... $5500 before tax and shipping to get the same size windlass with the chain gypsy and the chain tube. That's a lot. Not sure what I'm going to do at this point.

 

[Passages]

I just went thought this in May. My Ideal needed a complete rebuild. New unit was $6500 plus install, tax and shipping.

Had a local machine shop tear the old one down, install replacement parts from Schaefer, and reinstall. While I was at it, I sent the top half to a plate shop for re-chroming. Cost for the machine shop was $4200. The chrome was another $590. Not cheap but money well spent.

 

[Capt Chad]

So, there is pretty much no Galleymaid 12v stuff available at this point. Ideal wants a little over 11g just for the windlass.

I know some boats with the Good older style horizontal windlass that have had some problems. Is the Good vertical windlass that much better?

I've been told to stay away from Lewmar.

I'm really concerned with being able to fit a new windlass and a chain/hawse pipe on top of the back of the pulpit where the Galleymaid is currently.

 

[SeaEric]

Avoid Anchorlift like the plague! Terrible quality.
https://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?20930-Anchorlift-windlass&highlight=anchorlift

 

[Pascal]

So, there is pretty much no Galleymaid 12v stuff available at this point. Ideal wants a little over 11g just for the windlass.

I know some boats with the Good older style horizontal windlass that have had some problems. Is the Good vertical windlass that much better?

I've been told to stay away from Lewmar.

I'm really concerned with being able to fit a new windlass and a chain/hawse pipe on top of the back of the pulpit where the Galleymaid is currently.

Yeah the thickness of the pulpit is a problem Have you contacted Rick at GM? He rebuilt mine 3 or 4 years ago and converted the motor to 24 V. I still have the 32v motor and solenoids if anytime needs them

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Yeah the thickness of the pulpit is a problem Have you contacted Rick at GM? He rebuilt mine 3 or 4 years ago and converted the motor to 24 V. I still have the 32v motor and solenoids if anytime needs them

Pascal. Look at the first part of this thread. That's where he started.

 

[cww]

Unless you want to redo the whole bow pulpit setup on your boat, you are probably going to find that you don't have much of a choice except buying a new windlass from galley maid. This is one of the handful of things like the Hynautic K-21 steering ram, where the vendor custom designed it to fit what Hatteras wanted so there's only one place where you can get it.

Last time I looked into this, nobody but GM makes a windlass with a long enough shaft to fit the distance between mounting platform for the capstan section on the pulpit and the drive section in the anchor locker. They're likely your only option if you want that high end flush-mount vertical look.

If you don't care how it looks, you can always just get one of those horizontal windlasses where it's all one big piece and do it that way, but they're kind of ugly.

 

[metama]

Anyone use a Good Windless?
I believe they have started making larger boat ones.

 

[1trout]

I have a Good F850C windlass on my Hatteras 32 Flybridge and love it. Tom Ring (the company owner) and his son drove down to NC, stayed at my house for two days, and did a flawless installation. My boat did not have a windlass or pulpit before that. Problem free for one year. Highly recommend.