Carver Owners Forum

2003 356 windless won’t work. My question is: how much should the red switch under the stairs label windless pull up? In the process of buying this boat and the windlass doesn’t work. Owner said earlier in the season he let all of the chain out then in to exercise the system. Now it won’t work at all. The red switch barely moves up and down at all and there is no power indication at the helm on the windless control head. The foot controls at the bow do not work as well. Just trying to get a rough idea if I should hold things up over this. An inspection of the anchor locker doesn’t reveal any signs of anything amiss all wires appear connected and no corrosion at all. Opinions?

Not sure what switch you are referring to but if it is like mine with a red button on the end (breaker style) the it should be in a horizontal position. You may have a windlass on/off switch at the helm which does need to on which should be located beside the up/down switch also located at the helm.

The only switch we (surveyor,sales,and me) could find is under the stairs leading to the salon on the battery switch panel. It is a red disk about the size of a dime and appears to be a push pull switch. We are only able to pull it up a fraction which honestly doesn’t seam like enough. No other switch at the control head just an in and out toggle. There is a power indicator light at the control head that is not illuminated.

Mine pulls out the same amount. You should look in the anchor locker. There is an inline fuse that can blow causing the windlass to stop. Took me about 10 minutes to find mine. Not a lot of room to look around.

Must not have looked hard enough up there. I’ll check it out tomorrow. I was guessing it was a simple power issue so we will see. I believe the owner about being surprised and his earlier useable. Boat is damn near immaculate.

The switch you're referring to only moves a fraction of an inch up or down. Listen for the click. What type of windlass is this, Maxwell Feedom 800?

It is a Maxwell but I’m not sure which model. Haven’t been on the boat since the sea trial last week. Apparently the switch (not sure if it was the power switch under the step or the control head at the helm) is bad. The current owner insisted on having it fixed on his dime ($600) before the sale is final. Nice guy right? Close this Friday 9/27.

Under the step on my 355 is a 135 amp breaker for the windlass. I would remove the 4 screws that hold it down and check for 12 volts on either side of the breaker. If it is good there, go to the switches at the helm and windlass, check for voltage there. Then finally check for voltage at the windlass. A helper would be nice to turn the switches on while testing.