Windlass maintenance - cleaning

[amanphoto]

Source of the post I agree with Hans regarding the Mantus Swivel. It's the best and the company is terrific.
Amanphoto do you have any reference guide for that task? I want to service mine this season and am having trouble finding reference with procedure and pictures. Thanks

I don't have any reference. Its just nuts and bolts. I took it apart.

[amanphoto]

Source of the post Most wear issues are caused by twisted chain. You may want to let it all out while on the hard and re-feed the entire length which will get rid of the twist assuming you removed your anchor. If you do not have a swivel you may want to consider one as this helps quit a bit. This is the best there is IMHO. https://www.amazon.com/Mantus-Marine-Chain-Swivel/dp/B0748KF1KV

I don't have a swivel on my anchor. I've heard that they are week spot and could fail. I've never had any issue with twisted chain.

[Midnightsun]

I don't have a swivel on my anchor. I've heard that they are week spot and could fail. I've never had any issue with twisted chain.

You are correct, most swivels out there are weak and this is why I pointed to the Mantus unit which claims to be stronger than the chain it is attached to. You may not think you have a twist problem because neither did I until I had to remove all the chain that was on there to remove and perform a full service of my windlass. I have 200' of chain and the previous owner had no swivel installed. The 50'-70' I normally used was twist free because the swivel I installed cleaned it up. Problem was the balance, not that I counted the twists but easily in excess of 50. It is now all cleared up and suspect the swivel will prevent any further twisting. Also I cut off about 75' as in my application I will never use 200. Also found Carver or however installed it, never attached the end of the chain to anything which I did just in case all is let out.

One day if you require to let out more than usual you may be surprised it will stop because there is so much twist in the anchor locker. Just another thing one should clean up and keep an eye on in the endless preventative maintenance found in our beloved past time.

[mjk1040]

I have a high end swivel at the anchor and still have issues. Running 15' of chain and 200' rope rode. I would think if you are all chain and have the correct size chain in your locker that the tensioner shouldn't be needed. My thoughts are that the tensioner is for rope rode basically. Guess I'll let a 100' or so out in deep water and see if a little seasoning and untwisting may help correct my issue.

[tomschauer]

Mike, if your having line problems put a 5 gallon bucket on your bow. Carefully set you anchor and chain on the fordeck. Put about 75-100 foot of line coiled in the bucket. Add pre mix of about 25% fabric softener 75% warm water. let sit 24hrs on a warm day. Should fix it.

[mjk1040]

Tom; thanks for the treatment idea, however its a brand-new rode and is not stiff like the old rode I took out. I may have to polish the locker hole the next time I take it apart or put some real slippery and sticky tape around the locker hole, the rode may have found a catch somewhere on the way down into the locker?

[denpooch]

Hey folks. I decided to reach out to Maxwell for maintenance information and they were very helpful. I have included a link they sent to me regarding maintenance of the windless. The video ' RC-8 ' details the work for Maxwell 800. I hope that you find this beneficial.

https://www.vetus.com/en/maxwell-videos

[bud37]

Source of the post Tom; thanks for the treatment idea, however its a brand-new rode and is not stiff like the old rode I took out. I may have to polish the locker hole the next time I take it apart or put some real slippery and sticky tape around the locker hole, the rode may have found a catch somewhere on the way down into the locker?

Mike, one thing I remember regarding rope / chain anchor rode......when I had the Good, it specifically spec'd a certain size and type of rope or it would not work correctly. Maybe the Max is different ??

Heh Den......do you have the Freedom 800 or the RC8 ?

[denpooch]

Bud I have the Freedom 800. The folks at Maxwell suggested to me that the RC8 is an updated version of freedom 800. Both follow the same procedures for maintenance.

[mjk1040]

Bud, I put the rode and chain size on the chart for the Maxwell 800 as noted, so I don't think that's the issue. But thanks for the check.