Ideal windlass issue

[captmob]

Thanks for the information. I also have a single button for up only. I’m on the MS Gulf Coast and am rigged with 20’ of 3/8 chain and a nylon 3 braid anchor line. The all chain rigged boats are new to me but I understand they are well suited for Caribbean sailing. Planning to move the boat to the Keys in January so I plan to upgrade to all chain and snubbing line. Is the winch motor really capable of bringing in 200’ of chain without overheating? No load understood motoring up to anchor. What about conversations for power down? Practical or not. Would love to hear your thoughts. Phone call would be great. Marcus 985-705-7957 Again thanks.

[rls8r]

Hi Marcus -

I have a 250-ft 5/16" HT all-chain rode and the windlass pulls everything in OK, but I always try to motor up to the anchor rather than have the windlass pull the boat forward. Of course, I never have put all that rode out - except on the hard I use the windlass to "reload" the chain locker - and it does OK. I think that the thing to check would be the electric cable to the motor - make sure that it's large enough - and that depends on its distance from the power source. The Ideal installation manual says to use 2/0 cable for a one-way run from power to the windlass of 30 - 40', which is appropriate for my boat (and probably for yours unless you have a battery at the windlass). The cable is protected with a 150-amp breaker.

I've never felt the need for a power down foot switch - gravity has always worked for me. I just adjust the drag on the windlass with the rod in the capstan cap to ease the anchor down. Perhaps others can let us know how a down switch is useful. Motors that allow wiring of a down foot switch will have two posts on the motor body - the one farther from the gearbox is the 'up' post; the one closer to the gearbox is the 'down' post. Some motors have only one post - they're the 'down only' motors.

I'll try to give a call tomorrow. -Rick

[captmob]

Thanks Rick. I’ve been a professional captain for 40 years, on and off, but the whole chain rode is new to me with small boats. I hope we can talk. I await your call. Again thanks Marcus

[rls8r]

Hello Marcus -

Just got back home to pull out my old Schaefer invoice. The Ideal Friction Discs (#CWM-9) are/were (as of the end of last January) $48 each.

See you at the boat show!

[captmob]

Thanks

[Jack Sanford]

Has anyone else had issues contacting Schaefer about Ideal windlasses? I have emailed them several times, but have had no reply. This is not the old Ideal when you asked a question, the owner, Cliffe Raymond would answer you promptly. Very sad. Shame on Schaefer!

[Markhunter1097]

Originally Posted by Jack Sanford

Has anyone else had issues contacting Schaefer about Ideal windlasses? I have emailed them several times, but have had no reply. This is not the old Ideal when you asked a question, the owner, Cliffe Raymond would answer you promptly. Very sad. Shame on Schaefer!

Hi Jack, I found them very helpful
Contact Joy Ruel, and if she has left then whoever replaced her would be just as nice if trained by her.

joyr@schaefermarine.com

[rls8r]

Yes, Joy is absolutely the best. She was there as of last March, when I had my Ideal worked on. Her telephone number is 508-995-9511.

[svMarite]

I rebuilt my Ideal last year, they only will sell you very marked-up price oem parts. They tried to sell me a $40 paper gasket! I went to a local starter company for the motor check up - was told "they dont make 'em like that anymore! Yours is good as new!"...32 years old!
I wont deal with Shaefer, not impressed. Over priced.
Hell, when I told Joy what I was doing, she asked if i would become a rep and repair facility! That i knew more about it than they did.....
Take that for what's its worth...

[philipmelanson]

Originally Posted by Bill O

Mark,
Again looks good. Your pics reminded me what a PITA it was to get the shaft and gear box in place.

Rigging the floor jack was a good idea. I had a helper and used the top compression "nut" as a hand hold to help pull the gear box up once the threaded portion protruded through the deck.

Your job does remind me to take my motor off and get it serviced before it goes down. While I've changed the gear oil and lube the above deck parts regularly, I haven't paid any attention to the very critical motor. All the rest of the system is relatively new, but have no idea when the motor was last serviced.

Did install the new friction disk, but haven't tried it yet. The new disk has more surface area (~33%) then the ones supplied by Ideal (black one), is a little thicker to bury the retaining screws deeper and the material is a little firmer so it may not distort as much. As you can see the softer rubbery Ideal disk (eventually after a couple years of use), started distort and tear around the retaining screws. Even with the larger gear box (V4C), we are pushing the limit for the anchor size (40kg Rocna). While we motor up to release the dug in anchor, sometimes we also pull up heavy mud and larger branches/small logs. I expect with the added mud, etc, at times we are attempting to pull up ~>50kg, putting additional stress on the rubbery Ideal friction disk.

The other problem I had with the newer Ideal friction disk is they sent me a predrilled disk (for the retaining screws), but they didn't line up. When Cliff still ran Ideal, the predrilled holes aligned well. They (now Schaefer) did send me an undrilled disk, which I had to drill and align the 8 countersunk #6 screw holes. The rubbery disk wanted to move slightly when using the cork borer to put in the initial holes and if one was not careful, the movement of the material could cause the misalignment of the small holes.

The new friction disk material is denser and could be drilled using normal mill bits. Hoping the friction coefficient of ~0.60 is up for the task. If not I'll go back to the Ideal friction disk (probably has a higher coefficient) and attempt to adhere the disk with an adhesive to help avoid tear/elongation of the material around the retaining screws.

I'll let you know how the field tests work.

Bill O.

How did it hold up and can you give some info as to where you got this pad .Iam needing to do the same to mine .

[philipmelanson]

I need to do the same to my windlass .Can you share where you bought the disk .
Thank you

[philipmelanson]

Originally Posted by rls8r

Hello Marcus -

Just got back home to pull out my old Schaefer invoice. The Ideal Friction Discs (#CWM-9) are/were (as of the end of last January) $48 each.

See you at the boat show!

Hello Iam trying to get these friction pads and noticed that you added the part number .Can you also add whice windlass this for .I am looking for the galley maid / ideal v5c model replacement pads .
Thank you Philip

[rls8r]

Hi Philip -

My (and Marcus') windlasses are the MCW/V2C model - which are considerably smaller than your V5C (V = vertical, 5 = size, C = both capstan and gypsy) model.

Have you called Joy at Schaefer? She e-mailed me a copy of the Installation Manual when I was working on my windlass. It had a blow-up of the windlass showing the part numbers. If she's still there I'm sure that she'd do the same for you - she's very helpful.

Good luck.