Lewmar 1000 Vertical Windlass trouble - HELP!

[Kfinn]

Dear fellow cruisers,

Our inherited Lewmar 1000 Vertical Windlass quit working on us as we were trying to pull up anchor early this morning. The motor still spins both up and down, but it is not engaging the gypsy. Our user manual has zero useful info, so please help (bonus points for descriptive advice and photos).

We have seen suggestions that we try tightening the clutch, but we are unclear how to do so. We used a winch to tighten the gypsy cap down... not sure if that's the same thing.

We disassembled the gypsy cap and the baseplate cover and unscrewed the chain fleming. Incidentally, the Control Arm was a cheap piece of plastic which fell off weeks ago. Other than that, we were unable to disassemble it further (see attached photo indicating how far we got). Does anyone have advice on disassembly in order to inspect and clean it further?
From the manual, I can see that the Clutch Cone is below the Drive Roller, which we have so far been unable to remove. Not sure if that is where we need to get to tighten the clutch.

Furthermore, in order to operate this windlass manually, a separate adapter fitting (called Emergency Recover Kit, p/n 6061691) is required. The previous owners must have lost it, so we don't have one. Does anyone know where we can get one since this model is discontinued? Alternatively, has anyone had success creating their own means to manual operate this model of winch?

To sum up, here are my main queries:
-Advice on disassembling a Lewmar 1000 Vertical windlass.
-Advice on troubleshooting/repairing a Lewmar 1000 Vertical windlass
-Advice on procuring or otherwise replacing the Emergency Recovery Kit to manually operate a wince.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[PDScott]

Am no windlass expert but by looking at the pic I think the stainless washer should come up and then you may be able to tighten the drum down to the cone. Hope this may help Peter

[Kfinn]

One more question I forgot:

In case all else fails, does anyone know a windlass expert in the south Florida area? (We're currently anchored in Biscayne Bay.) Contact details would be appreciated.

[Terra Nova]

Call Lewmar tech support.

[Kfinn]

Lewmar tech support is close for the weekend. We will call if we haven't fixed this by business hours, but really hoping we do. The most helpful thing would be if anyone could post or link to a reeeeally good description or video about how to disassemble this bugger.

I've posted attached a video of the issue now, too. As you can see, you can hear the motor running, but no part of the external unit spins.

Furthermore, I can turn the drum with or without the clutch post spinning too. It does seem loose, but we do not know how to tighten it. Any advice very much appreciated. I assume if we learn to disassemble it, we will also then learn how to reassemble it properly, and therein also to get the clutch nice and tight.

[Kfinn]

Update:

We finally got it disassembled. It was just a bit stuck, and I had to wedge the pieces up off the middle spindle with a flathead.

Got everything off and cleaned. Reassembled it and tightened down the clutch. No luck.

Now we’re faced with opening up the gearbox area below. :/

If anyone knows where to buy the manual recovery kit for this model, or how to rig a substitute, please advise.

[Paul L]

I have had to add a stainless washer under the winch handle driven nut on an old Lewmar to get the clutch to tighten enough.

[Reefmagnet]

The winch will have either a shear pin or key transferring drive to the shaft from the gearbox. Check these are still in place and not damaged.

[Cavalier]

Clearly the gypsy wheel itself is not rotating, but you didn't mention whether the drive shaft (running through the gypsy's axis) is turning or not. If the drive shaft isn't turning then it's probably the clutch not being tightened enough, if the shaft isn't turning, then it's likely an issue with coupling between the motor's shaft and the gearbox (such as the key mentioned above). If it was the gearbox itself, it would most likely be evidently noisy (grinding noise).

[Kfinn]

Cavalier, thanks for a really helpful point.
No, the drive shaft / mainshaft is not turning. However I cannot see clearly in the user manual or on the windlass itself where there are coupling parts such as shear pins or keys. The closest I can see is something the manual calls a roller (looks kinda like a short, fat shear pin).

I think we’ll need to call Lewmar tech support and hope they can talk is through the issue. We’ll probably need to disassemble it further than we did today.

Thanks everyone for your help. Will update when we resolve this.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Kfinn

Cavalier, thanks for a really helpful point.
No, the drive shaft / mainshaft is not turning. However I cannot see clearly in the user manual or on the windlass itself where there are coupling parts such as shear pins or keys. The closest I can see is something the manual calls a roller (looks kinda like a short, fat shear pin).

I think we’ll need to call Lewmar tech support and hope they can talk is through the issue. We’ll probably need to disassemble it further than we did today.

Thanks everyone for your help. Will update when we resolve this.

You'd most likely have to separate the motor/gearbox from the winch to access the pin/key.

[Cavalier]

Unless I'm thinking of the wrong version of the model, there's also a key between the gearbox and the gypsy drive-shaft. Under the deck, there's an appropriately named "under the deck" fitting that looks like a standard clamp, when you undo that, it jaws-open and permits you to retract the gear-box and motor in one piece (after the 4 stud-nuts have been removed).
I would disassemble this part and make sure that the head of the gearbox is rotating when you engage the motor...
https://www.lewmar.com/sites/default...s7-English.pdf

Even if the above is not the version of the 1000 vertical that you have, it makes sense that there would be a shaft-coupler of sorts between the main body of the gypsy casement (above deck) and the gearbox (below deck). If an inappropriate material was used for the key itself, then it would be somewhat exposed to salt-water running down the shaft from the gypsy region - at least this would be my first place to check!

[RichandHelen]

Our Simpson-Lawrence/Lewmar vertical windlass was discontinued. If push comes to shove for you, we purchased a new windlass from Quick USA in Linthicum, Maryland. Jessica was very helpful and gave us a break on price.

[RichandHelen]

P.s. If you are anchored near Dinner Key Marina there is an excellent mechanic there who would probably come out to your boat if you need professional help.

[stormalong]

I had one 25 years ago. The gear assembly is too light for the windlass. Mine stripped the gears. It was a sealed gear assembly and not serviceable.

If your problem is the gear assembly I suggest that you scrap it and buy a better one. To determine if it is the gear assembly you need to remove the motor and 1) Check if the drive pin on the motor is intact. 2) Try to use a very large screwdriver to turn the gear assembly input shaft. If the input shaft turns and the output does not the gears are toast. The gear output looks like a round pipe that the keyed shaft fits into.

The Lewmar windlass that I bought new was marketed as a 1000 pound windlass. After I bought it the fine pint in the manual said 1000 pound static load, 750 pounds pull. The poor quality of that windlass was enough to make me decide never to buy a Lewmar product again. Except for one small winch I have stuck to my promise.