Need Help with S/L Hyspeed 510 Windlass

[andrewvik]

Hi, I inherited a Simpson Lawrence Hyspeed 510 Windlass on an old 1976 Islander 36 that I bought sight unseen in The Med.

The "UP" function works fine. I insert the bar, rock fore and aft, and the anchor comes up eventually (really I prefer to do it by hand in depths up to 20 feet).

What does not work is the clutch function. I stick the bar in, and the clutch nut does not move.

Fortunately, now matter how the pawl is set, the windlass will never rotate such that the chain pays out. I always have to deploy the anchor by letting the chain slip through my palms.

My best guess is that the clutch is frozen in a locked state. Corroded shut, maybe. It's not a terrible situation. The important function, retrieving the anchor, works as it should. But it would be nice to be able to pay out the chain as designed.

Does this indicate a clear and fixable problem? I'm a bit cautious to take the thing apart, which may not even be possible without breaking it. Further, with the boat an ocean away all winter, I don't have a whole lot of time for troubleshooting, and part availability is very limited in Croatia.

Thanks,
Andrew
San Francisco
s/v Geja
http://sailgeja.com/

[GordMay]

Here’s the Owner’s Manual for your Hyspeed 510

Goto ➥ http://www.fujiyachts.net/manuals/S-...20Windlass.pdf

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[andrewvik]

Gordmay, thanks for the PDF. I've already diligently researched this, and found the PDF thanks to this forum.

I'm hoping that someone has experienced the same issue before (up works fine, down doesn't). The windlass is half a world away, and I'd need to guess which parts to bring along with me.

Thanks again,
Andrew Vik
San Francisco, USA
http://sailgeja.com

[pressuredrop]

What you need to do is loosen the clutch nut (#6 in the schematic)

with the leverage of the arm, if the windlass is bolted down, you should have no problem whatsoever loosening the clutch nut. even if it is a little sticky, once that is loose, the gypsy should be able to free wheel,

i could be that the gypsy is stuck on the clutch cone, but tapping with a hammer should resolve that.

let us know how you make out