How did your windlass break?

[SoggyHalyard]

Preparing to sail to remote places with deep anchoring grounds and am considering what spares I want to invest in, so I'm curious... How did your windlass break?

[carstenb]

After almost 9 years at sea, we've had to rebuild our capstan twice. Both times, the seals and bearings on the shaft needed replacing (water seepage coming into the boat). The gearbox has been serviced twice (water ingress - not serious, but since we were servicing the rest....)

We have a wireless remote (cheap jeep windlass remote) that only seems to last for a year or two. We always carry a couple of spares. Finally you should carry a spare solenoid. They can be difficult to source if you are in non-civilized places.

But the first thing you should do is take your windlass apart and put it back together again. That way you know how to do it. This past time, getting our capstan out was a bear and required the use of an shaft puller. The one I have for my maxprop wouldn't fit. Luckily we were on Martinique and the the local chandlery had one.

[SoggyHalyard]

Great info. We went through our second cheap jeep remote this year. Pulled the entire windlass apart as we begin to close our season this year and found a dry gearbox, a broken snap ring holding the shaft in and crusty seals throughout. A wonder it was still working. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Tin Tin]

The major things I have had fail on the windlass - worn electric motor brushes, broken worm gear, failed solenoid. The brushes and the gear teeth are hard to find.