Hello, arch007,
We, too had one of those windlasses. It got broken in Papeete in 1990. One of Jim's happier days was when he installed a
Maxwell two speed
manual windlass on our 36 footer. What a difference!
What happens with the SL is that as the bushings go,
salt water gets in (unless you're a
Great Lakes Sailor), and there are dissimilar metals issues. It is getting harder and harder to find replacement parts for them, although the
seals and whatnot are probably still around. For us, they didn't last long, even though we had made a cover for the
windlass in hopes of keeping out the
water.
If you were to give the
displacement and length of your
boat, and where you plan to use it, our recommendations could be tailored to your location,
boat and plans. You can add info about your boat under your avatar, using the Edit avatar function.
For instance, if you are limited to the
east coast of the US, your needs would be different if you were in
Scotland, or
French Polynesia (where the
anchorages are very deep, sometimes). For now, i suggest you take the
gypsy with you when you go buy chain, because you need good fit of the links in the gypsy.
Ann