Lofrans Cayman 88 electric windlass

[blueb]

Early one worning I stupidly tried to lift my anchor but forgot to remove the retaining hook which was taking the load off the winch overnight. The result was that the chain got snarled round the winch which jammed and stopped. I raised the gear by hand and at my leisure untangled the chain and returned everything to normal.

Unfortunately the winch is now dead although there is power to the unit. Does anybody have any knowledge as to what the fault is likely to be on this model and how to cure it? Does anybody know a good mechanic in North Kent who I could use if it proves not be fixable by an averagely talented DIY boater?

Many thanks for any help available.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

I see that the Forum has been slow to come back on this one because it is a very unusual problem. What can have gone wrong????

1) The gears could have jammed up. In which case try a burst in reverse to see if that clears it.

2) You may have an electrical problem. Possibly you have burnt a segment in the commutator and this is preventing it from re-starting. If you are lucky this will mean that you can polish the segment and restore conduction.

3) you may have fused off an internal connection. The high current when it jammed may have melted solder or even melted through a cable.

Suggestion: Take off the end casing by undoing the two holding bolts and have a look in. Then report back or take it to a Man who knows!!!!

 

[DaveS]

You say there is power to the windlass - I presume you mean you can measure voltage at the windlass terminals. It would be helpful to know whether the faulty unit is open circuit - probably an electrical problem - or stuck and drawing a high current - probably a mechanical problem. A clip-on DC ammeter would be the best tool to check with but, in absense of this, watching what happens to the battery voltage would be useful: no change (and battery voltage present at the windlass) when an attempt is made to operate the windlass probably means an open circuit.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

PS Have you tried working the windlass manually. That way you can tick off the mechanical stuff.

 

[DaveS]

No, I've never seen his windlass! My only knowledge of it is via this forum.

To answer your point, however, working some electric windlasses manually requires the purchase of an emergency manual operating handle. I got one for my SL from SLparts a couple of years ago - daft price, but it's boaty...

 

[blueb]

Hi Dave,

I worked on the windlass yesterday. Firstly it works fine manually so I think we can discount a mechanical problem. My next problem is that the way it was installed has made it impossible to remove without some surgery to the boat. I will do this in the next few days and will then be able to remove the cover from the motor and run the tests you recommend. We do have a local firm who will test and make whatever repairs are necessary to the motor. Once I get a resolution I'll let you know. Many, many thanks for your help with this,

Bryan

 

[logcabinjohn]

Early one worning I stupidly tried to lift my anchor but forgot to remove the retaining hook which was taking the load off the winch overnight. The result was that the chain got snarled round the winch which jammed and stopped. I raised the gear by hand and at my leisure untangled the chain and returned everything to normal.

Unfortunately the winch is now dead although there is power to the unit. Does anybody have any knowledge as to what the fault is likely to be on this model and how to cure it? Does anybody know a good mechanic in North Kent who I could use if it proves not be fixable by an averagely talented DIY boater?

Many thanks for any help available.

Did the same with my cayman 88. Electric motor worked fine but it wouldn't wind up my anchor.
I removed winch from my boat and took it to my shop. I removed the gypsy and clutch mechanisms between it and the main shaft. Wasn't real easy as the keyway on the main shaft had been damaged but with the help of a specially modified skinny file I managed to slide the whole thing off the main shaft. Then another few hours of stuggling with the four stainless allen screws corroded into the alumiinum housing I removed the cover plate for the central gear housing.
Once I was into the gear housing, the problem became obvious. On these winches, the main, electric motor driven gear is connected to the main shaft
by a dog clutch mechanism which engages a corresponing dog system on the main gear. On my winch the the section of the dog clutch unit that keys onto the main shaft wast split in two.
The obvious solution is buy a new piece. I haven't looked into availability of parts yet, however. The broken part is not that complex, so fabricating new one is not out of the question.

 

[logcabinjohn]

I did the same with my Cayman 88. The electric motor would go but wouldn't wind up my anchor.
I took the winch out of the boat and hitchhiked the hundred miles to my shop. Was a bit of a struggle to get the gypsy off as the keyway on the stainless main shaft was damaged. After that it was a bit more of a struggle to remove four stainless allen screws from corroded aluminum housing.
Once inside the gear housing the problem was obvious. On those winches the main gear which is driven by the electric motor is connected to the main shaft through a dog clutch. The part of the dog clutch that keys onto the main shaft on my winch was split in two.
Haven't been able to locate a replacement part yet, but it is not that complex so if all else fails, fabricating one is not out of the question.

 

[logcabinjohn]

Part is available for $73 Canadian. Part number is L0Z-327

 

[TonyS]

You say there is power but the winch is dead. My friend had this problem as he pulled the anchor tight against the bow roller and overdid it. He called me in to help. It turned out there was power on the solenoid, and hand held switch, but the fuse (150 amps) was blown. Have you checked the fuse?