Windlasses chains and gypsies

[Jassira]

A while ago I brought a Nilsson Maxwell HWC3000 hydraulic windlass from the USA via ebay, and now I want to fit it.

The boat is a Bruce Roberts 53ft cutter, displacement in the region of 22tons. My existing ground tackle comprises a manual Simpson Lawrence Sea Tiger 555, 75lbs CQR and 100m of 11mm chain with a pitch of 29.5mm an external width of 36mm which I can't find referenced anywhere..

Needless to say the gypsy on the Nilsson and my chain don't match, so I'm left with 3 options

a) Get a new gypsy to fit my exiting chain
I have spoken to Nilsson in New Zealand, they are very helpful and knowledgeable and say they may be able to modify one of their standard gypsies if I send them an 11 link sample of my chain, but the chain came with the boat, I assume it's only grade 30 and I've always felt it's a touch to light.

b) Get a new chain to fit the Nilsson gypsy
The Nilsson gypsy seems to be for 10mm chain, I think 10mm grade 30 chain is to small for my boat, grade 40 could be an option and if I can source it, grade 70 may be a solution, anybody know of a supplier ?

c) Get both a new chain and gypsy
This may turn out to be my only option, if so I would be probably to go for a grade 40 12mm chain

At the risk of opening a can of worms I would value opinions on the chain size, but also wonder if it's possible to have the Nilsson gypsy modified in the UK.

Finally, before I do any of the above it would seem sensible to have the windlass serviced and checked over, can anybody recommend a firm that can do this, preferably in the south east.

many thanks in advance.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I always refer to jimmy greens technical pages for advice on chain and rope sizes.

 

[prv]

If you go for 10mm, be aware that there are two different kinds of 10mm.

There are DIN and ISO chain size standards, and for all common anchoring sizes they are identical for practical purposes - except at 10mm size, where for some reason they vary. So if you go for 10mm, you need to know which one.

Pete

 

[Marsupial]

The windlass is (or was) marketed by Vetus so I would see if they are able to provide you with a new 12mm gypsy as that would be a more appropriate size chain for your boat - some say it should be a size larger than that but I don't think you will get a larger gypsy.

find a truck auto-electrician who overhauls truck starter motors to service the windlass.

 

[Jassira]

I have spoken to Vetus, they were initially enthusiastic but lost interest when it started to look complicated. The HWC3000 has been superseded by the HWC3500. The history is a bit murky but as I understand things Vetus now own Maxwell and Nilsson still exist as James Nilsson, they are family run, and willing and able to support all their products, they can supply a gypsy to suit a 13mm chain and maybe that's what I ought to be using, but the best part of 400kg in the bow would be a worry.
The windlass is hydraulic not electric, there are plenty of hydraulic engineers about but I'd rather find some who had some expertise is winches as well as hydraulics

 

[noelex]

10mm G4 is very marginal for your boat.

10mm G7 is OK. Try Maggi the Italian manufacturer. Both DIN and ISO are available.

Alternatively 12mm G4 or 13mm (1/2 inch) would be the more usual choice, but this will need a new gypsy. 1/2 inch or 13mm chain may be difficult to get in the UK.

 

[NormanS]

IMHO 10mm, irrespective of grade, would be very light for a 53ft, 22ton boat. 13mm is readily available. When I had a 60ft boat, my chains were 16mm and 18mm.
Try www.boatgeardirect.co.uk among others.

 

[Marsupial]

I have spoken to Vetus, they were initially enthusiastic but lost interest when it started to look complicated. The HWC3000 has been superseded by the HWC3500. The history is a bit murky but as I understand things Vetus now own Maxwell and Nilsson still exist as James Nilsson, they are family run, and willing and able to support all their products, they can supply a gypsy to suit a 13mm chain and maybe that's what I ought to be using, but the best part of 400kg in the bow would be a worry.
The windlass is hydraulic not electric, there are plenty of hydraulic engineers about but I'd rather find some who had some expertise is winches as well as hydraulics

the worry would be having light chain so I would go for the 13 mm without hesitation - there is no substitute for weight in ground tackle (unless you are racing that is); we have 10 mm on a 12 T boat its OK, similar boats on 8 mm struggle sometimes (they blow about like crisp packets) so yours on less than 13 mm would be compromised.

I would still suggest a good a good truck workshop for the windlass, they are used to dealing with all things hydraulic so it shouldn't be a challenge for them.