Wiring up the 24V Muir electric winch

I don't think I'll have a problem with humidity as I have X6 Dorade Boxes and every port (window) can open (even when it is raining)
I have lived in the tropics (incl. Nauru Island) and mold can be a real problem in un-ventilated yachts. Onshore we would never close our wardrobe in the "wet" season even though we had o/d fans.
 
coopec said:
I don't think I'll have a problem with humidity as I have X6 Dorade Boxes and every port (window) can open (even when it is raining)
I have lived in the tropics (incl. Nauru Island) and mold can be a real problem in un-ventilated yachts. Onshore we would never close our wardrobe in the "wet" season even though we had o/d fans.
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I think you have a lack of understanding about what causes corrosion on a yacht. Our previous boat had very poor electrics. It came like that. No wires were tinned. We sailed her across the Atlantic and back. By the time we got back we had numerous electrical faults. Lights didn't work, instruments failed, autopilot would trip out.
I decided to completely rewire the boat in tinned wire. I installed a new distribution board. Whilst stripping out old wires to overhead cabin lights I found corrosion had run 6ft up the copper wires. The copper was black with corrosion. The salt water environment corrodes the copper. It doesn't need immersion in salt water. It just needs immersion in a salt water atmosphere. In my opinion, if you intend to do any serious sailing in your boat, it would be a mistake to not install proper tinned wires throughout to every device. Compared to the value of your investment in the boat, tinned wire is a minor cost but none tinned wires can cause havoc just when you don't need it
 
geem said:
I think you have a lack of understanding about what causes corrosion on a yacht. Our previous boat had very poor electrics. It came like that. No wires were tinned. We sailed her across the Atlantic and back. By the time we got back we had numerous electrical faults. Lights didn't work, instruments failed, autopilot would trip out.
I decided to completely rewire the boat in tinned wire. I installed a new distribution board. Whilst stripping out old wires to overhead cabin lights I found corrosion had run 6ft up the copper wires. The copper was black with corrosion. The salt water environment corrodes the copper. It doesn't need immersion in salt water. It just needs immersion in a salt water atmosphere. In my opinion, if you intend to do any serious sailing in your boat, it would be a mistake to not install proper tinned wires throughout to every device. Compared to the value of your investment in the boat, tinned wire is a minor cost but none tinned wires can cause havoc just when you don't need it
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Well! I can't argue with that,(y)
 
Tinned three core cable would be better, but this is not a mission critical application. It is only connecting a secondary switch with low current (typically around 1A). If the wire developed high resistance, the cockpit switch would not work, but that still leaves the windlass foot switches.

If it was my boat I would forget about a cockpit switch and install a wireless remote as others have suggested in this thread. This can be operated from anywhere, removing the limitations of a fixed switch. It is easier to install and less expensive, especially compared to using the correct three strand marine wire.

If contemplating this option the industrial crane remotes are worth considering. They are dearer than more common 4wd winch remotes, but are more rugged, use standard sized batteries and enable small amounts of chain to be retrieved, which is useful when “parking” the anchor.
 
noelex said:
Tinned three core cable would be better, but this is not a mission critical application. It is only connecting a secondary switch with low current (typically around 1A). If the wire developed high resistance, the cockpit switch would not work, but that still leaves the windlass foot switches.

If it was my boat I would forget about a cockpit switch and install a wireless remote as others have suggested in this thread. This can be operated from anywhere, removing the limitations of a fixed switch. It is easier to install and less expensive, especially compared to using the correct three strand marine wire.

If contemplating this option the industrial crane remotes are worth considering. They are dearer than more common 4wd winch remotes, but are more rugged, use standard sized batteries and enable small amounts of chain to be retrieved, which is useful when “parking” the anchor.
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Noel
One of these remote garage door type of controls is near the top of my priorities but I want to get the yacht in the water first.

I can't believe just how cheap the wireless controls are but I suppose you get what you pay for. But anyway I think it is good to have a back-up for this type of gear.
 
coopec said:
Noel
One of these remote garage door type of controls is near the top of my priorities but I want to get the yacht in the water first.

I can't believe just how cheap the wireless controls are but I suppose you get what you pay for. But anyway I think it is good to have a back-up for this type of gear.
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There are three basic ways to control the windlass. Cockpit switches, foot switches by the windlass and radio remote. We have had all three at some point. The only one we use now with two of us onboard is the foot switches. They are perfectly positioned to allow the person operating the windlass to see the chain and anchor as it is retrieved/deployed. Our wireless remote had no use as we found we would be in the bow whilst using the windlass so why not use the easy to use foot switches. You can't drop a foot switch and foot switches allow you two free hands. We still have cockpit switches but never use them. They are a back up for foot switches should they fail but they have been in use 12 years without a problem.
Others will tell you they prefer a different system and a think some of that depends on foredeck layout/ foot switch position.
 
Actually I think these wireless anchor controllers you guys are talking about are "old hat". I'm going to control my anchor winch using my Android phone :cool:

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I was beginning to think I made a mistake installing the winch controls in the cockpit (and fore deck)

But thinking about it further I think it is money well spent:

Cost of winch .................................... $2600
Reversing solenoid ............................ $250
................................................................ $2850
Cable/rocker switch to cockpit........... 50
TOTAL .................................................. $2900

Now I can spend $40(?) to buy a wireless control. (Nice to have redundancy?):unsure:
 
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Well the winch is working from the cockpit as well as the fore-deck.

But the fore-deck switch is "UP" only. I can't remember why I didn't install an UP/DOWN switch.
Will that be a problem?

When wiring up the winch I inadvertently touched the positive and negative cables: there was a loud "bang" and flash then nothing. I quickly traced it to the circuit breaker. (I thought that was encouraging)
 
coopec said:
Well the winch is working from the cockpit as well as the fore-deck.

But the fore-deck switch is "UP" only. I can't remember why I didn't install an UP/DOWN switch.
Will that be a problem?

When wiring up the winch I inadvertently touched the positive and negative cables: there was a loud "bang" and flash then nothing. I quickly traced it to the circuit breaker. (I thought that was encouraging)
Click to expand...

We have up and down foot switches in the bow and a rocker switch (up down) at the helm. I don't think foot switches are that expensive nor wiring complicated - I'd install - but that's me :)

Many here don't power down - they simply release the clutch. Its quicker than powering down but as our windlass operates at 30m/min I'm not sure it is much different. Our windlass is quite far aft, under the deck, and if we had to release the clutch for deployment we would not be able to look over the bow checking for sand patches. Quick deployment is needed when you want to drop the anchor into a specific small area - a sand patch in a field of weed. I do use the rocker switch at the helm when its windy and I need to operate everything single handed as I cannot control the engine nor steering from the bow. In this situation I'd break the anchor out + some chain, motor to somewhere where I no longer need to worry about running into something when drifting - and then retreive at the bow. As Geem seems to say - its better to be at the bow as you can see the anchor, clean the mud, if any, and know exactly when the anchor approaches the bow roller - because you can see it. You will also be wise to secure the anchor when it is retrieved home, as the clutch can slip - so you need to be at the bow (at some stage). I've never felt the need for a remote. We can operate the foot switches at the bow, the deck wash and hang onto the forestay, one person.

If your foot switches are not actually at the bow, but well back on the foredeck it would be possible that you cannot see over the bow roller nor access the deck wash to clean the anchor - bad planning or an inherited nuisance. But remotes use one hand, so you need a necklace and you might want one hand for the deck wash and one to hang onto the forestay - as you lean over the bow to remove/wash off the mud.

Jonathan
 
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