About half way through taking it apart I discovered why the gypsy wouldn't let chain out. There is a part called an O cone that fits into the gypsy. As you tighten the clutch nut against the gypsy, it acts as a brake. The O cone had simply gotten stuck to the gypsy since it hadn't been used in a while. All I really needed to do was knock the O cone off the gypsy with a hammer and put some grease on it.
Instead I was well on my way to rebuilding the windlass. Once I had it all taken apart I was pretty alarmed at the number of gears and the pile of parts I had created. I degreased all the gears, keys, washers, pawls, shaft idlers, and doohickeys and set them aside. My first task was to strip the paint on the case.
I like soy. We enjoy soy hotdogs, soy sausage, soy burgers, and edamame. So I naturally thought that a soy-based paint stripper would work well for stripping the paint. It's much more environmentally friendly and has less odor. Results? It just made a mess. For a stripping job like this, go with vicious cancer-causing chemicals and leave the soy for fake meat. I got my hands on some commercial-grade paint stripper made for airplanes and that did the trick. After doing plenty of research on proper aluminum painting techniques I got some acid etching primer and completed the painting.
The aluminum cover on the bottom of the case looked to have suffered some corrosion and was not suitable to use again. I sent an email to Muir to see if there was anywhere I could still get the part. They said that I would have to have one fabricated.
If you ever need pretty much any kind of metal cut to your specifications and shipped to you, checkout http://www.onlinemetals.com/. They're over in Ballard and offer will-call pickup as well. I chose the highest grade aluminum they had, chose the thickness and gave them my measurements. With shipping it was about 10 bucks and the fit was perfect. I used a grinding wheel, compliments of my father-in-law, to grind the corners off, drilled the screw holes, and it was ready to go.
The hard part was reassembly. The three main gears were attached to shafts and could only go in the case one way. My problem was with the spring-linked gears that were not attached to a shaft. Since they just kind of fell out of the case when I was taking it apart, I wasn't sure how they fit in. I didn’t have a manual for the windlass, so I emailed the nice folks at Muir down in Australia and they promptly sent me a PDF. At first glance I thought it was a schematic for a time machine.
It didn’t really spell out for me how the gears were supposed to go, so I laid them out and sent them this:
In my mind it looked more like this
This windlass will come in handy when you meet us on the West Coast of Vancouver Island this summer.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin....
Hey.. SOOOO glad I found this blog entry today.. I just got a 1972 Cheoy Lee and decided I better familiarize myself with the windlass...same hercules you describe.. i think.. it goes up but does not go down! Trying to figure out how it's supposed to operate.
ReplyDeleteyou commented: There is a part called an O cone that fits into the gypsy. As you tighten the clutch nut against the gypsy, it acts as a brake. The O cone had simply gotten stuck to the gypsy since it hadn't been used in a while. All I really needed to do was knock the O cone off the gypsy with a hammer and put some grease on it.
how do i do this?
can you drop me an email at joe@sayitright.com and maybe we can connect.. btw.. i am from Seattle but living Newport RI! I miss home!
joe
Arron, I am glad that I came aceoss your post as I have the sam windlass. I understand the lowering of the anchor and have used the windlass many times. I sanded and painted the case two years ago with bright sides and it still looks great. I am now afraid to know what the bottom covver plate looks like but in the mounted position I can not see and corrosion like you had. What great job you did nad very thoughtfull of you to post the very descriptive (and humorous) description of your rebuild. I now have grease leking from the high speed shaft on both sides. My guess is that the seals are leking. Is there a way to replace the seals on this shaft without taking everything apart? Are these O rings? I also have the "exploded" drawing of the parts and it apears to be an o ring on each side of this shaft. Any suggestions are apreciated. Gregg wgreggjohnson@gmail.com SV La Baleine 36' Cape Dory - SF Ca.
ReplyDeleteHi - I also have the Hercules windlass and, having seen your post here and having its service recommended in my last survey, I bravely removed it from the deck and brought it home. First thing that happened was it leaked gear oil all over my truck because I had it lying on its side for a week or so. I had assumed that it was just greased inside. Do you use normal 90 wt gear oil in it? Do you fill it up to those holes with the screws and rubber washers?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Jim - s/v Osprey, Crealock 34
Hi Jim, what did the surveyor intend to happen with the servicing? The rebuild I did was, in reality, totally unnecessary with the exception of replacing the cover plate on the underside. If it will bring the chain up, but not let it down, you probably just need some grease on the cone that sits inside the gypsy as these two pieces seize together over time if it's not used regularly. I was also surprised that it was filled with oil. When I took mine apart I poured the oil out first into a container so I could mark how much to put back in. It was only about half a quart (I used the 90 wt gear oil like you mentioned). On the inside, only the big gear wheel is actually dipping into the oil as the windlass is operated and it transfers the oil to the other gears. If you look at the picture I have of the gears lying on the side of the case you can see that the big geer almost touches the bottom of the case so it doesn't need a whole lot of oil in the case for that to happen.
ReplyDeleteHi Aaron - thanks for the reply! I've just disassembled mine and agree with your measurement of the oil - I drained 14 ounces, plus some had previously leaked in the back of my truck and some residual slime remained in the case... probably was 16 ounces total. I see now that there is a drain/fill plug for the oil about 3" above the base... a level just a little below the lowest shaft bearing (the high-speed shaft).
ReplyDeleteThe surveyor thought the action of my windlass was too stiff when he ratcheted it by hand. It looks pretty good inside and the only thing it needs beyond cleaning and painting is re-centering that 15-tooth idler gear... it had shifted on its bushing all the way to one side and was only partially engaging the mating gear(s?).
Thanks for a great and useful blog! I wish I were out there on the water right now!
Jim - s/v Osprey, Crealock 34
Would manually letting out anchor and chain free up the stuck cone from the weight? I have that same issue and we are away from home port so I would rather not rebuild right now
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I just thought of this 4 years into this boat using this windlass. But to release the cone what I figured out is to release the cone nut then crank the windlass like you were pulling up the anchor and it breaks the cone free. Also I find taking the cone out and putting some form of lubricant on it once a year takes care of the issue for the entire season.
DeleteSorry it left off my email
ReplyDeleteThanks for the informative blog post. I just pulled my Muir windlass off the boat with the intention of repainting the case and checking out the internals. What I found was that the internals were just fine, so no need to make any changes or take it completely apart. The gears were very tight to the shafts anyway, so without a press, a big hammer or some heat they were not going to come off. So I masked off the shafts and spray painted the case with self-etching primer and enamel. Then I replaced the bottom plate. (Mine was also corroded). Good tip for OnlineMetals.com.
ReplyDeleteI contacted Muir about what lube to use and they sent me a manual that specifies Shell Alvania EP R0. It is more a grease than an oil. NGLI Consistency grade 0 is supposed to be about the consistency of brown mustard. It does not seem to be available anymore but some sites say Shell Gadus S2 V220 0 is equivalent. I am using some NGLI 00 grease I got at Tractor Supply. The advantage of these greases is that they are less prone to leaking than oil would be.
I also found an exploded view in an old manual that should show the gear alignment. It is a nice isometric view. Unfortunately two of the gear positions are reversed compared to what I see on my windlass. Other than that it is very helpful.
Good afternoon, by any chance do have a blow up of the windlass. I just purchased one from ebay. It looks decent, but what surprises wait for me on the inside. I heard they are rock solid, but even rocks after time develop interior cracks that weaken them. I hope not, but I'm ready. Hopefully you can help with any information you may have available.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Thank you for posting the Hercules windlass rebuild information. If you would consider sharing the PDF, I would be very grateful. Thank you - Ross Hubbard, ross@maritimesurveyors.com
ReplyDelete