Anchor Winch for a 43

Hi All,

My 43 has an old Keefe anchor winch (see below).  When I bought Firebrand II, the winch was seized solid.  We have since freed-up the motor and restored it so that it is now operational.  Unfortunately, there are also problems with the winch itself. We need to replace the main bearing, the link counter gear has been stripped, and there are other issues with the switch arrangements.  I would like to keep the original winch but am currently weighing up the option of replacing it with a new one.

Does anyone have operating instructions or a manual for the Keefe winch?

Best regards
Andrew

Firebrand II (43/041)

Dear Andrew,

I do not have a manual and have no knowledge of that windlass, however, I had a Maxwell windlass on my last boat and was advised to replace it by the yard owner because it was "worn out and would fail." Honest guy for sure, but I thought I would make do and it seemed to work fine. Well, during a storm in a harbor in Newport, VA on our way south, a boat broke free and we had to pull up and move. The windlass began to pull up the chain and then fell down, literally, about 2 inches. The entire case had failed and the windlass was completely shot.

So, although I have no knowledge of you windlass, I would examine it carefully before spending too much time, energy and money on it. The windlass seems like a convenience until you really need it and then it becomes a safety concern.

Finally, there are a lot of great windlasses on the market that have a much smaller footprint that you might appreciate. Maxwell still seems to have the best reputation but there are plenty of great ones out there. If I had a big boat with room for a horizontal windlass I would love to own a Lighthouse windlass manufactured in California - not ideal for our boats, though.

Good luck!

Chris Mabel's Casse Tete 43/003

Hi Chris,

Thank you so much for your response.  Since my initial post I have gone through several iterations on which approach to take.  I had eventually decided on following your advice and scrapping the old windlass and buying a new one.  I was on the verge of ordering the new windlass when we finally worked out how the old Keefe operated.  We had already already spent some time on rehabilitating the electric motor and had located some new stainless steel bearings to replace the old rusted ones.  As a result we have decided to give the old windlass a try.  We hope to have it all back together again and in the boat for testing in the next couple of weeks. 

We are reasonably confident that it will operate properly but, if there is any hint of a problem, we will be following your advice and replacing it with a new one.

Best regards
Andrew

Firebrand II (43/041)