Simpson Lawrence Windlass Help

[Mike H.]

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you can help me.
We bought a 2004 Hunter Passage 420 CC spring of 2023.
Been getting to know the boat.
Tried operating the anchor windlass yesterday and when operating the switches it just made a clicking sound and would not reverse out any chain.
Motor seems to be stuck.
There is some corrosion on the bottom of the shaft.
I cannot find an owners manual for this windlass on the internet, (or on the boat!)
Can someone identify this windlass and point me in the direction of a manual so I can service this thing.

Thanks!

Mike

 

[marcham]

1) Was the engine running? Some models have a relay that requires the alternator to be running for the windlass motor to receive power.
2) Do you have a windlass breaker near the battery switch? Many hunters had a switch on the main breaker panel for the foot switches and a seperate breaker/switch for the power to the motor. Both have to be on for it to work.
3) Does it work in manual mode if you undo the clutch?

Looks like a Simpson Lawrence Sprint 1000 or 1500.

Hunter does a good job of making manuals available:

https://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/export/Owners-Manuals/420%20Owner's%20Manual%202004.pdf

Index of /wp-content/export/Model-Information/420 Hunter x

 

[marcham]

I assume your mast and boom kicker are made by Selden? They also have manuals on their website for the furling systems.

 

[marcham]

And another...

http://slspares.co.uk/pdf/Website%20Manuals/Instruction%20Manuals/Sprint%20Atlantic.pdf

 

[Mike H.]

Thanks. It is a Sprint Atlantic.
It has one circuit breaker. When I press the reverse or forward button it just makes a clicking sound.
Next time I am on the boat I will try with the engine running.
It appears the last time the anchor was raised they brought it in tight with the windlass and left it in that state. No slack on the chain.
I'll manually deploy the anchor and chain, (now that I have an operation manual), and see if that lets the motor work.

 

[marcham]

From the manual, it seems engine has to be running and there is a windlass motor breaker on the start battery switch panel (not the main DC panel) or wired in series from the start battery switch, you're looking for another breaker near the battery switches.

The breaker on the main DC panel (pictured above) is only for the foot switches.

The windlass breaker is probably this type:

 

[shemandr]

On my H356 the breaker was beneath the nav table on the bulkhead. If I remember the battery switch was there too.
If you hear a clicking when you press the foot switch the circuit is energized. So I don't think it's the breaker. There may not be enough juice to run the motor or the motor could be seized.
As for connections I would look first at the connections on the bow and underneath the deck. That area gets plenty of spray and is exposed to rain - wind driven at times. I used to keep a plastic grocery bag on the windless to keep the rain off it. Someone on this forum @Rick486 suggested that because rain can get in there.

Check your windlass!?

Those of you with a windlass made by Simpson Lawrence should get them checked out. Met someone else yesterday with the same manufacturing fault as me, defective seals means water passes THROUGH the middle, rotting/ breaking the bearings within and letting water into your boat. Not good...

forums.sailboatowners.com

 

[Sailgunner]

One of the best upgrades I did recently was replaced my Simson Lawrence with a new Lewmar. What a difference!

 

[ice breaker]

Could be a bad solenoid/batery contactor too.

 

[Rich Stidger]

It's not the breaker or the switch, because there would be no clicking if either were faulty.
In addition to the possibility of a bad solenoid, I can tell you that the S-L windlasses have a french- made motor that is known for bad brushes.
If you find that the problem is failed brushes, the best solution is to replace the entire motor with a motor made in the UK. Contact slspares that was mentioned in a post above.

 

[marcham]

With the main DC panel windlass breaker ON, the windlass controller box would "click" when pressing the foot switches, but without the windlass motor breaker ON and the engine running to power the windlass motor, nothing would happen.

 

[Rich Stidger]

With the main DC panel windlass breaker ON, the windlass controller box would "click" when pressing the foot switches, but without the windlass motor breaker ON and the engine running to power the windlass motor, nothing would happen.

Ok, I stand corrected. This boat is wired completely different from mine.

 

[DRhoads]

Check your starter battery. If low all you will get is clicking. Start the engine, take it up to around 1200 RPM (in natural of course) then try. If this works the starter battery is low. I have the same boat had the same issue and this works. Of course, this assumes you have already checked all the cable connections, secure, clean, etc. it's. a long way from the windless to the battery.

 

[gfrazzle]

Motor brushes can get corroded from sitting idle as stated above. I had a bareboat charter in the BVI a while back and the windlass quit after anchoring over night. Charter company maintenance sent a "mechanic" who said it happened all the time. He pounded on the windlass with his trusty hammer and it worked fine for the rest of the charter! I wouldn't recommend this procedure!

 

[joelm100]

View attachment 222281

Yep, exactly. Marcham's got it I think. Occasionally my breaker will trip (not the one on the panel but the big one under my nav table, next to the battery switches). I just get the relay clicking when I push or release the up/down buttons. Resetting the breaker fixes the problem. I agree with Marcham that the smallish panel switch energizes the relay, but the real power is getting pulled through the thick 00 copper wire attached to the big breaker.

 

[flightlead404]

I doubt the engine needs to be running to run the windlass, at least, assuming the start battery has juice. maybe the start batt is dead or there are weak/corroded terminals there or at the windlass. I believe your windlass is wired right off the start battery switch battery post, but check its not on the switched side and the switch is off.

I have the same windlass. When I bought mine it was pretty corroded and I had to unmount from the boat, take it home, and took hours to disassemble it with a dremmel. Rebuilt kits with bearings are available. I cleaned and regreased with red marine wheel bearing grease. Works great now.

 

[dkinzer]

Rebuilt kits with bearings are available.

The rebuild kit for the Sprint Atlantic windlass is available from P2 Marine:
Sprint Atlantic Rebuild Kit

The parts in the kit are relatively common, the seal being somewhat difficult to find but nonetheless available. I was able to find the seal at MRO Supply. A screen capture of the parts is in the attached image.



Sourcing the parts individually would probably cost a third or so of the P2 Marine kit. For example, a two pack of the Timken 6005-2RS bearing is available on Amazon for less than $16 with free shipping. The seal at MRO supply is $8.35 (p/n 1469982) but you must buy two of them and shipping is free. The snap rings and O-ring may be found at a well-stocked local hardware store.

 

[JoeWhite]

It would help if the engine is running, since it will increase the voltage and reduce the current which causes the circuit breaker to trip.

 

[flightlead404]

It would help if the engine is running, since it will increase the voltage and reduce the current which causes the circuit breaker to trip.

right but its unlikely to be wired such that it won't run unless its running, eg with a contactor or something.

if the battery is close to dead it might activate the solenoid but not the motor, ie the "click" OP is hearing. alternately corroded or otherwise high resistance connections between the battery and motor. I definitely had that, cleaning them made a huge difference.

 

[Mike H.]

I ran the engine, found the windlass breaker and switched it on and turned the regular circuit breaker on it works!