The red plastic knob came off in my hand when trying to pull it out to the off position. It seems the bolt is stripped and the nut will not hold. The switch still works but I hate to replace the whole thing. I tried to super glue the knob in place but did not hold past 2-3 times. Any ideas other than using pliers everytime I need to use the windlass? Thanks.
Broken anchor windlass switch...
- Thread starter SailFysh
- Start date
I will take a closer look this weekend. The bolt is very short so there is not a lot of room to work. Thanks for the idea.
Super glue works only with a tight surface-to-surface bond. I think there's a good chance that, after cleaning the threads of shaft and knob with acetone, two-part epoxy would do the job, as the threads would give an excellent grip with voids filled.
Nothing so far has worked well. I need to replace the switch. Right now I am operating by the old salty trick of a pair of vice grips!
Not sure of the length of the shaft but could you drill a small hole in the knob and through the shaft then press fit a pin into the hole? They have small pins that are designed for a compression fit like this. You can also cut the head off of a small stainless steel brad and use it as the pin with it super glued in to keep it from slipping out. I used this to fix my autopilot one time. If you want to get really fancy, you might try drilling a small hole in the knob that goes over the shaft, tap the hole to accept a small set screw and then use that. Just some thoughts.
Thanks for the ideas. If the threaded bolt that connects the knob was longer I could fashion a new knob from a piece of metal but it is very short. I can just get the vice grips to bite the end to pull and push the breaker.