Installing New Chainwheel Windlass

[Jeff652]

As you know, the standard windlass of the 310 has only a capstan (drum) and no gypsy (chainwheel) and the kit to modify the VC500 to a VW500 is no longer available. So with the idea of doing some extended cruising, I just purchased and installed a new Maxwell VW 500 windlass with a chain wheel (gypsy) . The footprint of the shaft (spacer) tube is the same as that of the VC500 (with some important caveats) but the VC500 has 4 studs and the VW500 has only 3. I had to fill the old holes and drill the new ones. That was not very difficult. The hard part was installing what's called the the "collar" (a #!?*%@*# split ring plastic retaining washer); a very long story. Otherwise it was "fairly" straightforward. However, there are a lot of little details that I have learned that would save an would be installer a lot of time. The manual is woefully inadequate and even has some errors. I discovered this by contacting Maxwell. They (Will Vrooman) were very helpful and knowledgeable. If you are considering installing the VW500, let me know & I will give you a lot of very useful hints.

Jeff

 

[Bob James]

Jeff: A short summary of your experience would make a great article for the technical section of Mainsheet Magazine. Let me know if you would be willing to write up a short article and maybe include some digital pictures if you have them. Let me know if you would be willint to do this. The next (November) issue closes on September 10th.

 

[jonfreeman]

I would be interested in such an article! Dust off that keyboard

Jon Freeman
C-310 "Summer Sojourn"
Tacoma, WA

 

[Jeff652]

Thanks for the interest. I'll try to remember all the in's & out's of the project and gather some pics. It will take me a bit of time but I'll put it near the top on my to-do list.

 

[Tom J]

I had contacted Maxwell a couple of years ago about the conversion kit you mentioned, and they only had one left, probably the last one. I would have bought it, but they wanted $900 for it! Could you give us an idea what the new windlass cost?

 

[Jeff652]

Hi Tom,
Your right, the conversion kit can no longer to be found anywhere. I purchased the new Maxwell VW500 for $ 1,249.00 from Marine Deal. I looked around and they had the best price. One point to keep in mind is that the gypsy will not accept a chain larger than 1/4 inch. I still intend to write an article about how I installed it but I'm very strapped for time now. If you do purchase one, do not install it without consulting me. What took me 4 days and much frustration can be reduced to 1 day and relatively smooth sailing.

Jeff

 

[Tom J]

Thanks, Jeff. Doesn't sound like a bad price for a brand new windlass. Unfortunately, my chain is larger than 1/4 ". As long as I'm not anchoring in 100' of water, I should be able to continue hauling the anchor by hand. If I do replace the windlass, I'd appreciate your advice and experiance.