Screwy Designs: What were those guys thinking?

[Kings Gambit]

I sometimes amuse myself while fixing yet again something on the boat, the construction or installation of which, appears to violate common sense--i.e., what were those (design) guys thinking? I suppose others have noticed this too and that has led to the oft-repeated phrase among ads "...a well thought-out design." As opposed to one that is not well thought out.

The Bavaria 38 has an anchor locker up forward. Mounted inside the locker is a narrow "platform" on which the vertical windlass, an SL 1000, is mounted through a hole cut in the platform. Works very well. But the screwy thing is that the windlass electric motor juts down into the locker. So, it's not protected from water entering the locker from above (or anywhere else). After 2 to 3 years of use the motor "burns out" due to build-up of deposits where the brushes are internally. The brush-holder piece is made of pot metal. I'm now on my third motor in 12 yrs of owning the boat @ $500 each. Why was not the area where the motor goes enclosed? Very strange. Of course, I've done everything I can think of to protect the motor from water ingress EXCEPT rebuild the locker.

THE WINDLASS, SL SPRINT 1000 BY LEWMAR

THE REPLACEMENT MOTOR @ $500 EACH, THAT "SEES" WATER

What other screwy designs have others encountered?

 

[justsomeguy]

It has its moments.

 

[markwbird]

Maybe the best example of "WTF Engineering" is the compression post issue on the H-34. Base of mast to header beam to top of post do not all line up very well so you get about one square inch of bearing area. Guess what the result of this is.

 

[quadrille38]

One of mine is when the engineers put something like a stanchion bolt (an item that will obviously require service at some point) in a place where it is physically impossible to get a socket or a wrench on it.

 

[capta]

Of course, I've done everything I can think of to protect the motor from water ingress EXCEPT rebuild the locker.

Why not dip the motor in liquid electrical tape or some other similar item to make it waterproof? Of course, heat will build up faster in the motor, so don't run the windlass continuously for long periods, but rather short spurts.
That should solve your problem.

 

[Roland5048]

If all the designers and engineers were required to go do some work on the boat after construction, we would see some radical changes.

 

[Gunni]

Vertical windlass motor failures are many and common. And those motors are Lucas Electric. Just saying. Until water stops flowing downward you should consider replacing your windlass with a horizontal windlass that puts the motor in a sealed compartment behind the windlass gear. It is just a better design, and you should have room for it in your anchor locker.

I just tossed my 13 year old Simpson-Lawrence (Lewmar) into the metal recycling bin over at the landfill - for want of a proprietary $600 British DC motor. The drive gears were perfect, but when the windlass housing corroded and leaked it took the electric motor.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Vertical windlass motor failures are many and common. And those motors are Lucas Electric. Just saying. Until water stops flowing downward you should consider replacing your windlass with a horizontal windlass that puts the motor in a sealed compartment behind the windlass gear. It is just a better design, and you should have room for it in your anchor locker.

I just tossed my 13 year old Simpson-Lawrence (Lewmar) into the metal recycling bin over at the landfill - for want of a proprietary $600 British DC motor. The drive gears were perfect, but when the windlass housing corroded and leaked it took the electric motor.

Yeah, I can see that. In the last one I took apart, the "sealed" bearing on which the armature spins, located at the bottom of the motor where the brushes are, was rusted up, and frozen. I took it off and pressed on another that I matched from McMaster Carr. The armature and bearing are now "waiting" to be reassembled w/ the housing as a spare as soon as I figure out how to reattach one magnet that came loose from the cylinder housing! The windlass is a joke; it's unprotected installation in a locker that can become awash is a joke. But, the joke's on me! A horizontal replacement might be the best next step.

 

[Gunni]

Your motor shaft extends up into that wet, salty gypsy / gearbox assembly and the only thing protecting your electric motor from water is some kind of motor shaft seal. It just isn't a good design. You could glass a cover over the motor below, but my guess is the cover would fill with water from above. The Lewmar H2 and H3 are good replacements.

 

[dlochner]

If you haven't read Bill Bishop's Blog, you should.
The Marine Installer's Rant: Hosed

 

[Ron20324]

Maybe come up with a cover for it when not in use- and/or a deck plate over it. I see a drain notch in the base plate, so they must have considered it a little bit. We assume there is a gasket between the motor and mounting surface.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Your motor shaft extends up into that wet, salty gypsy / gearbox assembly and the only thing protecting your electric motor from water is some kind of motor shaft seal. It just isn't a good design. You could glass a cover over the motor below, but my guess is the cover would fill with water from above. The Lewmar H2 and H3 are good replacements.

A rubber boot that slips on from the bottom up to cover the motor comes with the full assembly. It did collect water until I essentially cut away part of the bottom of it so water could drain out. However, if water is slipping down the motor shaft from the gear box then no external enclosure would be the solution, clearly. The gearbox is packed with grease so it's hard to imagine water getting past all of it and down the shaft into the motor. Probably the best thing to do now, with the present version, is to take it off and service it ahead of much [inevitable] damage. It's a PIA b/c the wiring has to be snipped and then re-crimped when the unit is put back. Still, I cannot imagine that this motor unit was ever meant to be in contact with seawater. The cap-head bolts that hold the assembly together are not stainless and therefore rust. The cylinder itself losses paint after about a year and also rusts.

 

[Gunni]

If it is any consolation I replaced the entire windlass when I saw the 12 VDC replacement motor my $600 was going to buy. In my situation I did not have confidence I could adequately reseal the motor cover, and the Lewmar motor is clearly not built for exposure to moisture.

 

[Sailm8]

Whats with the backwards water pump cover on Yanmar GM series? Couldn't the cover have been placed facing out?

 

[Kings Gambit]

Whats with the backwards water pump cover on Yanmar GM series? Couldn't the cover have been placed facing out?

Yeah-- that's pretty goofy. I have the advantage, however, of a side access to the Yanmar from my port quarter berth so I can get "behind" the pump location, remove the cover fairly easily, and pull the impeller, etc.

 

[DSqr]

Vertical windlass motor failures are many and common. And those motors are Lucas Electric. Just saying. Until water stops flowing downward you should consider replacing your windlass with a horizontal windlass that puts the motor in a sealed compartment behind the windlass gear. It is just a better design, and you should have room for it in your anchor locker.

I just tossed my 13 year old Simpson-Lawrence (Lewmar) into the metal recycling bin over at the landfill - for want of a proprietary $600 British DC motor. The drive gears were perfect, but when the windlass housing corroded and leaked it took the electric motor.

Lucas is also known for making the ignition systems for the British Leyland roadsters and British refrigerators. That's why the MGs, Jags, and Triumphs never ran and why the British drink their beer warm.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

Lucas is also known for making the ignition systems for the British Leyland roadsters and British refrigerators. That's why the MGs, Jags, and Triumphs never ran and why the British drink their beer warm.

1+ Lucas, God of Darkness!

 

[Ukeluthier]

Lucas is also known for making the ignition systems for the British Leyland roadsters and British refrigerators. That's why the MGs, Jags, and Triumphs never ran and why the British drink their beer warm.

Back in the late '60s when I owned a Triumph TR3 and an MG Midget (both with Lucas electrics) in succession, I had a British sports car repair manual that had an apropos Latin motto on the title page of each chapter. The one for the chapter on electrical systems translated to: "Why, when Britannia rules the waves, will her cars not go through a mud puddle?"

 

[Jacktar]

I used to own a austin healey MK 2 sprite, everything not needed for basic operation down the road broke or fell off eventually, rear view mirrors, hub end covers, etc. British no how.

 

[Gunni]

Yeah, we give the Brits a hard time about their cars, but I still have a thing for those old dry-sump Nortons, Triumphs and the exotic Vincents. A T100C still rests in my shed, ready to roll. And what little I know about DC wiring I learned struggling to keep the lights lit on an old TR5. Anyone seen one of those? (no googling).