Sprint Atlantic windlass on Hunter 410

[Don Lucas]

I got my 2001 Hunter 410 this year. It has a Simpson lawrence windlass and my manual that was in the literture says it is a Sprint Atlantic which I assume came with the boat.

The plastic Control Arm got all torn up by the chan wrapping around it. During the search for a new 1 I started looking at the drawing and how it says the chain/rope go though the unit.

The manual indicates that the chain goes around the gipsy, on the back side the Control arm is on the outside of the chain so that the chain is between the Control Arm and the gipsy, under a cover and down the chain pipe sleeve.

But the chain wasn't routed this way when I got the boat and the chain just wrapped around the gipsy. To me it seemed that the chain went on the outside of the Control arm and then dropped into the anchor chain well . It always looked to me that the Control Arm was there to push the chain out of the gipsy. I don't think there even is a hole for the chain to route though the pipe sleeve into the well (but since I never have really looked at it from forward maybe I'm wrong)..

How are other people's windlass setup especially for a 410?

 

[Don12364]

There is a device called a 'Fleming', a black plastic 'U' shaped piece that sits at the bottom of the deep groove in the gypsy, it runs inside the chain and forces the chain out of the groove after the chain has been 180° round the gypsy. It is held by two screws into the windlass base on the forward side (and these need to be taken out before the gypsy can be lifted off its shaft).
See item 85 on p17 of the manual below.

There is also a 'Control Arm' item 84 p17 whose job is to ride on the outside of the chain to keep it in contact with the gypsy, particularly if the windlass clutch is suddenly released and the anchor allowed to free fall.
I think you are assuming this control arm is intended to ease the chain off the windlass but this is incorrect.

To thread the windlass pull the control arm outwards whilst easing the chain between it and the gypsy. Then let it spring back into position on to the chain.
KEEP WELL CLEAR OF THE UP/DOWN BUTTONS WHILST DOING THIS.

Windlasses cannot distinguish between fingers and chain!

See:-
http://www.lewmar.com/\assets\img\dataset\Manual-Sprint Atlantic B.pdf

 

[Don Lucas]

But if there isn't a route for the chain to go under the cover and down the chian pipe sleeve?

Waiting to heard about other installations from 410 owners.

 

[Don Lucas]

After 129 thread views you would think someone had either a 410 or a similar late model boat with a windlass who could comment on whether their chain just went around it or though the cover and down the pipe sleeve.

 

[Phil Herring]

Not sure if this will help, but it may show what you need (see image attached).

 

[Don Lucas]

That's funny because Hunter sent me that same excat photo earlier today.

It's also funny sad because Lewmar says doing it this way is wrong.

 

[seadaddler]

Manual

I am pretty sure I have same model on my 07 H-36 and a few months ago even serviced it taking partly apart to grease, do as the manual said to do and that is how mine is setup.
No pipe sleeve just around the gypsy and through the cover in between control arm and gypsy over and down into anchor locker
Nick

 

[Don Lucas]

I am pretty sure I have same model on my 07 H-36 and a few months ago even serviced it taking partly apart to grease, do as the manual said to do and that is how mine is setup.
No pipe sleeve just around the gypsy and through the cover in between control arm and gypsy over and down into anchor locker
Nick

If it goes though the cover that would be different

 

[seadaddler]

Cover Plate

2 screws hold down the cover plate where chain goes through and where control arm presses against chain and is spring loaded.
Nick

 

[Sailgunner]

I took a picture of mine and will share it with you after I get it downloaded. We have a lot of pictures on the disk and my wife informed me that "she" has to download them. However, the chain from the anchor comes in, goes around the gypsy and then down into the anchor well under the windless.

 

[seadaddler]

More info

Are the up and down buttons marked up next to the achor locker,can't remember if the chain comes onto the windlass through the cover plate with the control arm and than around the gypsy and into the locker,must be what I just said,is that how yours is or not.
Nick

 

[Don12364]

Now we see the problem. IMHO the windlass in Phil's photo is dangerous.
The wrap around the gypsy is only about 120° and, unlike a horizontal axis windlass where gravity helps to hold the chain on the gypsy, yours only remains on the gypsy by good luck, and then the control arm forces the chain off.
Should the chain jump when paying out or recovering the rode it will rapidly rattle away in an uncontrolled manner. This is what the control arm is there to prevent. Hands and anything in the way will be severed. You only need to see one chain runaway in your life!

On earlier boats Hunter had the chain fitted correctly under the control arm and then dropping through the hole and into the locker under the deck. They didn't quite get the geometry right and often the chain piled up in the locker, the chain pipe filled up and then the windlass jammed. I know because my H376 is like this and I needed to modify it.

Accordingly, rather than solve the problem, Hunter abandoned this concept and moved away from the below deck locker to an open bin type accessible from above. Then the user could manually shift the chain about as necessary to avoid jams - (also very dangerous).
So there was now no way of feeding the chain through the correct outlet hole.

Also they did not want to mount the windlass with the outlet port overhanging the chain bin because the windlass would have been largely unsupported being so close to the edge of the bin.
So they 'made the best of a bad job' and left owners with this poor arrangement.

If it were mine I would cut the cover away in an inverted 'U', or remove it altogether, to allow the chain to pass over the outlet port and on into the bin. Fill the port with a wood plug and run the chain under the control arm as the windlass designer intended.

BTW When I first had trouble with the chain blocking my windlass I went to talk to Lewmar (Simpson Lawrence) as they are only a few miles away. The man in their drawing office said that your windlass was specially modified for the American market (maybe Hunter?), having a plastic shroud etc and there were no spares available.
That was in 1966 so spares may have improved by now.

 

[Don Lucas]

I got a message from Lewmar today also saying they made a special windlass for Hunter that has a cutout in the windlass under the chain pipe cover. I'll find out when I go tonight (biggest project is getting ready for Irene).

If I find a cutout; I wonder how many people are using their windlass with the chain routed wrong?

I did get another pgoto that shows it run correctly;

 

[Rick486]

I operate my windlass with the cover plate removed. Works fine and allows me to transition from the nylon rode to the chain on recovery. I have 120 ft of chain and 200 ft of 5/8" nylon. And yes it is necessary to manually intervene as the chain piles up on the incline down to the locker.

 

[Don Lucas]

Turns out that the chain on my 410 does in fact run under the chain cover and down the chain pipe sleeve. Now that I have replaced the torn up control arm and run the chain the right way I hope it will work without jamming up. I did verify that the chain matches the gpisy while I had it apart.