The quick windlass case is aluminium, definitely not as good as ss.
Gunk from the chain sits next to the windlass and keeps salt water in constant contact with the windlass near the chain stripper. We regularly hose this out with fresh water but obviously not enough. I've been thinking of modifying the setup by cutting a thick sheet of aluminium and installing under the winch base.
My original windlass only lasted 6 years, but during this time it was used heavily, mainly in med moorings where tension was often put on the chain before the snubber was attached. We also often deployed the anchor in deep water and used tension on the chain to keep the boat straight when leaving Med moorings in strong side winds. Only ever had one circuit overload and that was when we were retrieving the anchor in 35 kn winds at 2.00 in the morning, in 15 m of water during a thunderstorm. Fuse blew when anchor just below the surface.
I don't know how much wear I had on the gears when the windlass finally failed. The gears were stripped but this could have been totally caused by the sudden forces caused by the jammed chain.
Craig
"Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia
