Maxwell 800 VW, VWC & VWCLP Windlass — Owner's Manual

Location & Mounting

1. Dual direction UP/DOWN, “UP” clockwise looking down. Deckplate pointing at the incoming chain with its left hand side parallel to it; clear run from a vertically grooved bow roller; room to swing the emergency crank clear of pulpit, lifelines or bulwark.
2. Chain outlet over the locker with at least 300mm (1 ft) clear fall; locker bulkhead between chain outlet and gearbox if possible; gearbox indexes through 4 positions. Chainstopper between windlass and bow roller, clear of the anchor stock, chain not deflected.
3. Standard units take decks up to 100mm (4"); extra clearance models 100mm to 150mm (6"). Staying within these lets the gearbox come off as a sealed unit without dismantling the topworks.
4. If the motor is packed separately, offer it up aligning the drive pin with the slot in the worm and fit the two bolts and washers (plus nuts on hydraulic motors).
5. Strip the topworks (cap, screw, washer, clutch nut, drum on VWC, stripper/chain cover, cones and chainwheel, keys, ring seal) and remove the deckplate. With the gearbox horizontal the oil should show half way up the sight glass (SAE90, do not over fill).
6. Bed the deckplate on the gasket, fit washers and nuts from below and tighten progressively and evenly; no power tools. Grease the shaft (Shell Alvania R2, Castrol AP2), feed it through, locate the spacer tube on the spigot, choose one of four positions and bolt up evenly; reassemble the greased topworks with the keys properly seated.
7. The deck cut-out detail in the manual is marked for reference only, not as a template.

Electrical & Hydraulic

• Footswitches at least 500mm (20") away; reversing solenoid dry and close to the windlass (never in the chain locker); breaker/isolator within 1.8 metres (72") of cable length from the battery.
• Controls and footswitches in 1.5mm² (16 AWG), with a manually resettable ignition proof fuse or breaker within 1 metre (40") of the power source on line 2.
• Hydraulic basic system: engine driven pump or single function power pack, bi-directional solenoid valve worked by the toggle remote or footswitches; Maxwell's Hydraulic Single Function Controller adds pump clutch or power pack starter control and must be mounted dry.

Approximately 10% maximum voltage drop; insulation rated at least 90ºC.

Anchoring

• Under power: lever (item 55) in the clutch nut, tighten clockwise, REMOVE THE LEVER, hold “DOWN” or “UP”; jog in the last metre when docking.
• Manual lowering: stand clear and slowly back off the clutch nut; tighten to slow, ease to speed up; never let the chainwheel free wheel.
• Emergency crank: chainstopper engaged; remove cap, screw, washer, clutch nut and drum; place the lever on the chainwheel with its drive pin in the hole and against the shaft; refit drum and clutch nut LIGHTLY and pull the lever clockwise; the stopper takes the load when eased off.
• Chain cover (VWC, VWCLP): to clear a jam loosen the captive knurled pin (item 57) and swing the cover (item 10) clockwise; refit in reverse.
• VW 800 with rope/chain rode: stop the powered run short of the chain-to-rope transition, engage the stopper, lift the chain off the chainwheel and work the rope on the drum (painting the last few feet of chain helps); reverse the sequence to recover.

Warping Drum

• Chainstopper engaged (VW 800), lever in the clutch nut and back it off counter clockwise until it stops: the capstan turns while the chainwheel stays still.
• Several clockwise turns, pull on the tail and operate “UP”; tail load controls the haul rate; never so many turns that easing the tail will not let the rope slip.
• Never use the windlass or chainstopper as a mooring point; secure the anchor with a nylon line or a pin through the bow roller when under way.