Muir Lynx HR600, HR/HRC650 & HFF600 Horizontal Windlass — Owner's Manual

Mounting

1. Locate the windlass centrally fore and aft using the deck template or the windlass base plate, with an unhindered lead to the anchor roller. The chain leads onto the starboard side of the gypsy and must wrap at least 120°; fit a Muir fairlead roller if needed to achieve it. Leave room for the clutch handle.
2. Gypsy centre in the same plane as the chain lead; shaped mounting block on an angled or curved deck.
3. Mark and drill from the template. Bed base plate and block in sealant (e.g. Sikaflex 271) and tighten nuts and washers on the threaded studs below; remove excess sealant.
4. Aluminium or steel hull: non-conductive gasket, also below deck. Light or foam-sandwich deck: plywood stiffener of at least 16mm (5/8") with large washers.
5. Place the supplied base plate on the deck, lower the windlass into the pre-cut holes and tighten washers and nuts from below.
6. Grease all moving parts and the deck plate grease nipple with lithium/Teflon grease; protect the motor/gear drive with anti-corrosion film or grease tape.

Chain Locker

• Lead the chain to the centre of the locker; against a bulkhead or the stem it pyramids and jams.
• Redirect with a metal tube under the hawser, at least 1 ½ times the chain width and as vertical as possible.

HR600 / HR650 / HRC650

• Manual release: handle in the clutch drive bi-square, turn anti-clockwise; control the chain by tightening clockwise (clutch as a brake).
• Before retrieving, tighten the clutch clockwise and remove the handle; if the anchor is buried, secure the line and motor forward.
• At anchor use a chain stopper, bridle or snubber; never use the windlass as a mooring bollard.
• DOWN reverses the motor and drops the anchor; release to stop, or lower further by releasing the clutch. Mark the line at 2 and 5 metre (6.5' & 16.5') intervals and go slowly for the last few metres.

HFF600 Free Fall

1. DOWN (or reversing) releases the clutch and the gypsy free-wheels, launching the anchor.
2. UP tightens the clutch and takes up slack – only once anchor and rode are on the bottom, never during free fall.
3. Retrieve with UP while motoring towards the anchor.
4. To power down without free fall, remove the declutching pawl; the clutch can then be worked by hand (right-hand thread: anti-clockwise to release, clockwise to tighten).
5. Grease the declutching pawl on top of the chain pipe periodically.
6. Tension the RCMS nylon finger (R40-FGRPVC0600A) onto the gypsy without line fitted: release grub screw S35-30406.35006 and adjust finger pin P15-PIN30415.88X41.

Free-fall windlasses need an isolation switch as well as a circuit breaker, so rope and chain cannot pay out if the winch is reversed accidentally.

Servicing HR600 / HR650 / HFF600

1. Tools: clutch handle, flat and Phillips screwdrivers, 3/16" and 1/8" Allen keys.
2. Clutch handle in the clutch cap bi-square, turn anti-clockwise to back off the clutch nut.
3. Hold the spring-loaded finger pin with a flat screwdriver, release the grub screw, then ease the pin anti-clockwise to release finger tension. On reassembly a ¼ turn clockwise is enough – do not over-tension.
4. With the rope finger out of the way remove the cross-recessed screw; on the HR/C650 the cast SS316 peeler (which replaces the H600 band peeler) comes off with its two M5 SHCS.
5. Rotate peeler and stripper clear (not needed on the HR/C650), slide the gypsy off the main shaft, and grease the shaft and cone generously with lithium/Teflon grease before reassembly.

Care & Troubleshooting

• Gear drive sealed with long-life synthetic oil. Rinse with fresh water after every trip; strip and grease yearly (e.g. Shell Gadus S220), more often on work and charter boats.
• Muir 3-strand nylon line: soak in fresh water with fabric softener every 3 months; slacken the clutch to clear a jam.
• Electrical checks: breaker and isolator, battery 12 or 24 volts, foot switch, solenoid, wiring, motor brushes.
• Mechanical checks: drive keys, clutch tightness, finger spring tension; free fall: plunger and spring move freely, declutcher pawl positioned with grub screws tight.