Simpson Lawrence Windlass Motor
The windlass motor has begun to slowly die. This is a Simpson Lawrence
Horizon 900 used on a Gulfstar 43. Naturally it died during the trip back
from NC to Florida in the middle of the night with 120 feet of chain paid
out...the boat had to be moved a couple of times due to high winds and 8
foot tidal movements. Thought I would have a heart attack!! The armature
has shown at least an 1/8 inch wear where the brushes rub the armature. The
brushes are bad off, but most "authorized Lewmar shops" tell me not to
replace them because....(1) you can't....Simpson Lawrence (or Lewmar now)
doesn't sell them and (2) they would simply wear out quickly due to the
state of the armature. I have taken the windlass motor to numerous
automotive and marine electrical shops and ALL say they can't get parts or
repair the motor. I have also called a dozen or so 'hits' on the internet
from Florida to Washington state and they all concur with this same opinion.
I seem to have only a few choices (perhaps only two).... (1) Buy a
replacement motor for around $525 and stay with the current windlass (2)
Move to a new windlass that employs DC motor types that most auto/marine
electric shops can work on, supply brushes or other parts for, or perhaps
(3) buy the Lewmar replacement motor, and send the existing motor off to
one (and only one) windlass shop that said they may be able to repair it
for around $200 by replacing the armature with a good "used" one and
replacing the brushes with good "used" ones. That would give me a new
windlass motor as well as a backup for still less than the cost of a new
windlass.
Is this an accurate description of where I am with this windlass, are there
other options I have overlooked?
Dan Lanier
Gulfstar 43
Danali Star
Melbourne, FL
At 09:29 PM 12/13/2004 -0500, Dan Lanier wrote:
Is this an accurate description of where I am with this windlass, are there
other options I have overlooked?
If it is an old Simpson-Lawrence, before they got bought by Lewmar and
turned to trash, it would be worth rebuilding. I don't know where the
Horizon fits in the genealogy of things.
The new ones certainly are, well, ah, creative in their design. I have a
customer with a dead Simpson-Lawrence windlass motor. It is the vertical
shaft style. The motor has a rubber boot that is placed around it, I
presume to protect it from the moisture of the chain locker. But the boot
is just a loose fit at the top, cinched in place with a zip tie. Guess
where the water that splash in goes? Right, down into the boot. The bottom
of the motor housing was a mass of rust.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do when their replacement motor arrives. I'm
torn between giving the boot a decent burial in the trash, or reinstalling
it with a hole punched in the bottom to let the water drain out. In any
case, it is clear that their designers live in a dream world.
Jim McCorison
Starfish Marine
(619) 337-5370
http://www.starfish-marine.com
Monday, December 13, 2004, 6:39:45 PM, Jim wrote:
JM> At 09:29 PM 12/13/2004 -0500, Dan Lanier wrote:
Is this an accurate description of where I am with this windlass, are there
other options I have overlooked?
JM> If it is an old Simpson-Lawrence, before they got bought by Lewmar and
JM> turned to trash, it would be worth rebuilding. I don't know where the
JM> Horizon fits in the genealogy of things.
I had a Simpson-Lawrence/Lewmar Horzon 600 fail twice within warranty - the
second failure was very shortly after I got it back from the first repair.
Word was that the repair shop was quite busy fixing these things. I demanded
a Muir as a replacement after the second failure, and have had no problems
with it.
--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lien Hwa 28 (AKA Polaris 30) "Sea Spray"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca
Believe it or not, S-L bought Lewmar and retained the Lewmar name for
worldwide recognition. Having said that, they are now very difficult to deal
with. Dan, I inherited a new S-L Horizon 900 with my 1985 Willard. It was
too small for my trawler and my local chandlery did not wish to deal with
Lewmar, even though they are a dealer. I bought a Lofrans Tigres from them
and it uses my existing over-gauged wire. It even sounds great. It's more
appropriate for my size boat. The 900 is at the end of its range on a 40
footer and is more appropriate to a lighter sailboat and its anchors. Of
course, I hear good things about Maxwell windlasses. I'm putting the 900 in
a consignment shop - it is probably fine for lighter boats and yes Jim, it's
an original S-L.
Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Lying Annapolis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim McCorison" jim@starfish-marine.com
|
| If it is an old Simpson-Lawrence, before they got bought by Lewmar and
| turned to trash, it would be worth rebuilding. I don't know where the
| Horizon fits in the genealogy of things.