Lewmar H2 Windlass Gypsy Not Rotating

[lawrence_craig]

Hi all,

Today, my gypsy on my windlass stopped rotating. The motor operates and if I move/wiggle the gypsy a little without load, it turns but when you put load on it, it doesn't turn. I expect either the keyway has gone on it or worse, the worm gear. When there's load on it, you can kind of hear something grating as the motor turns. Sounds like the worn part skipping over the teeth/slot.

I am going to tear it down to find out but I had a question before I did that. I would expect if either to have gone, the gypsy would turn freely by hand yet it doesn't. Even with the anchor out and the chain in the gypsy, it doesn't turn. Why might this be?

Thanks in advance!

[Jim Cate]

From your description, sounds like the clutch is set too loose and is slipping.

Jim

[lawrence_craig]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

From your description, sounds like the clutch is set too loose and is slipping.

Jim

Thanks Jim, however, tightening the end cap doesn’t fix it. I also don’t think the Lewmar H2 has a clutch.

[Tupaia]

I'm with Jim all Lewmar / SL derived windlasses have cones that work against the gipsy. If the cones are contaminated they can slip on the gipsy and no amount of tightening will work. Clean them thoroughly with something like brake clean. Take care not to drop the dowels during disassembly.

[NYSail]

Yea the H2 has a clutch working off tension. I tore mine apart last season due to the fact that the cones did not spin freely when l wanted to free drop without the motor. Cleaned and all works good. Hardest part for me were the case bolts that are stainless going into the aluminum housing. Had to pull the entire unit and have a machine shop get 2 of the bolts out…….
Good luck!
Greg

[NYSail]

Yea the H2 has a clutch working off tension. I tore mine apart last season due to the fact that the cones did not spin freely when l wanted to free drop without the motor. Cleaned and all works good. Hardest part for me were the case bolts that are stainless going into the aluminum housing. Had to pull the entire unit and have a machine shop get 2 of the bolts out…….
Good luck!
Greg