Quick Rider R3 Windlass Experience

[geoffschultz]

I'm anchored at Lighthouse Reef in Belize, which is about 30 miles offshore & my Muir VR1000R012E windlass stripped the worm gear. It's pulled up many anchors in it's 21 years, so it owes us nothing. Luckily there's a dive resort here with 10 KBps Internet, so at least I can do a bit of research, albeit very slow.

Unfortunately I've discovered that Muir no longer makes this windlass, but I could have it special made in 12 weeks and for $5600. No thanks! So I've been off trying to find a replacement that will work. At this point in time, the only one that I can find is a Quick Rider R3, which is made in Italy, but appears to be available in the US.

Q1: Does anyone have any experience with this windlass?

To explain my issue, my old windlass was a vertical windlass mounted vertically. The chain comes across the top of the windlass and is stripped off at the bottom. Then you have to push it forward and into the chain locker. Far from ideal, but it works.

All of the other vertical windlasses that I've found pull the chain from the right hand side and strip it at the left, where it falls down a hole into the chain locker. This wouldn't work for me as the chain would pull from the bottom and then when it got stripped off, would fall over the chain being pulled.

Q2: Other than doing major surgery on the anchor locker, which I do not want to do in Belize, does anyone have any suggestions?

The attached photos show the entire anchor locker and a closeup of where the gypsy and capstan mount.


-- Geoff

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by geoffschultz

...
To explain my issue, my old windlass was a vertical windlass mounted vertically. ...

You mean vertical mounted horizantally right?

[geoffschultz]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

You mean vertical mounted horizantally right?

Vertical refers to how the shaft is oriented. Thus a vertical windlass gypsy typically spins on a horizontal plane. See the attached photos. Very confusing!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by geoffschultz

Vertical refers to how the shaft is oriented. Thus a vertical windlass gypsy typically spins on a horizontal plane. See the attached photos. Very confusing!

Ah, how the motor shaft is oriented.

[double u]

if I remember right: Rider obtainable w right or left ( in your case: top or bottom entry)
get manual from website

[waterman46]

You mention replacing your windlass with another vertical windlass, also with the output shaft mounted *horizontally* as you show in your picture, but you thought that the normal rotation and position of chain stripper would be reverse of what you need. That is true for most installations.

Dumb question: can you use a regular vertical windlass and run it in reverse by switching leads? Probably the gears will take the stress if you want to run it in reverse, also the negative lead is probably isolated from the motor gears and case. Check with windlass mfg.

[double u]

different field coils for up & down, often different speeds & power too.

[waterman46]

[QUOTE=double u;2608030]different field coils for up & down, often different speeds & power too.[/QUOT

My suggestion, admittedly a bit far-fetched, was to reverse the + and - connections at the windlass motor itself (not at any external control box, if present), so the same set of "up" power and speed would be used but the motor will run in reverse. I only have experience with a 20 year old Ideal windlass that has only one set of connections, one set of coils, one speed and power, and has no ability to run in reverse, other than by simply switching the polarity on the motor connections. Of course the motor coil wiring negative will have to be isolated, by internal design, from all other metallic elements of the windlass.

But the gearing might not be designed to take full stress in that direction. I wouldn't install it that way unless approved by the manufacturer.

[double u]

there are no "left" or "right" Rider models (looked in our Quick pricelist, we are the local distributors), just one for each type (12, 24V, 700W, 1000W, drum, no-drum) - so obviously they can be run "up" or "down" whichever way one wants