For Sale: For Sale:Maxwell VC500 windlass for sale

[bratzcpa]

Works great. I JUST put not electric motor in this last year. Used it for one season. We are upgrading to a newer model that has a chain/rode gypsy. This model just has a straight capstan.

Make me an offer - I'm thinking something like $500. A good deal us both?? I'll cover shipping for free in US.

I already have this out of our boat, so can send you lots of pictures and answer any questions.

~markb

[SurfNRG]

I'm doing the same as you., upgrading to another unit to have both gypsy 'n drum. What new unit did you install and what boat do you have? I have a '95 Catalina 320 and just removed the VC500 which went bad. Figured a good time to upgrade and get a gypsy model.

[bratzcpa]

Good morning - When I replaced my VC500, I purchased and installed a Maxwell VW10-8 ($1,950). The gypsy handles both 5/16 chain AND 5/8 rope. All without moving the rope over to the capstan. In other words, it handles the transition between chain and rope/rode without anything different from you. Well, that's how it's advertised. We don't splash until June, so I'll tell you then . . . for sure!!!

The new windlass is lots lots bigger. I thought the mounting holes were the same, but they weren't. You'll need to use a 4" hole saw to drill a new bigger main hole, and then new 3/8" holes for the 4 mounting bolts. This process was difficult. The new windlass fits just fine. It's very difficult to do. The new one is 46 lbs heavy. It's hard to work over your head (from the v-berth) when you can see anything and trying to wiggle your hands in there, while supporting 46 pounds of steel over your head. I swore a lot . . . or so I'm told!! ha ha.

The other thing is that the new windlass is 135amps. The old one was 80 amps. Normally this would need new wiring too (heavier gauge). However, for some reason, the person who installed the original Maxwell VC500 use majorly oversized wires, so we're fine there.

Finally, the last bit of difficulty had to do with the footswitches/controls. The new motor is a series wound motor (not permanent magnet). With the old one, you simply reverse polarity to make the motor run in reverse. This new one (with series wound) requires an expensive solenoid to do that. I am going to use two foot switches. One for up and one for down. and skip the solenoid. We just have to be careful not to press both switches at the same time.

Let me know if I can answer anything else further - happy to help.

And . . . if this is too much hassle, you could simply buy a replacement that's easy to drop in. I know a guy selling one (with a nearly new motor) for good price!!!

markb

[SurfNRG]

Just checking to see if you received my PM.