The new Lighthouse windlass I ordered weeks ago arrived yesterday. It was frightfully expensive, but when I unpacked it, I found it was one of those rare marine items that actually has the quality that reflects the cost. It's both massively and beautifully made. The shipment weighed 132 lbs, which created a bit of a challenge when it came time to get it out of my truck. (The warehouse staff at work, where it was delivered, helped me load it.) Because I didn't want such a tempting and expensive item just sitting in the back of the truck for weeks while I prepared the deck and wiring for installation, I had to figure out a way to get it in the house without breaking my back. I ended up disassembling the shipping crate in the back of the truck and removing each major component separately. The motor alone was probably only about 40 lbs, but the windlass assembly was a good 65-70 lbs by itself. I went through the instructions and components to see what I was in for. As I anticipated, it will be a pretty big job. One pleasant surprise was that the package included a relay and switch. It requires six half-inch bolts for mounting the unit, which doesn't sound like much until you check the cursed West Marine catalogue and find that in the length I'll likely need, they're $5
each! Fortunately, I found a place online where I can order them for about half that.
I also measured how high the chain would be above the windlass base to get a sense of whether or not I'd need to raise the chainstopper more. It's going to be close, depending on how high the anchor roller is. Most likely, it will need that additional inch.
Once I had things reasonably sorted out, I sat down with a glass of Cabernet and savored both the wine and the fine piece of machinery at my feet. The windlass itself is all beautifully polished stainless steel, so it will never corrode like the typical aluminum or mild steel windlasses. The yellow fluted base at the bottom end of the motor is a silicone rubber casting, with a clever pull-out bottom that allows access to the electrical terminals, but maintains a seal.
Once I had mellowed out a bit, I did a bit of head-scratching about how I'm going to build the rest of the windlass base on the deck. The difficulty is that the deck is convex and has a raised narrow platform in the center where the old windlass was. I think I've come up with a workable and effective method, but it will will require some fancy fiberglass work. Stay tuned to see if it works!
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