windlass stuck - 320DA 2005

[Sea++]

Pulled up anchor from helm yesterday, got up to the chain, then no further. Wife went on deck and used the foot pedals, moving it back down, then up, etc, just kept hitting the chain section and no further. Then it got really stuck and jammed. So now I can hear it turn but no visible turning of the windlass itself, hope it is just jammed. Just manually pulled it up the rest of the way and tethered to the safety cable. I'm new to the windlass, so did I do something wrong? We did test it last season at the dock, seemed fine. How to unjam? Why did it jam?

2005 320DA "Sea++"

 

[src]

The transition from rope to chain can be a problem on old/stiff rope, or if there is an issue with the "finger" which applies pressure to the rope. I have a similar problem, but I know my issue - the stud holding the finger is bent and doesn't hold the finger in the proper position or pressure. While using the foot controls, I can apply light pressure to the finger with my foot and get it to work, but otherwise it's always a problem.

Note that getting the rope/chain jammed is the fastest way to bend/break the stud holding that finger, and depending on the windlass model finding a replacement can be difficult to impossible.

If it's the rope joint causing the problems, some have recommended soaking that section in fabric softener (followed by lots of rinsing), or re-splicing the joint so it is made with a less worn section of rope (swapping ends has also been mentioned).

 

[Bucit]

I have that issue every know and then and my chain/rope are new. Usually if there is a little tension on it, it will work with no problems. Saturday it slipped where the rope meets the chain and I let it down for a second and then upward again and it went right through.

 

[FastMarkA]

Another one with the rope to chain transition. I just have somebody apply a little pressure at that moment and then it's back to working normally.

OP, you should have a crank tool that you can use to attempt to unjam it.

One of our former boats had the rope and chain come into the locker with only about 4-5" between hull and chute, so sometimes that could bunch up and throw off the process.

 

[sb in gp]

If you have the plastic finger you may be experiencing a design flaw. The plastic wears its little collar off and it starts rubbing and sticking partially open. You need a stainless finger. Not sure if you can still find them for the model 1000 units.

 

[Sea++]

Agree that the finger seems to be part of the problem (but not root cause), along with the splice junction from rope to chain. Once I get things un-jammed, I will take a look at the rope-chain interface. I believe I have the stainless 'finger', and now that I think back, it was the finger that seemed to catch just as the chain started to touch it. So my bet is on the splice to the chain. Thanks all for the comments!