Maxwell RC10 Installation

Shortly after unpacking the new Maxwell RC10 we discovered that the gear oil sight glass had been sheared off.  I had found the sheared off part of the sight glass in  corner of the shipping box that had been stained by the gear oil that had drained during shipment.  Sharp eyed Bruce pointed out the track of  fork lift blade that had skimmed a track in the foam packing.  He figured that the dispatchers had a quick look, noted nothing wrong, and simply put everything into a new box.  With the help of Jerry we obtained a replacement, but that cause another delay of several days.

Block with insert to decrease diameter of central hole

Fitting the winch studs through deck block

Supplied pattern was too generous with hole diameters

We were not happy with the deck mounting jarrah block that Zelko had produced because there was not enough wood between the edge of the large central hole and the surrounding four smaller holes for the winch studs.  We noted that the pattern supplied had been too generous with the central hole and that we could make it almost 10 mm shorter in diameter.  This had been compounded by Zelko having cut the hole about 2 mm larger than the specification.  As usual Bruce knew someone who could fix that, a shipwright who managed to put a perfectly fitting inner sleeve to make the hole smaller.  While we had the opportunity we asked him to also make a jarrah backing plate to it on the V-berth ceiling, and to that end we supplied one of the old stainless steel backing plates for the curve of the ceiling.

Sometime during this process I went on trip to the USA which cost us another 7 weeks of time.

Bruce and I resumed the installation in late September and in mid-October we finished the installation and got a visit from Greg Hansen who wired up the new winch and its new solenoid.  Bruce then sealed the gaps around the edge of the deck mounting block with black Sikaflex and we tested the seal with water and were happy to see no leaks.

The result has been very good.  The unit is firm on a strong foundation and hoists the chain at a speed that I've never experienced before.

Sheared off oil sight glass

Winch holes covered for weeks with no leaking

Mounted but edges not yet sealed no chain fitted

Below Deck

Note curved jarrah backing plate and area freshly painted

More on Winch Removal

Here are more photos of the removal of the Orca winch.  Jerry Davis worked very hard to remove the winch intact and we tried everything from soaking whatever we could overnight with penetrating oil to heat and finally a metal lever. Nothing worked because the shaft was fused with corrosion and Jerry was forced to cut the winch in pieces with an angle grinder.  It's a shame because the Orca had been built very solid and strong.  Jerry's post mortem revealed that the transmission was full of brass rust (?) and the shaft had been squeezed so tight that the strain on the motor had ruined it. He also stated that the small oil drip that had begun this process could not have been corrected by simply replacing seal because the metal was so corroded. 

The sad state of the winch was mainly my fault largely due to ignorance.  I took  possession of Pachuca in 2005 with absolutely no documentation whatsoever - None!  I had to learn on my own how to take apart the boat's 6 Maxwell sailing winches on my own but never even thought of looking into the Orca anchor winch.

Jerry recommended a Maxwell winch and after googling the various offerings concluded that the Maxwell RC10-10 was my choice, not just on price but also because it would fit the holes already through the deck.  (http://www.maxwellmarine.com/gen_rc.php?features)

Orca Winch Before Removal

Shaft Exposed

Attempting to Lever it Apart

Last Resort: Jerry with the Angle Grinder

Deck After Removal of the Orca