Anchor Windlass Repairs
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Moored Tin Can Inlet When we weighed anchor on Tuesday morning to motor up Tin Can Inlet to meet Mark and Mary Lee, the anchor windlass jammed and I had to get the anchor in mostly by hand. Fortunately the depth was only three meters and I only had 20 meters of chain out so it wasn't too difficult. Consequently, a major job over the last two days has been dismantling the windlass to repair the problem which, as I suspected, turned out to be a broken spring that helps hold two floating gears in place. Coincidentally Mark had an anchor windlass the same model as Sylph's that had come off Mary Lee which he no longer required as he had replaced it with an electric windlass. He dropped this off to me on Wednesday morning but unfortunately it was in worse shape than Sylph's windlass, It turned out to be full of water with lots of corrosion inside. Nonetheless I have salvaged some parts from this winch and, with Mark's help, purchased some new springs from the local hardware store. So Sylph's old winch is now repaired and ready to reinstall, which I plan on doing this afternoon. I will keep Mark's old windlass which he has given to me (thank you, Mark), and will refurbish it later, probably in Townsville with the view to having a spare windlass that I can simply swap over when the working windlass inevitably has a problem in the future. Apart from attending to this essential piece of maintenance, Mark and I have enjoyed the evenings together, discussing boats and sharing mostly nautical stories over dinner and a glass of wine. Mark is clearly a man of strong character, resourceful and innovative, who has achieved much in life; including three wives, six children, and several successful businesses, mostly revolved around the Queensland fishing industry, sailing, and surfing. It has been a real pleasure getting to know him and Mary Lee. Having achieved my aim in stopping at Tin Can Bay, once the anchor windlass is installed we will continue north, most likely on Sunday. All is well. |