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  • #6492
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      Hi,

      Can any owner of a B34 help me please. My boat Saloma is in Brittany and i have removed the anchor windlass which has corroded badly. Having considered the best way to repair the damage and remount i would like to raise the windlass above the original mounting shelf so that it just clears the underside of the anchor locker lid, but with the boat so far from home i cannot measure the vertical distance from the shelf to the underside of the lid, or the clearance between the top of the windlass and the underside of the lid; eather would do.
      if anyone with a B34 fitted with the original cayman windlass from the factory could contact me i would be greatful for your assistance.
      My email is. alanburns1@talktalk.net

      #8443
      Webmaster
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        Has my request for help gone unnoticed or have all the owners of B34,s assumed that I must have resolved my problem by now.
        I am begging for some kind B34 owner to help me out. Please feel sorry for me and supply the measurement requested if possible, after all it is Christmas and we are members of the same owners association. Use the Bavaria forum or my email to help me out.

        #8445
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          Alan

          Im out of the country till the end of Dec home 31st if no one has replyed by then I will go down to my yacht on the 1st Jan and send to you ok.

          Rgds
          Mike
          S/V Artemis

          #8446
          Webmaster
          Participant

            Thanks Mike,

            It may be worth checking your windlass for corrosion. Mine was mounted in a rubber base gasket, the sides of which are about 10mm high. This allows sea water to be retained against the aluminium casting. Even though we wash off regularly, which i thought would be enough the casing has corroded to almost the depth of the mounting bolts. We are now faced with machining the corroded sections away and re mounting on stainless steel brackets fixed to other strong points on the winch case. The plan is to have the winch sat clear of the shelf so no sea water can remain trapped against the winch casting. I will photograph the modification for anyone who has the same problem as it will save buying a new casing at £250 and will deal with the problem long term.

            Regards,

            #8447
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              Alan,

              I am sure you have it all under control but it is worth mentioning about fixing two disimilar metals together where salt water can get to them, the least noble metal will corode with the galvanic reaction unless an anti-galvanic paste such as Duralac is used in the joint.

              Out of interest, when you say the windlass has coroded to almost the depth of the mounting bolts. Is it possible that the bolts may have been part of the problem?

              take care,
              Paul

              #8448
              Webmaster
              Participant

                Hi Alan

                Thanks for the info I will check mine also when I get home and let you know.

                Mike

                #8451
                Webmaster
                Participant

                  Hi Paul,

                  There is no other way of fixing aluminium components to the boat without using stainless steel bolts. This is the norm that we have to accept and as you point out take precautions to isolate as much as possible. The same precautions will apply at the interface of my stainless steel brackets and the aluminium windlass casting.
                  My windlass looked OK but there was a build-up of salt deposit between the base of the casting and the upstand on the rubber base gasket. It was only when i attacked this with a screwdriver that i realised how bad the corrosion was. On removing the windlass we found that the base was corroded to a depth of approx 5 mm., and as the HD bolts don’t go into the casting much deeper, we were near to failure.The corrosion is not progressive from the holding down bolts, It appears to be similar over the whole base of the casting. My theory is that the salt water has been evaporating, leaving the salt deposit between the casting and the gasket. This salt deposit has built up with time and produced a very corrosive environment not friendly to aluminium. The gasket is a bad idea and the obvious cause of the trouble. Our solution will ensure that the windlass is mounted with clearance between the casting and the mounting shelf to avoid the problem happening again.

                  Hope this is helpful and advise all to check windlass for corrosion as i could easily have convinced myself that all was well.

                  #8485
                  Webmaster
                  Participant

                    Alan

                    Approx 240mm at the front and 350mm at the back.

                    Mike

                    #8544
                    Webmaster
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                      We have just machined 11 mm off the base of our windlass casting. The corrosion was worse than we thought and does appear to have been caused by the combination of aluminium casing and stainless steel holding down bolts, sitting in salt water, perfect conditions for electrolicis to get to work. I am amazed that the holding down bolts still did their job as they were only held in by the corrosion.
                      I would suggest that the base of the windlass should be checked very carefully as ours was within a wisker of failure, yet passed muster on visual inspection. The seriousness of the corrosion could only be seen when we removed the windlass from its shelf.
                      If anyone is interested we have worked out how to improve the mounting to avoid the problem re-occuring and have avoided having to buy a new windlass casing saving £250. The new setup incorporates a sacrificial anode.

                      #8546
                      Webmaster
                      Participant

                        Yes Im sure we would all be interested in knowing how to avoid the problem er-occuring and having the expense

                        rgds
                        Mike
                        Artemis

                        #8548
                        Webmaster
                        Participant

                          I would also like to know about the windlass overhaul.

                          Regards, John
                          Loblolly

                          #8549
                          Webmaster
                          Participant

                            Hi,

                            We have completed machining the casting and are on with fabricating the brackets, the insulators to fit between the brackets and casting etc. Hope to complete in the next few weeks. Will post photographs and details SAP.
                            In the mean time to see if i can send photographs OK the following are details of our grabhandle. Fingers crossed.

                            #8690
                            Webmaster
                            Participant

                              Sorry it has taken so long for me to report back on how we have rebuilt the windlass on our 2002 Bavaria 34.
                              The windlass corroded because of the original poor design. Fitting an aluminium casting with stainless steel holding down bolts through a rubber base gasket which has an upstanding edge was bound to collect salt water and encourage electrolitic corrosion. The holding down bolts could be pulled out of the casting with little effort and the whole windlass was ready to part company with the boat, yet all looked reasonably OK when viewed from above into the anchor locker. The severity of the problem only became evident when we removed the windlass to investigate further.
                              I have attached a few photographs which i hope are self explanatory but if anyone is going to attempt a similar modification I will provide individuals with more information.

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