Lewmar ProSeries 1000 rope jamming

[NComfort]

We purchased a new Lewmar ProSeries 1000 windlass in May, 2024. New 9/16" 3 strand rope, 5/16" G4 chain. Since new when retrieving the anchor as the windlass starts to lift the chain off the bottom the rope jams in the gypsy and stalls the windlass. The only way to release it is to back it down. It will not retrieve the last 10 feet of rope to the splice. We have to pull it in by hand and get the chain on the gypsy and then retrieve the anchor. The chain runs fine, putting the anchor down works fine it just that last bit of rope when there is weight on it. The rope is straight down with no pull on it other than the weight of the chain.

Have contacted the chandlery where we purchased it and they have contacted Lewmar without any success at finding a solution. They are going to send us a new rope stripper kit that we will change but there doesn't seem there is anything wrong with the one currently on the windlass. Short of that they will replace the whole windlass.

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to what might cause this? We have changed the rope completely to eliminate the possibility of defective rope. Thank you.

 

[RedRascal]

I have no experience with that particular windlass however I wonder if it would perform better with 8-plait line instead of 3-strand. Maybe you could test by switching the 3-strand for 25' of 8-plait to just run a test to see if the same behavior happens with the 8-plait. Since the issue happens before the splice you could just shackle the 8-plait to the chain and leave the 3-strand in place. For the test you can send chain and both lines over but you would only put the load on the 8-plait. Good luck!

 

[Marco Flamingo]

We have actually started having trouble going with 8-plait. The inside of our Muir vertical windlass isn't super smooth and 8-plait tends to snag on little things. The rode to chain splice is fatter than just the 8-plait. The combination causes the splice to jam and backs up the chain. It actually damaged the "pressure finger" that is supposed to help the line/chain stay in the gypsy. Had to order a replacement part and wait several days in Campbell River last year.

We still have been having a person (wife) go to the locker, I stop the rode/chain splice at the right place, and then she pulls on the rode when the transition goes through the gypsy. What I'm wondering is if a "professional splice" might be tighter/smaller and feed through the windlass better. From what I've seen on the internet, my DIY looks just the same as the pros. Frustrating.

 

[NComfort]

Update. After changing both the stripper and the gypsy the rope still jams so we are going to replace the rope with all chain. The boat can handle the weight and the anchor locker will accommodate the chain. Our dock neighbour had the same issue with a different model Lewmar. He changed to 8 plait and it still jammed. We will be looking to Lewmar to reimburse us for the rope since the windlass doesn’t perform as advertised. We’ll see how that works out.

Marco you might try “rolling” the splice. Either get it out on the dock or on deck and roll it with your foot like you are rolling a log.