BROKEN Anchor Winch… Easy Fix or Total Loss? [Ep.18]
May 2, 2026 · 20 min · 5K views · Sicily
What this video covers
A broken anchor windlass on Oceanaire | Wik & Rox, docked at a marina in Sicily after roughly five and a half months of refit work, turns out to have a cascade of previous-owner bodges: the vertical windlass was mounted sideways, a hose clamp was substituted for a proper bushing, and someone had cut the shaft short so the drive key could slip, snap the bronze bushing, dent the shaft, and shed iron fragments into the gearbox oil.2:24 Wik drains the windlass, finds thin, grey, metal-contaminated oil dated June 2017, and identifies a chipped iron gear as the fragment source.8:44 The fix: cut the damaged shaft end flush below the lip seal, fit a blind seal in place of the open lip seal, replace all bearings and seals, weld the key into the shaft so it cannot slip again, and source the correct gearbox oil — available only in 20- or 200-litre quantities, requiring him to approach local companies for a single litre.11:35 A new windlass would cost roughly €3,000; the repair route is chosen instead.11:43 Separately, the owner's cabin gets a new custom Ponyflex mattress and a rebuilt bed platform with lift-up storage, replacing an oversized 2.5-metre layout.11:57 Victron electrical parts also arrive from the Netherlands.12:25 Wiring in the bow locker is documented as dangerously substandard — bare positive wires, unnecessary multi-connection runs, and cardboard used as structural backing.2:23
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