When we hoisted the anchor leaving Bahia Chemala, our windlass (the motor that lifts the anchor) was acting up. It stopped, then slowed, then it started again. Iratic windlass behavior not good since we will be anchoring a lot more and bringing up the 55 pound anchor and heavy chain by hand is difficult and dangerous.
Our windlass is 23 years old. Common windlass issues include corroded electrical connections, failing actuator buttons, a bad solenoid, or a worn-out motor. I thought it might just old and worn out – the windlass has not gotten a lot of maintenance over the years.
We went to Barra de Navidad and had a boat repair guy look at it. Boat fixer guy thinks it’s the solenoid. We were going to try the significantly cheaper solenoid to fix the problem before going to more expensive solutions. If we can find one – always a challenge in Mexico.
I’m checking with another guy tomorrow to get another opinion, but that’s going to involve moving the boat and ANCHORING in the local lagoon. The lagoon is worthy of a post of its own.
Christmas has passed so Santa can’t deliver a shiney new windlass to us right now, but if anyone would like to become our patron, I can gladly send you the model number of a really awesome replacement. We’ll even name the beast after you!
Sailing YO-D-YO 
So glad you are so handy! Good luck finding the parts or new equipment!
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Mary is quite the handy, too. I think she’s learned a lot about our boat and boat parts and boat living especially in foreign lands! She’s off on a bus ride to then next town – all alone – to get some tasks done. Very brave, too.
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