On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:57:58 -0000, Skip Gundlach
wrote:

Getting the anchor up now will involve (I'm awfully glad I have it!)
my
reaching down one of the original hawse holes (the original boat had
mostly
rope anchoring line and a bare windlass which allowed you to use two
anchors - a difference in the 45 and 46 models - but which required
manual
feeding of the line as it came in; that hole was available for me to
reach
under the windlass) and feeding the chain, link by link, so it didn't
jam in
the gypsy (the thing which fits the specific size of the chain,
allowing it
to control it) due to no stripper (that's the function of the broken
part -
directing the chain below rather than to keep going around in the
wheel).

Lewmar, ex-Simpson/Lawrence, right?

Don't say that I didn't warn you. I'd recommend carrying a complete
second unit as a spare since the various failure modes are too
numerous to predict. I installed one on my old boat. Big mistake.

There is apparently only one truly reliable windlass company: Ideal.

Not cheap, but darn near bullet proof from what I hear. That will be
my next choice when I have to replace our 26 year old Galley Maid
windlass one of these days.