🤬℉µ¢king Windlass!!! 🤮 They aren't supposed to rot from the inside out! #ourladydefiant #liveaboard

We've had a bad experience with our Lewmar windlass. I love the low-profile of the gypsy and that the chain/rhode has contact with the gypsy 3/4 of the way around, but the motor, and in particular where they put the overheating cutout wire, is not well thought out. I found in the previous motor we had that it would let water in through that wire opening, and the motor rusted from the inside out. Also, the external-facing components of the motor (screws primarily) are not up to the challenge of the marine environment or living in an anchor locker. We had the pleasure of using the windlass about 10 or so times before it died... not from use though... from sitting in the anchor locker. As an attempted fix for our the windlass motor that Lewmar sent us under warranty (after some contentious discussion), I cut the overheating cutoff wire that we don't use anyway, painted the entire motor other than the connectors, with Rustoleum, and sealed the overheat cutoff-wire opening with two layers of flex-seal tape. This second motor has lasted longer then their first... next to die (I can see it) will be the relay. Hopefully this works to lengthen the life of the motor... but we'll see...next to die (I can see it) will be the relay. Fun times with our favorite game of "apply salty brine and see what happens!"