making locks easier with an Easylass

[Wanted]

Janet S Reported it yesterday at 1145 am but it providing such quantities of innocent entertainment I am letting it run. If the other mods pick it up they may have different ideas and I will go along with what they say.

 

Nick

 

 

Well, at least we can all be reassured that our reports will remain anonymous..... Oh

[David Mack]

Why do people struggle with lifting paddles, is it because the gearing mechanism is worn out thus making it hard, is it because the gearing is new and not yet been worked in or is it that people are just not strong enough to cope. Don't take this the wrong way it's just a genuine enquire.

 

Darren

 

I don't know why people struggle. Some paddles are harder than others but its not often that I find one that really taxes me. I can remember back in the 70s (when I was 30-odd years younger) that some paddles were real b*stards to even move at all, and other had such badly worn spindles that it was extremely difficult not to have the windlass slip. People who have come to boating in the last 20 years don't know how much easier it is now than it was then.

[FadeToScarlet]

I don't know why people struggle. Some paddles are harder than others but its not often that I find one that really taxes me. I can remember back in the 70s (when I was 30-odd years younger) that some paddles were real b*stards to even move at all, and other had such badly worn spindles that it was extremely difficult not to have the windlass slip. People who have come to boating in the last 20 years don't know how much easier it is now than it was then.

 

Paddles? You were lucky. Back in my day I had to open gate on t'flash lock and get five 'orses to pull boat through....

[T.A]

I don't know why people struggle. Some paddles are harder than others but its not often that I find one that really taxes me. I can remember back in the 70s (when I was 30-odd years younger) that some paddles were real b*stards to even move at all, and other had such badly worn spindles that it was extremely difficult not to have the windlass slip. People who have come to boating in the last 20 years don't know how much easier it is now than it was then.

Yes you may not find one that taxes you being a strong male? but think of us that boat with the little woman that won't steer the boat and therefore do the locks by default and struggle with paddles that I find hard!

[Laurie Booth]

Paddles? You were lucky. Back in my day I had to open gate on t'flash lock and get five 'orses to pull boat through....

Gates!! I wish in my day we had gates. Over the weir was the only option!

[RLWP]

Gates!! I wish in my day we had gates. Over the weir was the only option!

 

Weirs!! They were only for kings and rich, bourgeois folk! All we had was shovels

 

Richard

[john6767]

Paddles? You were lucky. Back in my day I had to open gate on t'flash lock and get five 'orses to pull boat through....

 

A boat and 'orses, you were lucky, back in the day we only had a shoebox and a mouse.

 

 

 

[lydfordcastle]

Paddles? You were lucky. Back in my day I had to open gate on t'flash lock and get five 'orses to pull boat through....

 

Orses? Yow wuz looky ower kid. Back in moy day we ad ter gow un knock oop a few blowks frum Wearsell werkousse in Pleck Rowud.

[Laurie Booth]

Weirs!! They were only for kings and rich, bourgeois folk! All we had was shovels

 

Richard

Brill

[nb Innisfree]

We had less than NOWT!

 

End of story.

 

Wen ah se nowt ah mean NOWT! We dint have clooers or a booat even an' we 'ad to SWIM! All twenty eight of us including t'babbies. Ah wer booern on t'tooerpath, that's'ow 'aard it wer.

[Speedwheel]

Why do people struggle with lifting paddles, is it because the gearing mechanism is worn out thus making it hard, is it because the gearing is new and not yet been worked in or is it that people are just not strong enough to cope. Don't take this the wrong way it's just a genuine enquire.

 

Darren

 

Because it's as much about technique as strength.

[laser]

hi every one

i am the mystery manufacturer of the easylass windlass,oh dear what a- to-do

just like i get every month for the last 8 years or so usualy on a monday morning when im just off to work i get some one ringing up wanting to buy an easylass i tell em the same old story we dont make em anymore the grant money ran out after 157 units had been made and sold,for £85.i get some realy sad sob stories like O dear if cant get one my boating days will be over,so i say if we start up again i will mention it to the mags .this poor lady who was the last one to ring last month needed one desperately ,how much would you charge to make me one .i said i wouldnt make one, to much, of a job to set up for one (gear cutting,drilling jigs,welding jigs,ect)so i said i would look at it again for 20 off and i would work a price out later, this lady was jayne. i honestly didnt expect to here of her again but then i got a call from waterways world (.now we have some history with WW)asking if we was serious about it,12 years or so ago they took my first geared windlass called ladylass for testing and slated it. although only 10 was made and quickly sold i had a further 100 or so enquiries, i always new that they woul.d be a need for it, all be it for the elderly boaters so i said yes for about £150. I run a sub contract engineering company in sheffield,specialising in protype and pre -production units for the yellow goods and trailer manufactures we have just had our best year in the last 25 ,so i dont need this product getting in the way of our production ,the reason i have concidered it is because it would be an ideal project for our engineering apprentices.their brief was to make it lighter.by using aluminium instead of stainless steel ,value engineer it(make it cheaper without compromising function and form.)and trial it on the chesterfield canal.

ive been following this item on this site and cant beleive what rubbish is spouted , i will give you some facts,i dont know ,never met,jayne,i pulled the £150 out of the air because i heared they is another product on the market selling for a similar price .

next fact, the only thing in common with other windlases is the name and that it too opens lock paddles,

it works on the principle of the epycyclic gear system with 2 suns and 2 planets these 4 elements requires,housings,bearing,and indivisual drive linkages(look it up on Wicky) ive used a dual spindle pricipal for the head (operates both spindle sizes),all this type of mechanisms follows Newtons laws, of action and equal re-action,so a telescopick arm is extended to the lock beam.icould go on and on about how different it is but im getting fed up trying to justify it , but one thing the old mark 6 Last one made only ,weighed 1.4kg and no it didnt have led lights on and no diamond encrustations

[LoneWolf]

hi every one

i am the mystery manufacturer of the easylass windlass,oh dear what a- to-do

just like i get every month for the last 8 years or so usualy on a monday morning when im just off to work i get some one ringing up wanting to buy an easylass i tell em the same old story we dont make em anymore the grant money ran out after 157 units had been made and sold,for £85.i get some realy sad sob stories like O dear if cant get one my boating days will be over,so i say if we start up again i will mention it to the mags .this poor lady who was the last one to ring last month needed one desperately ,how much would you charge to make me one .i said i wouldnt make one, to much, of a job to set up for one (gear cutting,drilling jigs,welding jigs,ect)so i said i would look at it again for 20 off and i would work a price out later, this lady was jayne. i honestly didnt expect to here of her again but then i got a call from waterways world (.now we have some history with WW)asking if we was serious about it,12 years or so ago they took my first geared windlass called ladylass for testing and slated it. although only 10 was made and quickly sold i had a further 100 or so enquiries, i always new that they woul.d be a need for it, all be it for the elderly boaters so i said yes for about £150. I run a sub contract engineering company in sheffield,specialising in protype and pre -production units for the yellow goods and trailer manufactures we have just had our best year in the last 25 ,so i dont need this product getting in the way of our production ,the reason i have concidered it is because it would be an ideal project for our engineering apprentices.their brief was to make it lighter.by using aluminium instead of stainless steel ,value engineer it(make it cheaper without compromising function and form.)and trial it on the chesterfield canal.

ive been following this item on this site and cant beleive what rubbish is spouted , i will give you some facts,i dont know ,never met,jayne,i pulled the £150 out of the air because i heared they is another product on the market selling for a similar price .

next fact, the only thing in common with other windlases is the name and that it too opens lock paddles,

it works on the principle of the epycyclic gear system with 2 suns and 2 planets these 4 elements requires,housings,bearing,and indivisual drive linkages(look it up on Wicky) ive used a dual spindle pricipal for the head (operates both spindle sizes),all this type of mechanisms follows Newtons laws, of action and equal re-action,so a telescopick arm is extended to the lock beam.icould go on and on about how different it is but im getting fed up trying to justify it , but one thing the old mark 6 Last one made only ,weighed 1.4kg and no it didnt have led lights on and no diamond encrustations

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply, thats very interesting.

 

Its good to hear your company is thriving

 

I'm not sure if you are saying you wont be making any at all or you will if 20 people commit to purchasing one @150 each.

If you did sit down and cost it out what would the cost be do you think? - (without the jewels)

[ditchcrawler]

hi every one

i am the mystery manufacturer of the easylass windlass,oh dear what a- to-do

just like i get every month for the last 8 years or so usualy on a monday morning when im just off to work i get some one ringing up wanting to buy an easylass i tell em the same old story we dont make em anymore the grant money ran out after 157 units had been made and sold,for £85.i get some realy sad sob stories like O dear if cant get one my boating days will be over,so i say if we start up again i will mention it to the mags .this poor lady who was the last one to ring last month needed one desperately ,how much would you charge to make me one .i said i wouldnt make one, to much, of a job to set up for one (gear cutting,drilling jigs,welding jigs,ect)so i said i would look at it again for 20 off and i would work a price out later, this lady was jayne. i honestly didnt expect to here of her again but then i got a call from waterways world (.now we have some history with WW)asking if we was serious about it,12 years or so ago they took my first geared windlass called ladylass for testing and slated it. although only 10 was made and quickly sold i had a further 100 or so enquiries, i always new that they woul.d be a need for it, all be it for the elderly boaters so i said yes for about £150. I run a sub contract engineering company in sheffield,specialising in protype and pre -production units for the yellow goods and trailer manufactures we have just had our best year in the last 25 ,so i dont need this product getting in the way of our production ,the reason i have concidered it is because it would be an ideal project for our engineering apprentices.their brief was to make it lighter.by using aluminium instead of stainless steel ,value engineer it(make it cheaper without compromising function and form.)and trial it on the chesterfield canal.

ive been following this item on this site and cant beleive what rubbish is spouted , i will give you some facts,i dont know ,never met,jayne,i pulled the £150 out of the air because i heared they is another product on the market selling for a similar price .

next fact, the only thing in common with other windlases is the name and that it too opens lock paddles,

it works on the principle of the epycyclic gear system with 2 suns and 2 planets these 4 elements requires,housings,bearing,and indivisual drive linkages(look it up on Wicky) ive used a dual spindle pricipal for the head (operates both spindle sizes),all this type of mechanisms follows Newtons laws, of action and equal re-action,so a telescopick arm is extended to the lock beam.icould go on and on about how different it is but im getting fed up trying to justify it , but one thing the old mark 6 Last one made only ,weighed 1.4kg and no it didnt have led lights on and no diamond encrustations

Good for you for coming to put your side of the story, I hope you hang around long enough to read the replies. y the way, are you a boater, if not how did you get into making the very first one?

[twbm]

 

If you read the article it states that I would like a helpful tool to enable me to do the locks

 

 

I've been referred to as a tool on occasions and like to be helpful. If I'm ever in the area your locking through ......

 

Edited to add: At £150 each I imagine they will be standard kit on a Waterfreight boat.

Edited November 18, 2012 by twbm

[bizzard]

Twenty or so years ago i saw these kind of handles advertised in Waterways world and called the ''Ladylass''.

[alan_fincher]

......and indivisual drive linkages(look it up on Wicky)

 

I can't find any reference to "indivisual drive linkages"

 

Wikipedia says.....

 

Did you mean: individual drive linkages?

[nigel fryer]

I think LEDS would be a good idea !Surely it would make it lighter !

Puts cat out and goes to bed !

[RLWP]

hi every one

i am the mystery manufacturer of the easylass windlass,oh dear what a- to-do

just like i get every month for the last 8 years or so usualy on a monday morning when im just off to work i get some one ringing up wanting to buy an easylass i tell em the same old story we dont make em anymore the grant money ran out after 157 units had been made and sold,for £85.i get some realy sad sob stories like O dear if cant get one my boating days will be over,so i say if we start up again i will mention it to the mags .this poor lady who was the last one to ring last month needed one desperately ,how much would you charge to make me one .i said i wouldnt make one, to much, of a job to set up for one (gear cutting,drilling jigs,welding jigs,ect)so i said i would look at it again for 20 off and i would work a price out later, this lady was jayne. i honestly didnt expect to here of her again but then i got a call from waterways world (.now we have some history with WW)asking if we was serious about it,12 years or so ago they took my first geared windlass called ladylass for testing and slated it. although only 10 was made and quickly sold i had a further 100 or so enquiries, i always new that they woul.d be a need for it, all be it for the elderly boaters so i said yes for about £150. I run a sub contract engineering company in sheffield,specialising in protype and pre -production units for the yellow goods and trailer manufactures we have just had our best year in the last 25 ,so i dont need this product getting in the way of our production ,the reason i have concidered it is because it would be an ideal project for our engineering apprentices.their brief was to make it lighter.by using aluminium instead of stainless steel ,value engineer it(make it cheaper without compromising function and form.)and trial it on the chesterfield canal.

ive been following this item on this site and cant beleive what rubbish is spouted , i will give you some facts,i dont know ,never met,jayne,i pulled the £150 out of the air because i heared they is another product on the market selling for a similar price .

next fact, the only thing in common with other windlases is the name and that it too opens lock paddles,

it works on the principle of the epycyclic gear system with 2 suns and 2 planets these 4 elements requires,housings,bearing,and indivisual drive linkages(look it up on Wicky) ive used a dual spindle pricipal for the head (operates both spindle sizes),all this type of mechanisms follows Newtons laws, of action and equal re-action,so a telescopick arm is extended to the lock beam.icould go on and on about how different it is but im getting fed up trying to justify it , but one thing the old mark 6 Last one made only ,weighed 1.4kg and no it didnt have led lights on and no diamond encrustations

 

Thanks for replying to this and supplying some facts

 

Richard

[laser]

Good for you for coming to put your side of the story, I hope you hang around long enough to read the replies. y the way, are you a boater, if not how did you get into making the very first one?

 

hi dc

yes i am a boater ,i was ascending the hatten flight about 1994 i was doing the locks with 3 lovely ladies who was complaining as usual about hubby leaning on the tiller swilling booze ,i was their ideal boater bloke, someone who thought about my boater wife. ,little did they know it was my wifes boat (for tax purposes i thought, when i put it in her name,she thought it was a christmas presnt) however she made it clear if i wanted to go on HER boat she was the captain and i was the crew. im no david beckem in fact ive got a crooked nose and buck teeth (no braces and private dentists when i was a kid)but for 3 hours I WAS THE MAN my ego had never been so high,we did all the locks together,it was then that i said that by the time that we had finnished the flight i would have come up with a solution to their problem by now when they beleived me i was on cloud 9 i told them the device

would be named after them and called ladylass i told them i would feature it in waterways world and that if they want one to contact me.when we finished the flight my wife was stepping off the stern onto the mooring passing me our dog when my son pulled the the bow rope the stern came away and she and our dog fell in between our boat and the wall the water was deep and she went straight under, the water was cloudy but she was wearing a bright red jumper which i saw when i just managed to grab her and pulled her out. she wasnt hurt she just got back on the boat had a shower then got the next train back to sheffield never to go on the boat again .one of the ladies did finish up with a ladylass and i got my boat back

[laser]

I can't find any reference to "indivisual drive linkages"

 

Wikipedia says.....

what i was trying to get over was how to explain where the expensive elements of the system are ,how to justify the £150 as i said there is another device i am told on the market to open difficult locks i assume it works so £150 must be the going rate for this problem.those who purchase it will have a good idea of how it works and what their getting for their bucks,however by just following the posts on this issure for a few days i havent seen any inclin of the workings of the easylass hence the silly remarks of costs and wieght and someone recomends contactinga chandler whos selling them for £30 i would love to explain in detail the working principles of epycyclic gear systems and how we work out the ratios between elements to get the desired reductions(actually 5.4:1) and the right rotations,so all i said was if interested wiky would show the major parts. to answer your question on drive linkages its my way of explaining that all the suns and planets either drive or are driven,and its how they all interact thro links with each other

i will tell you a secret alan i havent a clue how much it will cost to produce 20 it will only be known after the final pre -production model.i f the apprentices do a good job they will have learned from it as for the company when all the materials and production timings plus labour cost are taken into concideration and bearing in mind we cant apply economy of scale due to limited sales forcast then these 20 for £150 could be a great buy but only for them.

[RLWP]

Interesting. I thought £150 was a 'go away and stop bothering me' price

 

Richard

[alan_fincher]

Some of us know how the type of gears you are describing can do the job without recourse to Wikipedia, actually.

 

There is however clearly somewhat of a mismatch between you as a potential manufacturer of this bit of kit, and the OP on here who said if she could find orders for around 20, then the price would be around £150.

 

If there is a marketing opportunity here at all, it might be better for OP and you to come up with a consistent version of what the product and price might be, and then people can make up their own minds if 20 of them want to go for it.

 

...............However for me, this in not investible, and therefore I'm out......

[laser]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, thats very interesting.

 

Its good to hear your company is thriving

 

I'm not sure if you are saying you wont be making any at all or you will if 20 people commit to purchasing one @150 each.

If you did sit down and cost it out what would the cost be do you think? - (without the jewels)

h

 

hi lonewolf

sorry i missed your post

 

if you read alan fincher post

 

i try to explain whats on the table at this moment in time,we are actually finishing the proto-type this comming week

but already making revisions for the pre-pruduction,as stated earlier weight reduction is paramount the last model weighed 3lbs or 1.4kg we are trying for 1kg replacing stainless steel with aluminimum where possible this means less welding more machining,and using needle bearings in place of bronze again bought in not made in.if things dont work out i will use this myself would you beleive the only windlesses i use myself is a dunton double which i love all ally and a smooth silky cool fixed handle this proto is having a silky cool ally handle. and my orignal ladylass final one number 10 which i saved for myself. god willing ive never had the need for an easylass and hopefully i never will.

[LoneWolf]

Interesting. I thought £150 was a 'go away and stop bothering me' price

 

Richard

 

Or, to put it more technically, you could say it reflected a high opportunity cost as the company is working t capacity at the moment

 

 

Some of us know how the type of gears you are describing can do the job without recourse to Wikipedia, actually.

 

There is however clearly somewhat of a mismatch between you as a potential manufacturer of this bit of kit, and the OP on here who said if she could find orders for around 20, then the price would be around £150.

 

If there is a marketing opportunity here at all, it might be better for OP and you to come up with a consistent version of what the product and price might be, and then people can make up their own minds if 20 of them want to go for it.

 

...............However for me, this in not investible, and therefore I'm out......

 

Well i didnt know what epycyclic gear systems were but lasers talk of sun and planet gears is giving me a clue. I love the way engineering terms are like that.

 

I think laser means that he cant cost them until they have the final prototype built.