Andersen Line Tender

[affinite]

I have an Andersen Line tender winch mounted on the mast of my Moody 44.
It is used to drive the mainsail furling gear but the pawls seem sticky and the winch is ready for a service.
Id like to strip it down and service it but the drum retaining circlip has been removed and the end of the drive shaft has been welded onto the drum making it impossible to remove the winch drum.
I thought it had just been done on my boat but Ive heard from another Moody owner that theirs is the same so I conclude that this mod was probably done to all Andersen Line Tenders on Moodys of that era.
Can anyone think of a good reason for this mod?
Does anyone know if this is/was common on Moodys or any other boat of a similar era (20year old)
Thx
Steve

 

[neil1967]

It's the same on my Oyster 406, built in 1987. I bought a service kit before finding I couldn't actually service it! I had the mast taken down for a rigging inspection this year and had the rigger do a full service. He removed the Andersen it from the mast (for which you have to remove the head plate) and couldn't believe the amount of gunge and c**p in the mechanism. Properly cleaned and serviced it now sounds like the precision instrument it should be. The lesson is not to over lubricate (as with all winches!) I can only think that the Andersen winches have been modified to stop you taking them apart when used for in-mast furling because it might screw up the rest of the inmast mechanism?

Neil