Barbarossa 41.2 repair

rszemeti

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Not really a question, just a sort of blog of my repair of a winch.

When I purchased the boat, my surveyor missed (amongst other things) a broken main winch. Parts are not available anymore, I didn't fancy mis-matched winches so replacing both of them would have been expensive ... and even secondhand ones were not cheap (a pair went for £910 on eBay recently)

I decided to have a go at making the broken part, shown here. The top ring of the self-tailign gear. It is complicated in that in can be adjusted on a ratchet system to set the height to match the rope diameter in use.

RQme2ni.jpg


The broken part looked like this:

B0FdFYG.jpg


A part was turned on the lathe, then the 3 "prongs" cut on the CNC router:

eMwo3l5.jpg


Finally, finish machined, the "angles" cut on the top of the prongs and then polished.

pc0SNCp.jpg


Cutting the angles on the top of the teeth was possibly the hardest part, requiring a jig making for the router and some very careful handwheel operations, I didn't feel I could let the CNC control have at it!

All in all very happy with the result, will be anodised next week and saves a couple of grand on new winches!
 
Last edited:
As an update:

We fitted it and used it all summer on the boat, including a 6 week tour of Ireland and it worked fine. There is one very minor modification to do, and then it is going to get a final polish and sent off for some nice black anodising.

I've been contacted by someone with the same issue, it seems it is not uncommon on these Barbarossa winches ... I'm thinking about machining a couple more up, they are reasonably time consuming, and I am only an amateur machinist ... I suspect there may be a (small) number of people who would like these.
 
As an update:

We fitted it and used it all summer on the boat, including a 6 week tour of Ireland and it worked fine. There is one very minor modification to do, and then it is going to get a final polish and sent off for some nice black anodising.

I've been contacted by someone with the same issue, it seems it is not uncommon on these Barbarossa winches ... I'm thinking about machining a couple more up, they are reasonably time consuming, and I am only an amateur machinist ... I suspect there may be a (small) number of people who would like these.

Impressive!
 
It is complicated in that in can be adjusted on a ratchet system to set the height to match the rope diameter in use.
A nice feature - I wish mine had it! I have no idea why the PO chose to equip the boat with such thick jib sheets - they are great to handle, except they pop out of the self-tailer if you are not forceful enough.
 
Last edited:
A nice feature - I wish mine had it! I have no idea why the PO chose to equip the boat with such thick gib sheets - they are great to handle, except they pop out of the self-tailer if you are not forceful enough.

It is a nice feature, and when correctly set works exceptionally well. We've never had an anccidental release once correctly adjusted for the sheets. It's a simple matter of pressing down on the ring and rotating it to the desired gap.

My "plan B" if the machining proved too difficult was to machine a "fixed height" version, but in the end, I managed to duplicate the original.

The replacement is in 6082T6 aluminium, and the weak sidewall in the original casting that measured around 2mm is now around 3mm.

The final modification is the slight undercut underneath the 3 "prongs" to allow the spring to be accomodated when fully compressed.


Hx7VPq0.jpg
 
It is a nice feature, and when correctly set works exceptionally well. We've never had an anccidental release once correctly adjusted for the sheets. It's a simple matter of pressing down on the ring and rotating it to the desired gap.

My "plan B" if the machining proved too difficult was to machine a "fixed height" version, but in the end, I managed to duplicate the original.

The replacement is in 6082T6 aluminium, and the weak sidewall in the original casting that measured around 2mm is now around 3mm.

The final modification is the slight undercut underneath the 3 "prongs" to allow the spring to be accomodated when fully compressed.


Hx7VPq0.jpg
Hello I just bought two Barbarrossa 41,2 winch and the top ring seems have exactly the same problem you was able to fixe. I wondering if I can order a ring or two from you. Notice That I live in France.
 
It is a nice feature, and when correctly set works exceptionally well. We've never had an anccidental release once correctly adjusted for the sheets. It's a simple matter of pressing down on the ring and rotating it to the desired gap.

My "plan B" if the machining proved too difficult was to machine a "fixed height" version, but in the end, I managed to duplicate the original.

The replacement is in 6082T6 aluminium, and the weak sidewall in the original casting that measured around 2mm is now around 3mm.

The final modification is the slight undercut underneath the 3 "prongs" to allow the spring to be accomodated when fully compressed.


Hx7VPq0.jpg
 
Hi @rszemeti your blog was a really interesting read. I have an "almost" identical Barbarossa 40.2 self tailing winch. My failed part is the stepped crown that sits above the upper jaw that you machined. It just broke apart when I stripped the top section of the winch for servicing.

Any chance of a discussion offline about maybe manufacturing a couple of those?

Having the same trouble you had trying to track down an old one for stripping /spares
 
Not really a question, just a sort of blog of my repair of a winch.

When I purchased the boat, my surveyor missed (amongst other things) a broken main winch. Parts are not available anymore, I didn't fancy mis-matched winches so replacing both of them would have been expensive ... and even secondhand ones were not cheap (a pair went for £910 on eBay recently)

I decided to have a go at making the broken part, shown here. The top ring of the self-tailign gear. It is complicated in that in can be adjusted on a ratchet system to set the height to match the rope diameter in use.

RQme2ni.jpg


The broken part looked like this:

B0FdFYG.jpg


A part was turned on the lathe, then the 3 "prongs" cut on the CNC router:

eMwo3l5.jpg


Finally, finish machined, the "angles" cut on the top of the prongs and then polished.

pc0SNCp.jpg


Cutting the angles on the top of the teeth was possibly the hardest part, requiring a jig making for the router and some very careful handwheel operations, I didn't feel I could let the CNC control have at it!

All in all very happy with the result, will be anodised next week and saves a couple of grand on new winches!
Hi. Very good job. I have the same problem. So my question is, are you able to create 2 pieces and ship it to France ? Thx a lot. Regards.
 
Nice job. It looks as if the original was cast, and one machined from a decent grade of aluminium alloy plate or bar will be much less likely to fail.
 
Not really a question, just a sort of blog of my repair of a winch.

When I purchased the boat, my surveyor missed (amongst other things) a broken main winch. Parts are not available anymore, I didn't fancy mis-matched winches so replacing both of them would have been expensive ... and even secondhand ones were not cheap (a pair went for £910 on eBay recently)

I decided to have a go at making the broken part, shown here. The top ring of the self-tailign gear. It is complicated in that in can be adjusted on a ratchet system to set the height to match the rope diameter in use.

RQme2ni.jpg


The broken part looked like this:

B0FdFYG.jpg


A part was turned on the lathe, then the 3 "prongs" cut on the CNC router:

eMwo3l5.jpg


Finally, finish machined, the "angles" cut on the top of the prongs and then polished.

pc0SNCp.jpg


Cutting the angles on the top of the teeth was possibly the hardest part, requiring a jig making for the router and some very careful handwheel operations, I didn't feel I could let the CNC control have at it!

All in all very happy with the result, will be anodised next week and saves a couple of grand on new winches!
Hello, I have the same problem with a 40" Barbarossa. Did you think about welding back the parts? Seems possibility too... Tks
 

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