GIBB 16 RA Winch

[Praxinoscope]

I have also posted this on Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt as well in an attempt to widen the coverage and maybe contact someone else with the same winches.

I thought I had stripped nearly every type of winch easily, but have now found my ‘nemesis’. My new boat, a 1980 Sadler 25 has Gibb 16RA two speed sheet winches fitted, no problem reoving the drum, it’s the common circlip fixing, but then!!! The central column has a stainless steel rod fixed through it which prevents removal of the needle bearings etc. One end of the steel rod is knurled which suggests to me that this is not a removable item, so does this mean I have to remove the winches and work from underneath if I want to strip them completely?
Has anyone any experience with these winches, their construction is a bit more complex than most but quality of manufacture looks good and I don’t think there is any major wear on any of the components, it’s just I like to give my winches a full strip down and service at the end of the season.
I have tried the Sadler & Starlight association with no luck.

Down inside there are two 'sticky/soggy' bits of what I think were once nitrile cord fitted through part of the ratchet, see photo , which I think are used as cushions against the steel rod, does nitrile go like this with age?

Thanks for any assistance you can give.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I had a pair of Gibb ST 25s which had to be removed to fully strip down. Maybe yours are similar. If you take them off and strip down you may discover a way to do them without.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Ghostly moron, thanks, I had a horrible feeling that I have to take them off completely, ******* it, that is definitely a winter job.

 

[pvb]

The central column has a stainless steel rod fixed through it which prevents removal of the needle bearings etc. One end of the steel rod is knurled which suggests to me that this is not a removable item, so does this mean I have to remove the winches and work from underneath if I want to strip them completely?

It looks to me that the knurling on the rod is to enable it to be pressed in (plain end first) and the knurling retains it in place. If you press or tap it out from the plain end, it should be removeable.

Edit: A quick Google search shows that you were given this suggestion 4 months ago!

 

[Praxinoscope]

Thanks pvb, Yes I was given this answer, however having tried knocking it through after soaking inWD 40, and also tried pressing it with a modified ‘g’ clamp No Joy in moving it all. I was hoping that someone who hadn’t seen the original post might see this one and have a few useful suggestions, obviously can’t use a ‘blue spanner’ as it’s too close to plastic, don’t want that it too hard with a club hammer or similar (too much risk of damage), so unless iI get a really practical suggestion it looks like remove the winches and see if our local blacksmith can shift in his press.

 

[ghostlymoron]

My advice is given without being able to see your photos - I'm on my phone ATM.

 

[neil_s]

To drift out that pin, you will have to use some force. Your winch looks very similar to my RA28's. I laid the central column across the jaws of a vice with the knurled end of the pin between the jaws and struck the other end with a lump hammer and a punch.

The rubber bumpers on my winches are also all bulgy and sticky!

 

[Praxinoscope]

Neil_s

Thanks for your advice, I had this horrible feeling that I would need to remove the winches and work on them in the workshop, so it looks like a winter job. A bit of a design fault as I would expect winches to be easily serviceable aboard..
Re the rubber bits, I’m going to try getting some nitrile cord and making new inserts. A quick measurement suggests 6mm nitrile cord might do the job (actually the nearest dia is 5.7mm).
Will let you know if it works and drop a bit in the post to you if you want to try replacing your sticky bits.