Gibb winch overhaul advice please

[Burnham_Bob]

Last season, one of the Gibb winches on my Halcyon 23 was stiff and the forum gave me some advice. Apparently, to remove the winch body I was to undo the screw in the winch handle socket and the body would lift off.

Now I've come round to doing it and the screw comes out - after some WD40 - but the body is still firmly attached. Do I need to release something else or is it just stuck and likely to respond to some help? If its just stuck I can work at it but would like to know if that's all there is to it.

 

[tugboat]

The Gibb winches on one of my previous boats were held together simply by the screw in the handle socket. There was a washer under the screw I remember. The drum should now slide upwards. If it is very tight I would suggest carefully driving some wooden wedges under the base of the drum to force it up. Don't use metal tools as you will damage the aluminium. Some WD40 down the hole to soak into the crud on the shaft for a day or two may help too.

 

[dickh]

I had the same problem with my old gibb winches years ago - I seem to remember that I did as suggested and levered the drum upwards with two scredrivers. I definitely took them home and cleaned & lubricated them on the bench. If I remember I had to really clean out the bores as they were a very tight fit on the shaft.

 

[Seal_surfer]

I may have an instant cure - or at least an improvement for these GIBB winches. Try dribbling a little White Spirit into the top recess/handle hole and work the drum from time to time. This transformed my small GIBBs, whereas all other lubricants seemed to affect the plastic bushing and bind even more. This makes it a very quick regular maintenance routine, only requiring stripping to get to the pawls.

Good luck,

Phil L

 

[snowleopard]

levering under the bottom flange may cause damage to the winch or the deck. a safer way to release the drum is to pull upwards on the drum while giving the spindle a downward whack. this needs two people, one to pull and the other to hammer. to protect the thread of the spindle, leave the screw in place, just loosen it by a turn or two, then use a metal rod and a hammer to hit it. if you can find one, an automotive hub puller works even better.

pre-soaking with wd40 helps. a spoonful of diesel also works as a release agent.

 

[cliff]

I assume the drum has siezed into the shaft otherwise the drum sould come off after removing the screw IIRC.

I had a similiar problem a few years ago and managed to remove the drum by turning it with a winch handle while pulling upwards. The drum sort of wound its self off the spindle.
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[Peadar]

Have just dismantled and greased a Gibb winch. A problem now with the inner 2nd speed drum not staying in. There are 2 'O' rings - 6mm outer and 5mm inner across. Can anyone confirm whether both interface under and on top of the inner drum or do both go on top? There seems to be a need to have a locking ring. I do not think I lost anything.

 

[dcboat]

Does anyone know if, and if so where, spares are available for Gibb winches - they seem to have been bought out by Lewmar - presumably to kill competition!!