Gibbs 16 RA winches

[Praxinoscope]

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.

 

[neil_s]

If your winches are similar to my RA28's, the knurled rod can be drifted out. Tap the non-knurled end to save having to drift through both sides of the central column!

 

[Praxinoscope]

Hi Neil

Thank, I did try very cautiously to tap the rod out but it seemed to be very solidly fixed and I didn’t want to damage anything, will try again. I will add a photo of the winch later which may help to identify similarity.

John