How to

Scillypete

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11 Jun 2003
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Isles of Scilly
www.peteandspamgosailing.blogspot.com
Remove a deceased vertical windlass? I am struggling to get the below deck motor to part company with the on deck windlass. All that seems to connect them is the stainless steel drive shaft. I have removed a rubber seal and a circlip but still it won’t drop out, I can see a bearing that the shaft passes through and there is what looks like a thick washer but that won’t shift and is not attached to the shaft as there is a visible gap when I push the motor from side to side. I have removed all the nuts from the bolts and the below deck flange has all broken away so the two are only now joined by the shaft.

help
 
Did you try hitting the top of the windlass with a mallet, or resting some scrap wood on it and hitting that with a hammer?
 
My vertical windlass has to be dismantled from the top as well as underneath. Remove the drum and then to remove the gypsy you have to get some round keys out or the shaft won't come release and pass through the bearings and oil-seals.
 
My Quick windlass has four studs in the bottom of the external bit that go through the deck and the bottom part. The nuts aren't easy to see, and even less easy to get at. Getting them off was interesting, reassembly even more so.
 
First stage is the model and parts diagram on line ?
Then other specific owners comments ..
Eg
Could just be be corrosion, hardened crud and a build up of much the wrong side of a slidy bit. in which case a bit of localised heat/cleaning/crowbar..

or it might be mechanically held by grub screws, circlips.. under greasy old muck.. ??

The grinder is pretty effective but you have to shield the whole boat(s) from contamination which will appear later as rust marks
 
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