Galley Maid

Drove over to Okeechobee to pick up my new 5/16 HT wildcat. As most of you know, Galley Maid is a shadow of its former self, but getting along very nicely. The business is now roughly 5% heritage Galley Maid parts and repairs, and 95% contract sheet metal fab and machining. The business is run by the 2 grandsons of the founder, who are hands-on in the shop, not trust fund loungers. The traditional Galley Maid stuff is run by Rick and another guy; Rick is a blast to talk to, and has been there 42 years. My guess is when he retires, the traditional Galley Maid stuff will retire with him.

Thanks for the report, I was wondering how they were doing.

Glad to hear they are still a going concern, my windlass is soon to be on its way there for an overhaul and thrust bearing. There must have been a failure of the sealant around the unit since the motor and gearbox under the deck are crusty with rust, the chrome on the baseplate and the gypsy is flaking off as well. After reading about windlass removal here, I am sure glad I am not the one to do the job. In our case, it is made worse by the two Glendenning cable boxes blocking access from the forward stateroom: I can see it from there, but I can't touch it! Some poor SOB at the yard is going to have a rough few days next week......

BTW, the yard was told by Galley Maid that since the new bearing was not lubricated, they could not warranty it. The service manager says he was told that it would be fine for years if I only powered down a "few times a month", but it was not meant for daily usage. I assume that occasional disassembly and greasing would extend service life?

My intent is to keep my wife as far away from the gypsy and moving chain as possible, especially a freefalling chain, ideally only manning the rinse hose as the chain comes aboard. Does anyone know if there is an Ideal vertical windlass with a similar footprint and the ability to power up and down? By the time we rebuild this one and get it rechromed it may not be a big jump in cost up to a new one.

That kind of implies they’re using an open bearing. For a couple dollars more, you could put in a sealed bearing...can’t be relubricated, but in a windlass, it should last almost forever. Call Rick and ask...if they’re already using a sealed bearing, don’t worry about the lubrication and warranty, it will outlive all of us.

If the case is that bad, he can probably pull all of the inards and install them in a new case. He did that for us.
The "easier" way to drop the windlass is to remove the motor first so as to reduce the weight. I did the job myself and I can say without hesitation that you will hit that pressed in portion of the case from the top with a full sledge quite a bit before it will budge. I mauled a piece of pipe with a cap on it that I drove down into it.
If the case is that rusted I am thinking you have balsa core rot over the windlass. Get ready for a big bill.

They got the windlass out of the foredeck and it's a mess. Evidently water has been leaking in for quite some time. Galley Maid looked at the pictures and said it would be no problem to overhaul so off it goes. The deck is another issue, one that will need investigation. The core is rotten and it is just a question of finding out how far under the deck the damage goes and how much deck is going to have to come up.

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Originally Posted by Westfield 11

They got the windlass out of the foredeck and it's a mess. Evidently water has been leaking in for quite some time. Galley Maid looked at the pictures and said it would be no problem to overhaul so off it goes. The deck is another issue, one that will need investigation. The core is rotten and it is just a question of finding out how far under the deck the damage goes and how much deck is going to have to come up.

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Been there, done it. The answers to your questions are, “a long ways”, and “a lot”. Some here have done it themselves with good results. I had mine done by an independent fiberglass guy in So Carolina. His number was 1/3 what I had quoted by the big yards, and he did beautiful work.

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/sho...ndlass-removal