Is it broke ???

[GJD]

Here's our Galley Maid Windless looking pretty (mostly). Right now, however, there's about a half quart of oil running out of it and onto the deck.

Anyone be be so kind as to offer a diagnosis???

Kimi Dee's on the hard and it's been freezing here in Cincinnati.

Add another Spring project (to the list of 50!)

Thanks kindly for any advise!

[yachtsmanbill]

I bet its full of water pushing the oil out. You really ought to drain it and flush it ASAP! Rain water can get in there (accumulate) and when it freezes, it expands.
ws

[Genesis]

Yep.

There is an O-ring seal on the shaft that requires disassembly to change. Its easy once you take it apart, and they're easy to take apart.

Remove the capstan/gypsy, unbolt it and disconnect the wiring, and it comes out downward.

Remove and disassemble, remove the shaft, replace seals.

[GJD]

Thank you gents! Will kick that one right up the list.

[Maynard Rupp]

Just wait until you try to remove it. Ours was stuck in the hole by caulk. I had to use a huge bar and work it back and forth through the bulkhead door. Take the motor off first. It is heavy, but so is the windlass case. Working your body around in the forepeak is no walk in the park either. Karl Genesis makes it sound easy. I did ours 5 years ago and I still remember the pain. I don't remember the easy ones, just the real tough ones.

[SKYCHENEY]

I couldn't get my GM windlass out so I called Rick at GM. He told me to make a pipe with a plate welded on top to beat it out. The pipe slides over the shaft and rests on the outside housing, just outside of the seal. I beat on it several times with a 30lb sledge hammer to break it free. I really thought I might break something, but everything seemed okay. The amount of 5200 on that thing was amazing. I still had to cut some of it loose with a utility knife. I surely would not call it EASY to remove.

[Walter P]

Gee Greg, only 50 items on your list? Boy some guys have all the luck. My 48 has a GM also which I removed. It actually came out pretty easy and I probably won't be re-installing it since mine lacks the chain Gypsy. GM quoted me way too much to convert it to Capstan and Gypsy so I decided to buy a new windless instead.

Walt

[Genesis]

I had to make up a pipe "basher" to get mine out.

Used a piece of pipe sized to fit the area of the boss (there's a clear mating line between the plate and the body) long enough to clear the top of the spindle.

Screw on pipe cap, place pipe, have someone hold it and pound it out. I used a small (8lb) hand sledge and had to BEAT on it. I also removed the motor first.

Leave the nuts on loosely otherwise it will CRASH when it breaks free.

Oh, and use lots of PB Blaster. The tube seizes to the plate.

It should NOT have been caulked in such a way to prevent it from being removed, but who knows - if someone 5200'd it in place you're in for a lot of NOT-FUN time getting it out.

[yachtsmanbill]

You need to make it HOT HOT HOT and the 5200 will liquefy. Heat the brass till spit sizzles (250F) and you can ease it out (of the 5200 anyway)!
If youre worried about the paint, cut a hole in a thick towel the diameter of the base, and keep it wet. Like my Russian friend sez, "thats merely a pie walk". ws

[SKYCHENEY]

If you weld a larger plate on the top of the pipe, then the guy holding it won't be quite as scared of being hit by that hammer. It makes for a bigger target. Unless, of course, you want to hit that guy.