Galley Maid Windlass removal

[Dan Mapes]

Edit: This is an on going project that aims to repair balsa core rot under the pulpit.


We've been to this well many times here, and the question I have is simple. It is a model BBHH-12-5-1/4 that all of a sudden turned into a rust ball. I have a feeling this is due to all of the rough water we traversed last Spring on the Exuma Bank because well, it's a surprise.
Anyway, I have had the topside apart before to lube the spindle, and this is not a big deal. It's a rope and chain model, and it still works. It's covered with flaking rust, but it still works.

It is ugly down below in the locker, and it has to come out.

Is it possible to remove the spindle before dropping the whole deal in the locker?

I ask because we have a rope/chain divider in the anchor locker and the only way this will drop low enough to allow the spindle to clear, is to remove the divider.

Jah. It's gonna suck.

 

[carolinacoast]

Rick Schaffrick at galley maid is the guy to help with parts and advice. He helped get ours done, and yes the divider came out. Rick's icontact info in Jupiter FL is richs08@bellsouth.net and 561. 262. 8104. Good luck.

 

[Dan Mapes]

We actually worked with the folks in Okeechobee where the phone numbers take you, for stove parts. All in all great help. I may go there with the windlass but that will happen after I get it out if the boat doesn't sink in the process.

 

[Dan Mapes]

The anchor line is out, I will leave the chain in place. The divider came out fine so tomorrow looks like a day to disconnect the electrics and get a sense of how heavy this sucker is. I believe I can squeeze into the locker to drop it.

Any ideas on setting it up for removal?

I was thinking a board across the rails with a line to the spindle to hold it in place until it is safe to drop it.

 

[Spellbound]

Years ago Genesis posted a thread on Windlass removal and soft decking around pulpit/windlass. I took out the divider, followed his instructions, mine came out rather easy and yes the unit was full of rust & heavy. Try searching for it as the process is spelled out ----- good luck.

 

[bobk]

Rick took mine out a few years ago to install a 'down' thrust bearing. He dropped it into the starboard compartment of the anchor locker by himself. They are heavy.

Bobk

 

[z28jimi]

Any ideas on setting it up for removal?

I was thinking a board across the rails with a line to the spindle to hold it in place until it is safe to drop it.

Dan,
What you are describing is what I used to get my Ideal windlass out. You can see the arrangement I used here.
http://twocaptains.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/new-windlass-for-magic-carpet/
The turnbuckle allowed me to lower it in stages, to a platform I set up in the anchor locker.
Good luck.

 

[Dan Mapes]

The topside gear is off, and PB blaster has been applied. The heavy cables are off I still have the temperature sensor lines to remove.

From what I see, once the circlip is out, it looks like the spindle rides in a brass/bronze pushing that is pressed into the vertical winch tube. Hence the need for a 2 1/4 OD pipe. maybe an 1 1/2+ ID pipe with a coupler on the end will be wide enough to land on the vertical tube and not the bushing.

 

[Dan Mapes]

I spoke with Rick Schaffrick at GM today to start the ball rolling with regard to prices. He basically echoed everything I have read here, but added that the motor should come off first because this will lighten it all up by about 30 pounds.

He also pointed out that in all of the times he has removed these, only one has fallen out without the mallet.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Ours took much brute force to remove. They used a caulk much like 5200 and we had an awful time breaking that stuff loose. I removed all the bolts and put a 6' steel bar through the door opening and caught it somewhere on the winch. We were able to get small rotational movement. Further work with the bar finally allowed me to lower the winch out. don't worry about dropping it. That never happened and it fought with us all the way out. Do remove he motor first.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Ok this is moving forward. Fortunately, the spindle tube protruded above the deck plate about 3/16 to a 1/4 inch. So an 1 1/2 pipe with a straight coupler on one end landed on the tube really well. With a cap on the 12 inch nipple I started beating.
With a 2 pound baby.
It laughed at me.

So I went to Lowes and bought a 10 pounder and wailed on it. And it moved. Only one divot into the deck plate so all in all it went well.

Now I need something that just fits into the bore of the deck plate because the threaded end pushes in on the bushing which is not good.

Tons of rust fell off the winch.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Ain't salt water great. Ours was a virgin fresh water boat at the time we removed the windlass. No rust at all, but what a tough job.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Actually today I was able to get it out the rest of the way. The trick was to get a "Merchant" coupling for the 1 1/2 pipe and grind down the end a little so it would get down into the deck plate without binding. Once that was installed 4 more whacks with the 10 pounder and it was hanging on the last bolt.
Prior to the last 4 whacks I pushed out 4 bolts, and ran some 1/4 in poly up through the 4 holes and over to a cleat. Then the last nut came off which allowed me to go back up topside and lower it down onto a board in the locker. However, before it came down the rest of the way I pulled a heavy black garbage bag over it to collect all the rust laying around on it.

We'll see how it goes. I know we need some glass work...

 

[magnawake]

Ah Man, Good Luck Dan. I'll be watching this project. I have been in SC at home sprucing up the house. The Blue Bayou is on the hard in Stewart. The 2nd of Sept. we will slash her and head down to Homestead, Fl for work. I'm crossing my fingers everything still works. I have never left our boat unattended for this long. It makes me nervous you know. Keep us posted on the windlass.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Pate we are going to need the good luck. The first estimate for the deck repair is 13K and that's if I remove and replace the pulpit. BTW not going there. So this is an expensive repair.
Essentially the damage runs from bow cleat to bow cleat and forward. The core is all rotted out.

 

[Dan Mapes]

It doesn't get more ugly than this. It's a total surprise. There are contributing factors that go back a couple of years. We'll see how it all unfolds.

 

[Dan Mapes]

So we have been the route with the insurance company and yes as you probably guessed it was declined. That being the case, there is more incentive to find a more cost effective solution to this mess.
Taking a lead from one of the shops, I went to work on the locker and laid down a coat of Kilz followed by a couple of coats of exterior gloss. So it looks good now up to the locker ceiling. The estimates we have seen so far read like a horror story of labor and glass work.
None of them are appealing. Especially since I have sounded the area and taken a few core samples with a hole saw.
Most if not all of the damage is forward of the bulkhead. This is great news. Perhaps the starboard cleat has an issue but that will not make itself obvious until the area is exposed one way or the other.
There are three basic approaches to this deal.
1) peel up the deck and lay down new coring along with a new foredeck (expensive)
2) peel off the lower laminate in the locker, clean it all out, install new coring going up and restore the lower laminate (cheaper I think)
3) peel off the lower laminate, clean up, restore lower laminate and pour expoxy with bubbles in, then repaint the deck (Swiss cheese the deck and restore).

I think I am going to build up a platform on the center board dividing the rope and chain sections and see how it feels. Right now 15-20K seems outrageous.

I am thinking of Fasco-110 putty and chunks of coosa board stuck up to the foredeck followed by a restoration of the lower laminate.

Warnings, advice and alternatives are welcome.

 

[magnawake]

Dan, You are scaring the HECK out of me. Florida isnt the place to do these big jobs. Its like wolves licking their chops at the boat yards. We are in Homestead now starting work tomorrow. Yuck !!! kepp me posted.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Pate if you go the route I will turn over everything I have.

It ain't pretty but I think there are those that will scare the crap out of you to extract more dollars.

 

[jim rosenthal]

One of my friends who is restoring a vintage fiberglass skipjack had the same problems with rot in a cored deck. He took up the outer layer of the deck, cleaned out the rotten coring, dried it thoroughly, and rebuilt the deck. I think he used Coremat. I have done the same thing and used Coosa, which I like a lot.

There are some advantages to doing it from the top. It is easier to see and work on, and you can weight the layers of new coring as you put them in, to help them bond solidly to what's underneath them. It is much harder to do that working from underneath.

He saved the removed outer layer of the deck and epoxied it back into place, weighting it with sandbags, when the core was rebuilt. It looks great and when painted will be invisible or nearly so.

For what it's worth, I would use several layers of thinner Coosa paneling, like 0.25", rather than one thick layer, although it takes longer. I did that in a repair of my aft bulkhead and it came out pretty well.