Ideal vertical windlass removal???

[kaptcab]

My friends at "Ideal" are on vacation and I am trying to remove the drum and wildcat from very old vertical windlass before the sun goes down. I'm thinking that a wheel puller must be involved ??? Visible threads on main shaft after top washer and screw removal make me wonder if drum must be unscrewed ?? Here comes the sawsall.......

 

[Fanfare]

On mine the only thing holding the drum on was the screw and chrome washer on top of the winch. The shaft is bronze and has a stud sticking out one side which fits into a groove in the drum and keeps the drum and motor shaft from slipping. This means the drum must be removed vertically by prying evenly on both sides of the bottom of the drum. Unfortunately after so many years these were stuck. I put blocks of wood on the deck and used two prybars and judicious hammering to get them apart. I worried about bending/denting/breaking the drum, but it proved sturdy. A lot of penetrating oil helps.

There is a bearing under there at the deck. Give this a shot of heavy oil annually as it is also the seal to the motor. It's steel and tends to rust.

 

[MikeP]

If it's the same Ideal that's on our 53, as noted, the big nut and washer is all that holds the drum in position. Obviously, over years, it is possible that the drum has siezed to the shaft. However, frequently the clutches between the drum and wildcat will sieze to each other, making it where you can't remove the drum because there is a pin that holds the wildcat to the shaft. This happens because commonly folks tighten the nut to lock the drum/wildcat together and never release the pressure. Over time, moisture gets into the clutch plates and expands them and locks them together, making the drum/wildcat into essentially one piece. The drum has to be removed first (taper fit to the shaft), then the pin that holds the wildcat to the shaft.

SO...remove the nut and washer. Then with a heavy rubber or rawhide hammer (or a small sledge with a block of wood to protect the drum) strike the drum sideways at the top EDGE. Usually only takes one blow, not all that hard, to release it but maybe a couple. You may see it pop vertical a fraction of an inch as the clutches separate and the springs push it apart.

Pull off the drum and you will see the little keeper held with a 1/4" (or thereabouts) pin that goes through the keeper and shaft. Then you can pull off the wildcat. It would be a good time to replace the springs and clutch plates before putting it all back together.

Good Luck!

 

[SKYCHENEY]

On the GalleyMaid (which was supposedly copied from the Ideal design) the drum is removed as stated above. Once you have the drum and wildcat off, you will need a pipe that is the same diameter as the housing that sticks up through the deck. Put the pipe over the shaft to protect it and strike the pipe with a BA hammer (don't forget to remove the bolts that hold the gear housing to the deck first and leave one nut on loosely so the whole thing doesn't come crashing down). The gearbox may be stuck very tightly in the deck flange and they were usually put up there with 5200. You may need several big whacks to get it free.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Ours was a real challange. I tried to rotate the whole assembly from the forepeak. I used a 9 ft. steel pinch bar and finally got the 5200 to give up. I removed all nuts, bolts, deck plate, and drum first. I also removed the motor from the gearbox. Don't worry about that thing falling; you should be so lucky. Just keep trying to rotate it and eventually, ( before you are ready for a nursing home), it will give in to your demands.