Servicing #3 Gibb winches - BlueMoment

Gibb #3 winch maintenance. Dec 2008.
Problem : 1 Winch drum floppy on spindle
2 Hex socket floppy within drum, and plastic sticking out of top.
Loosen screw at bottom of winch handle hex socket, and lift complete drum and ratchet
assembly clear of base and spindle.
Remove lower pawls and springs from the spindle base for inspection and cleaning. The
springs are friendly captives and will not escape. The screw and star-shaped washer is on
view on the left and in position on the right.
The lower pawls and springs are top left.
Underneath, the main bearing sleeve can be seen. It has a recess for grease on it’s internal
bore, and is split so wear can be taken up by shimming with tape on the outside before
pressing back into the drum.

The stainless steel circlip needs to be prised out of it’s groove and “wound “out completely.
And the top half of the plastic bearing for the hex drive prised out.

The stainless steel circlip needs to be.

And lift out the pawls and springs - not so captive this time!
The upper plastic ring pre-greased,
And lift out the pawls and springs - not so captive this time!

So that’s it in bits,
Top left: upper pawls and springs, lower pawls with springs. circlip, upper and lower plastic
sleeve.
Bottom left: Drum, hex drive ratchet, screw and star-washer, main sleeve bearing .
The solution was to swap upper and lower halves during re-assembly, there being enough of
the flange left to secure both the upper pawls. The inner bearing surface was intact on all four
parts.(two per winch)

After cleaning with paraffin, or citronella lamp oil if you prefer a fragrant winch, the unit is
reassembled with lightly lubricated parts, in the reverse order to the above procedure.
There are few “gotchas” : The upper pawl springs are a little fiddly and it is slightly
unnerving having to press so hard to bed the upper plastic ratchet bearing, otherwise it’s a
doddle.
The upper plastic ring pre-greased,
And the last bearing being persuaded to go home before fitting the circlip.

The batteries are camera-fodder - no electric winches on this boat!
All that remains is to re-fit the lower pawls and assembly to the spindle and base, which
remain on the boat.
At that time shimming of the main bearing sleeve will be done little by little until satisfactory
play is achieved.
I hope this may be of use/encouragement to someone.
Hook the spring onto it’s peg

and position the pawl on it’s

If there was play in the main bearing, - wobbly drum - then the split bearing can be tightened
by adding tape to the outside before refitting into the drum.
The internal groove should be full of grease

Squeeze the split bearing together and push into the drum. Then pop it back onto the spindle
turning clockwise to set the pawls, and test for play. Add more tape as necessary - the slot can
be widened using a hacksaw blade if more “shrink” is needed.
Don’t forget to tighten down the retaining screw!
Happy sailing.