Centreboard Winch Maintenance

For quite a few years now, I have worried about my failure to inspect the means by which the webbing strap from Romilly’s centreboard winch is connected to the centreboard. As this is Speedwell’s twelfth season, I think it’s time I did something about it. Unfortunately I do not have access either to a boat hoist or to a slipway with a grid that would enable me to lower the plate and inspect it. I could have the boat craned out of the water, but would then have to build some kind of structure to support it while I worked safely underneath it.

I have also noticed this season that there are some signs of wear in the centreboard winch, and that makes me feel it will soon be time to remove it and inspect it, when the boat is laid up on the trailer. Can anyone offer any advice on removal of the winch, and does anyone know if its removal enables the webbing strap connection to the centreboard to be accessed through the opening left after removal of the winch?

I dread undoing the wrong screws or Allan keys and hearing the metallic clinking of little bits and pieces falling down the inside of the centreboard case!

Any guidance would be welcome.

David

    1. Phil Holden says:
      Jul 1, 03:21 PM

      I’m attaching part of the drawings from the SVP version the arrangement is very similar to drawings I have of our boat but it is a bit clearer on this and I don’t have to scan the image. I’ve added a red line to show that on our boats there is a higher “shoulder” and the fitting passes through a hole at the top aft end of the centreboard (red ring).

      I can’t be sure but I suspect that if you had the boat on the trailer and removed the winch and inspection window that it would be possible to access the fitting at the aft end of the winch tape without dropping the centreboard out of the boat. It might require the modification of a tool to open the fitting. You could then replace the fitting and the tape, clean up the winch and refit it all in the comfort of your cockpit on dry land.

      I know that you removed the pivot pin in order to fit spacer washers and therefore you could do this again to inspect the pivot pin and bushes for wear.

      I’m sure that it will not be as easy as I’m suggesting but do feel that it is worth a try this way before going to any more extreme or expensive alternatives.


    1. Nigel Irens says:
      Jul 7, 05:55 PM

      “I’m afraid I did not follow the various evolutions of the centreboard lifting mechanisms but hope the following observations might help.

      Firstly, I support Phil Holden’s comment when he suggests that it was intended that removal of the lifting gearbox from the case is the way to access the top of the board and webbing. The gearbox itself can then be taken away for servicing and an adequate inspection of the webbing and its attachment to the centreboard should be possible.

      I doubt if access is good enough, though, to do any remedial work on those components, so there may well be a need to remove the CB from its case. We used to do this by setting up the boat on blocks (placed ahead and behind the CB aperture in the keel), and manoeuvring it with a pair of crocodile jacks. Obviously there is a moment when the board leaves the hull and wants to fall on its side, but it does only weigh 90 kgs, so it can be man-handled with a bit of care!

      Again, I’m not sure how the attachment of the webbing might have evolved on later boats, but on the early ones we clamped it down with a rectangular stainless plate, secured with four machine screws tapped into the board itself. This is the area which may well need to be revised as the stainless fastenings will not be happy forever under water.” Hope this helps..

      Regards

      NIGEL


PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT BELOW