Catalina 309 winch servicing

[RickC]

I finally decided to clean and re-lube the winches on my 2009 Catalina 309. The cabin-top winches went smoothly. However, because the genoa sheet winches are partially recessed into the cockpit coamings, both sets of gears need to be removed by sliding them outboard. Unfortunately, both of my winches are mounted about 180 degrees wrong, with the large gears on the inboard side, so there is no room to remove them (and they don't fit through the space for the smaller gears that face outboard). Do I have the only incorrectly assembled 309? Or has anyone found a trick for removing the larger gearset? I'm not keen on trying to remove the very well-bedded winch body, fill the mounting holes, re-drill everything and re-bed them.

 

[Benny17441]

I think that given the circumstances the best course of action might be to clean and lube the gears in place. The job may not be as thorough but the results will be an improvement over their previous condition. You have not reported any fault with the winches so the need to disassemble does not seem obligatory. It could be a little messy on the fiberglass so making an apron around the winches and having at hand the products to clean and polish might help.