Please help identify this bronze centerboard winch

[autumnbreeze27]

Is this a Merriman? It has no markings anywhere on it. It controls our centerboard on our 1978 Herreshoff.

A bronze pawl broke on our trip to Mexico, we are now in La Paz. We had somebody make us a new pawl out of stainless, but when I re-assembled the winch it does not work right. Before the winch broke we would raise the centerboard by turning it clockwise, and the pawl would go click-click-click. To lower it we just turned it counterclockwise.

I can see how the pawl works, but I have no idea by what mechanism it allowed us to lower it. Now that I've reassembled it with the new pawl it would allow us to bring the board up, but no way to lower it.

Any help identifying it or helping me troubleshoot it would be greatly appreciated!

[AiniA]

It is a Merriman. We have a chrome-plated version of this winch but it does have the logo on top. What would happen if you flipped the pawl over? I seem to remember doing that once with ours when I had it apart. One way worked and the other not.

[autumnbreeze27]

The old part is marked T on the "top", and wear marks inside the drum indicate I have it the right direction, but just for grins I flipped it to the other side and it didn't work at all that direction.

Any other tips? Is it because the new part is stainless? does it have to be exact to the micrometer? It's ever-so-slightly off, I already had the guy work on it once.

Can the old one be welded back together? Would it hold?

[Boatyarddog]

Looks to me in the second picture, that the bronze bushing in the top cover is extremely worn to one side.
The relatively close tolerances in the gear housing and the bushing wear may cause it to tilt on release, and be binding.
It's a gear reduction unit, to deal with the weight, those gears should be running parallel with no mis alignment.
Look to see if there is and scraping or gouging in the housing, or shiny areas that may indicate a rubbing area.
It maybe machined that way, but looks suspicious to me.


Sent from SV Cloud Duster

[mike d.]

Stainless should not cause a problem! It has to be wear to other parts of the winch.