Rebuilding Seatiger 555 Windless

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Capthead

Capthead

Guru
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
956
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Heads Up
Vessel Make
Grand Banks 42 Classic
Any pros here on rebuilding this windless? I took the bottom off mine and found it had the very minimal amount of grease in it. It was leaking from the main bearing seals and I can tell both the seals and bushings are worn. I found SL Spares online and ordered parts from them. They are in Scotland. I also bought the two page manual on how to disassemble the unit. It doesn't look that difficult except I can't budge the clutch wheel nut or remove the drum.

I guess I need a wheel puller and elbow grease.

What is the preferred grease to use. I see it takes 5 pounds.
 
That's the same windlass we have . I bought this one a while back and reworked some of it . I bought some off the shelf gears with the right pitch and had a local machineshop bore them out to the right size . I also had them make me a new clutch cone . I need to make a new chain stripper. The drum nut might be left hand I can't remember .
 

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Mine doesn't have a chain stripper. It must be an old one. My boat is a 1966. It works great though. I just need the bushings and seals.

Funny thing is I read posts in another forum where people prefer this over powered windlesses.
 
Pack Mule said:
That's the same windlass we have . I bought this one a while back and reworked some of it . I bought some off the shelf gears with the right pitch and had a local machineshop bore them out to the right size . I also had them make me a new clutch cone . I need to make a new chain stripper. The drum nut might be left hand I can't remember .
Click to expand...

Do you have rode/chain? And does the gypsy handle the rode too? When mine was attached before the hawse for the chain was located away from the windless so I always had to hand feed the chain and when I went to rode I moved to the drum.
 
Yes I have chain and rode combo . My gypsy handels the rode also and my chain stripper strips the rode out of the gypsy .The rode sorta wedges in the gypsy below the chain lugs . Now my chain stripper is screwed up so I just use the drum or by hand until the chain shows up .Look and see if there is a hole where the chain stripper used to be .It locks in with set screw.
Most of the time we just pull the rode in by hand until we get to the chain and then set the chain lugs in the gypsy .
 
Last edited:
FF here on the TF knows the most about the SL 555 maybe he will chime in or you could send him a pm . He got me started on the one I have .
 
S&L 555 is the best manual windlass ever made ! ....

I took one apart on my old sailboat 20 yrs, ago out of curiosity to see what was inside and I too found minimal of grease and on the bottom pan. I re packed with a ton of wheel bearing grease and sold the thing 15 yrs. later to a guy that still has it.

There is almost nothing in there that is complex short of the clutch cones.
 
The SL 555 is so good it is hard to believe it is British!!!

Many cruisers use mostly nylon so prefer ultimate reliability instead of help bringing in 600ft of chain.
 
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