Cindy,
This is exactly what a previous owner did on my SL555. When bringing in
chain, it was not usually much of a problem. However, when bringing in
the rope rode, it just would not strip and was such a pain that I
usually brought the rope rode in hand over hand.

I recently fabricated a new one, but have not had a chance to actually
use it. When I went to remove the old one, it turned out that there was
no set screw holding it in. The stripper was, however, severely frozen
in place and it took over an hour working with the largest vice grips I
had and liquid wrench to get it out. Fabricating the new one from SS
round stock (purchased for just a few bucks from
http://onlinemetals.com/) took just a few minutes. Instead of using a
set screw, I used a hex head bolt this time.

Hope this helps - Dan

Cindy Ballreich wrote:
We have a Simpson Lawrence 555 "Sea Tiger" windlass which is in need of
some basic service. It seems that the key to removing the gypsy (so that
the clutch can be cleaned and re-greased) is to remove the chain
stripper. In order to remove the stripper, one first needs to remove the
set screw which (on our windlass) is not only frozen, but sheared off
flush with the base of the windlass.

Being a good little net user, I've googled the rec.boats* newsgroups and
found all manner of really unpleasant techniques for removing frozen
steel bolts from aluminum objects. We've been gradually moving up the
ladder of suggested drastic-ness, but before we do anything that might
damage the housing, I was wondering if there was anyone out there who
may have done this specific screw removal project and who might share
how he did it.

Also, how bad would it be if we just cut off the stripper and tried
living without it?

Thanks

Cindy

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG