Unable to remove a Harken Winch

[rubberduck]

In the process of finally servicing my Harken Winches on my new to me beneteau. This is the first time i have ever serviced a winch so i did a fair amount of research, etc. I managed three of them just fine but in have a classic manual 40,2 which requires the entire unit to be remove from the deck in order to remove the center gears and access the prawns and springs.

I removed all the bolts but the thing was stuck to the decking. I tried everything i could think of, multipal smacks with a rubber mallet, tried hammering a flat head screwdriver underneath... nothing. It wont move at all.

most the time i would just service what i can and move on but as we are planning on doing a number of off shore passages this year i want to ensure i can access everything in case of a failure.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any ideas?

[TheOffice]

Any sign of bedding compound/adhesive? If so, try UnBond 5200 or gasoline to soften it, then use a putty knife