WINCHES 101
Winch maintenance is so easy there’s no excuse for not doing it
The other day I came across the following passage in my Boat owner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual: “Given the ease and speed with which they can be serviced, it is a shame that so many boatowners go from one year to the next without paying the slightest attention to their winches.”
The result was a rather severe “oops” moment: it had been at least two years since I last serviced our winches, and it could well have been four! At the first opportunity, I therefore pulled all the drums on my winches only to find the bearings, gears and other working parts in excellent shape with clean grease throughout. I did not, therefore, bother to disassemble them and do a full service.
That said, had this been our first Nada, the winches would likely have been suffering from corrosion and other problems. The reason for this is that our first Nada was exceptionally wet, with the winches frequently doused in saltwater, whereas our current Nada (our fourth) is an exceptionally dry boat, aboard which the winches have seen only occasional spray. In other words, on some boats it really is essential to service winches annually, and sometimes twice a year. On others, every other year is more than enough.
Another significant difference between the two boats is in their winch construction and
disassembly. Modern winches require few, if any tools to disassemble, whereas the older a winch the more involved the procedure is likely to be.
Many new Lewmar winches, for example, require no tools at all, while Nada’s current Andersen winches simply require a single Allen wrench. In the case of the Lewmars, a hand-tightened locking ring on top of the drum enables the drum to be lifted off, providing access to all the other parts, which can also be disassembled by hand. In the case of the Andersens, the removal of four Allen bolts provides the same access.
By contrast, on older winches there may be a spring ring holding the drum in place (which requires a small flat-bladed screwdriver to pry out) or a snap ring (which requires specialized snap-ring pliers) or some other device. Many Barient winches require a deck plate key.
Regardless of winch make or design, there are some precautionary measures that should be taken when disassembling one.
First, be sure to clear the area around the winch and plug any drains. There are certain small, spring-loaded parts, notably pawls, that are essential to winch operation and which can easily fall out. If lost with no replacements on board, the winch will be disabled (a service kit, which will contain spare pawls and springs, should be in the spares locker).
Second, if the winch has a self-tailing mechanism (as almost all do today) before removing the drum mark the position of the stripper arm in relation to the boat. (I stick a piece of masking tape on deck to show the stripper arm’s alignment.)
Third, on many winches, when you lift the drum a half inch or so, the self-tailer will also be freed up and if not held in place by hand fall off, at which point—if you are very unlucky—it will hit the side deck and bounce overboard! Sometimes there are also pawls embedded in the drum that can work their way loose. Similarly, there are a couple of bearing races, or roller bearings, around which the drum spins and which may come up with the drum and then try their utmost to go for a swim.
If the bearing races don’t come out with the drum, they can now be pried off the center structure of the winch. After that, with the drum and bearings off, this center spindle, or stem, assembly can be pulled out of most modern winches by inserting a winch handle into the top of the spindle (in the normal winch handle hole) and then wiggling the spindle backward and forward while at the same time lifting upward. Be warned, however, that on older winches there are likely to be a couple of retaining inserts that will have been uncovered when the lower bearing was removed and which will need to be pried out. So if your spindle does not immediately come up, go looking for something like this. Occasionally, there will also be a circlip somewhere, which you will need circlip pliers to remove.
After that you will need to deal with the various stainless steel gear spindles inserted in the winch base that hold the gears in place. These spindles typically have a head with one side flattened off, with the flat side fitting into a recess machined into the winch base. If there is more than one spindle, they will also be different lengths. Therefore, when they are replaced it is essential they go back in the same hole the correct way around, so be sure
to lay the parts out in a manner that enables you to keep track of this, especially with larger, more complex, three-speed winches.
Last but not least, come the gears. With a number of these—notably the ratchet gears with pawls bearing against their insides—they must also go back in place the same way up that they came out. Once again, it is important to keep track of this. If you don’t work in a methodical manner, it can be easy to put things back together the wrong way or to mix them up completely later on!
At this point, with the winch in pieces, it’s time to clean everything. Kerosene, diesel or mineral spirits all work well. Use a small disposable brush to get the gunk out of any nooks or crannies, and then let the parts dry. The proper operation of a winch is totally dependent on the pawls and pawl springs, so these should be inspected closely for any signs of damage or rusting. The pawls need to move freely in their slots.
Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. You will need a high-quality Teflon-based grease (all winch manufacturers supply their own brand) and some light machine oil. The grease should be used (sparingly) on all the gears and bearings (your disposable brush can be used to spread it around), while the oil goes on the pawls and pawl springs. The latter are never greased, as the grease may collect dust and dirt, or become thick enough to interfere with the free movement of the pawls.
During reassembly, nothing should ever be forced. If things don’t go back together by hand, something is wrong. Note also that during disassembly and cleaning, dirt sometimes falls into the base of the holes into which the gear retaining spindles fit. If the spindles do not seat fully, you need to figure out why.
Similarly, if the center spindle has any retaining keys and these will not go back in by hand, don’t force them. Fit a winch handle into the spindle and wiggle it around, at the same time moving it slightly up and down, until the keys slip into place. The last step of the process will be to replace the drum and self-tailing stripper arm, with the latter lined up with the piece of tape you stuck on the deck.
None of this is difficult. After you have done it once you will find it also does not take long. A complete tear-down, cleaning, lubrication and reassembly, even on a large winch with lots of parts, is not likely to take more than 30 minutes. There really is no excuse, other than age and absent-mindedness, for my winch neglect! s