Keeping your winches in top order

Hear that hard 'click, click, click'? Could be your winches telling you they need attention. Experienced cruiser and mechanical engineer, Ralph Skelton, explains how to keep your winches in top working order.

It doesn't matter if you do your own maintenance or have someone do it for you, most of us still want to know how the various bits and pieces of our boat operates.  The more you know, the more comfortable you'll feel in your judgement and your ability to keep your gear in good working order.  This article is the first in a series that will look at basic boat maintenance procedures and help you take better care of your pride and joy.

The job we're going to examine today is winch maintenance.  Generally speaking, the major manufacturers of yacht winches publish excellent instructios, both hardcopy and on the web.  If the manufacturer of your winch is no longer in business, you might want to talk to Allen Hutton from Hutton-Arco.  Hutton-Arco are based in Sydney and have a range of spare parts and knowledge to suite winches not originally manufactured by them.

How often should I service my winches? If you ask 10 people on your dock you’ll most likely get 10 different answers.  My rule of thumb is 2 or 3 times in a hard sailing season, and at least once at the beginning of the season, and again at the end.

What tools will I need? This varies from winch to winch, but generally a few assorted screwdrivers, some allen keys, some light machine oil, some winch grease, some white spirit or similar solvent, a dish big enough to put all the winch bits in to wash them, a small paint brush, lots of paper towel or rags, a small secure dish to put little parts in as they come off and lastly, an old towel with a round hole slightly bigger than the winch base to go over the winch and protect your boat.

A word of caution: white spirit is highly flammable, and the vapour from it is denser than air.  It can form an explosive air fuel mixture in the bilge of your boat unless you take great care.   Some winches need to be unbolted from the boat to access the bearings, gears and pawls on the bottom of the main shaft.  If your winch is of this pattern, you will need a spanner or two as well.
As you replace the winch you will also need new bedding compound, such as Sikaflex, to ensure that no water can penetrate your boat down the bolt holes.

What if I reassemble it incorrectly? Generally speaking, you can’t.  You do need to watch things like washers so that they go back in the correct place.  On all winches we have serviced, the big parts simply won’t fit except in their correct place and/or order.

What can go wrong? The worst thing you need to be aware of is bits popping out when you don’t expect them to, and falling off the boat. Particularly as you lift the drum off. The bearings sometimes stay inside the drum and fall out a little later at an inconvenient time, so keep a hand or some rag under the drum as it comes off until you find out exactly where the bearings are.

OK. So now we’re ready.

Spread your rag or paper towel out around the area where you are going to work.  Winch service is messy.

Make sure you have everything you need. You don’t want to go fossicking around in your pristine boat with greasy hands looking for stuff after you’ve started. Dismantle the winch by undoing whatever holds the drum and the self-tailer (if fitted) on.

This is usually a circlip or a single screw, or some screws or a large screwed cap. Put the little parts in the little dish and the big parts in the big dish. 

Wash all the old grease off everything with the white spirit and paint brush.

Put on paper towel/rag to drain and dry. Some people then wash all this in hot water and detergent to get rid of the white spirit.  We find it evaporates pretty quickly.

Check that all the pawls move freely, and that no pawl springs are broken.  If they are, they must be replaced.

Lightly oil the pawls and their springs. Grease tends to make these items sticky, so use  oil.

Lightly grease all the other wearing surfaces as they are reassembled – gear teeth, shafts, plain bearings and roller bearings – are the main areas to note.  Make sure you grease the gear machined into the inside of the bottom of the drum.

When everything is reassembled, check that the drum spins freely in the correct direction and doesn’t spin at all in the reverse direction.

Clean up the mess you’ve made and check that the winch operates correctly. If it all works beautifully and there is no mess on the boat, you have earned a celebratory drink (or 2) of your choice.

1.Lay your towel over the winch, then lay out your tray, tools and consumables to protect your boat.
2. Undo screw(s) at top cap and remove the self-tailing assembly. Place in tray.
3. Remove drum and place in tray.
4. Carefully disassemble the winch. Lay parts out where they cannot fall overboard.
5. Note any obvious signs of wear or damage in case parts need replacement.
6. Place all parts in tray and clean thoroughly with white spirits and a brush.
7. Dry cleaned parts thoroughly and place on towel.
8. Lubricate each ratchet pawl with light oil.
9. Grease gears and rachet wheels with quality winch grease.
10. Work grease in.
11. Lightly grease all surfaces.
12. Assemble underside of winch.
13. Resecure the assembly. On my winch this requires an allen.
14. Use seating compound to ensure no water ingress through bolt holes.
15. Reseat centre stem on deck.
16. Once seated, through bolt into place. Requires a helper to fit washers and nuts.
17. Seat pawls in main spindle and lubricate. Do not use grease on pawls.
18. Fit gear over pawls and main spindle. Ensure it turns smoothly.
19. Marry up idler gears and grease both.
20. Work grease in between teeth.
21. Seat idler gear assembly into position so they marry up with the ratchet.
22. Press the gear spindle down to lock the idler gear into place.
23. Turn gears manually to test for smooth action.
24. Grease roller bearings and seat on main spindle.
25. Apply grease to teeth on inside of drum.
26. Spread grease around in between teeth.
27. Assemble the drum and self-tailer.
28. Fit chrome feeder arm to self tailer.
29. Seat screw to lock self tailer in place. Note: small spot of seating compound to seal from water ingress.
30. Clean-up and Bob's your uncle. As you turn the drum, the clicking of the pawls inside the winch should be soft. Hard clicks indicate the winch needs a service.