Winch Cleaning and Service

NO - that is not the name of my new boat cleaning service!  No giggling either, this is serious. 

Gummy

Hi, Windy Winch here to ask...."When was the last time you cleaned your winches?  If it's been over a year or you can't remember or don't know then it might be time...in fact, it IS.  Winch grease breaks down and dirt builds up, so clean em up!"

Cleaning all the various parts

We had a winch that was making some funky noises last time we went sailing.  Additionally we have been very bad in terms of our winch maintenance so it was an overdue task for sure.

Dirty!  Even keeping it down in the bucket as much as possible using a wire brush it splatters all around 

Saturday we started by tackling the funky noise winch.  First step was pulling the whole thing apart carefully.  Happily we didn't drop any parts.  I put down a tablecloth just in case and to help keep the cockpit clean from dirty winch grease.  OMG - gobs and gobs of gummed up winch grease - eeewww. 

With a couple of buckets, wire brushes (note - these hurt like a muther when you brush your fingers instead of the winch part so be careful!) mineral spirits and rags, we were able to get all the parts cleaned up.



Some of the tools we used

We changed the springs and oiled them.  Then greased the various parts lightly with new winch grease and finally put it all back together....again without dropping any parts.  Voila - it cranked as smooth as a baby's...no....hum?....as smooth as an America's Cup regatta...no....hum?....smooth as a new fiberglass hull!  Yeah, that's it!  It cranked VERY smoothly.

Day two with three winches to go  - I did this at the top of the dock rather than splatter around the boat

The next day I tackled the other three.

Not as gummy but definitely dirty

Lenny Lewmar says it takes about 40 mins to service a winch.  Maybe for him.....but not our winches.  It took most of the day as the gears were really dirty and took some scrubbing to get clean.   *We don't really know Lenny Lewmar personally.  In fact we aren't really sure Mr Lewmar's first name is Lenny (it probably isn't) but that doesn't matter as it's now our official nickname for him. 

Dirtiest yet

Center stem all cleaned up and ready for re-assembly

 

Windy Winch here again.  You will need certain parts and tools when cleaning and servicing your winch (no giggling) so be sure you have everything before starting this project.
-replacement springs*
-replacement pawls*
-----*be sure these are for your specific brand and size of winch
-winch grease
-3-1 oil
-small brush - for applying the winch grease
-wire brush
-bucket (two is handy)
-toothbrush
-mineral spirits
-small screw driver -to help remove the collets
-small block of wood & hammer - to tap the O ring and unscrew it
- drop cloth
-rags
- old clothes

Ready for another year of cranking