Servicing winches for a longer, more efficient life
by Harken on 3 May 2017
Harken Winches Harken
http://www.harken.com
A question we get asked often is all about winch servicing and how often should this be done and how hard is it. We thought we might try and answer the most common questions and put people’s minds at ease as to how it's done.
How often should you service your winches?
Everybody knows that winches need servicing. Rather less are comfortable with the task. This is a shame as it is a very straightforward process that requires only a modicum of practical aptitude.
How often should you service your winches? This depends on the nature of the usage of your boat - Grand-Prix racers will service before every race, while annually might be more typical for more cruising-oriented sailors. The advice we get from the factory is that twice a year is ideal, and they are right. A winch serviced twice a year, in normal use, will work efficiently, and wear and tear will be reduced to a minimum. However, pragmatically, we might have to accept that it'll be done annually.
There can also be a misconception that since they have not been used in months that they should be fine, but this can be wrong as the grease can sometimes go hard inside the winch and you find that it will be worse off than one that is in constant use.
What are we scared of?
Dismantling a winch, degreasing, inspecting, reassembling while lubricating as appropriate… What could possibly go wrong?
People are concerned about getting dirty, dropping half of their valuable winch in the water or finding on completion of assembly that they either have parts left over, or the winch won't even turn.
How do we avoid this?
The answer is preparation and be methodical in your approach. Have the correct tools and consumables ready. Have an exploded diagram of the winch (if it is a Harken winch, you will find these in each winch manual on our website).
'You can find the model of your Harken winch on the logo plate on the very top of the winch which has the size on it, such as 40, 46 etc.' says Harken Australia's Grant Pellew.
Surround the winch with towels in order to protect the deck and reduce 'parts bounce'. If you are near the rail put towels over the guard lines to try to block the route to oblivion if you slip and drop something. Wear latex gloves to protect your skin from winch grease and general grime. If you wear two pairs, one over the other, you can take the dirty outside pair off as you near completion so you don't get all the cleaned parts covered in dirt.
When dismantling the winch, compare what you find to the diagram. Lay the parts out logically so you can be confident about where they came from. When dismantling parts with bearings inside, don't let the bearings fall out. The main bearings inside the drum are traditionally most likely to do this, so lift the drum slowly and check to see whether the bearings are on the housing or stuck in the drum. If they are in the drum, wait until they fall, or tilt the drum so that you can see what is happening and so that they fall into the boat rather than out of it if the worst happens. If something does get dropped, make sure you don't compound the problem by reacting precipitously; turning a minor irritation (dropping a washer or bearing) into an expensive catastrophe (throwing the drum into the water while trying to catch the original dropped part) - is all too easy to do.
Degrease and inspect the winch
Clean all the old grease and muck off the parts of the winch. This gives you a nice basis for relubrication and also allows you to assess the condition and detect any damage. Look for bent or chipped teeth on the gears and don't forget the teeth inside the drum. Make sure the bearings are intact and undamaged. Look at the holes where gear shafts, etc. are located and make sure they are not elongated.
If the gears are really caked in grime then you can soak the parts in kerosene as Grant Pellew explains, 'If it's really caked on then you may want to leave it soaking for a couple of hours and then scrub it all off with a toothbrush or a cut down paintbrush - something with hard bristles, but not a wire brush. Do this off the boat as it'll be messy. It's best to strip the winch fully down to the base plate, take everything away in a bucket and give it a really good clean.'
Check the pawls and springs, and especially the pocket into which they locate. Look for any corrosion. If your winch has a thrust bearing (row of ball bearings under a cover at the base of the housing which takes the downward load on the drum), do not open this without taking precautions-you will have ball bearings going in all directions! Provided there is no evidence of dry bearings, I would leave this task well alone; replace parts as necessary. Once you are happy with the condition of the winch we can move on.
If you find a broken or worn part then note where it has come from within the winch and referring to the diagram in the manual where you can get the part number. You can then order a replacement part via your local Harken Dealer.
Reassembling your winch
Hopefully you now have a nice clean winch base onto which you can commence reassembly. This is generally a reversal of the dismantling process, with the addition of lubricating as you go. My preferred technique is to squeeze some winch grease into a bowl or similar and then apply it with a paint brush. Apply grease to the teeth of each gear and also to the shaft on which the gear sits (if the winch is big enough that the gears have bearings, grease the bearings too). DO NOT grease pawls and springs! This will cause them to stick and could result in a backwinding winch. Oil the pawls with properly formulated pawl oil. Grease around the handle socket if it bears on a bronze housing. When reassembling Harken Classic winches, make sure the ratchet gears are the correct way up, with the pawls sitting properly in the teeth. Failure to ensure this may cause wear or friction in the winch.
Once the winch is reassembled and closed, test it by spinning it by hand; put a handle in and wind both ways. You should have a nice, easy to spin winch ready for all that the sea, wind, and you can throw at it.
As long as you follow the steps you should have no trouble servicing your winches. Take a look at the Harken videos that take you through the process step-by-step. This article provides general winch advice - of you have any questions about maintaining your specific winches, or anything else, feel free to email sales@harken.com.au.
Resources:
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