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Servicing sheet winches

Kim Schoedel

Member III
My port sheet winch (Barient 27 self tailing) is getting a bit sticky in the colder weather, the drum doesn't turn freely. I need to service it. I have good info (schematics) in my owners file. I did this with a previous boat, Lewmar 2 speed non self tailing. And Lewmar sent me a service kit with directions on how to, including replacement pawls and springs. So the job went well.

Any do's/don'ts, been there done that, from you fellow "do it yourselfers" would be appreciated.

It appears that I need some kind of special tool with prongs to unscrew the top plate. This plate has two holes in it that a tool would fit into and then you can turn it. I do not have this tool. Similar tool came with the boat for the plate to remove for the emergency tiller, but the prongs are too big for the winches.
Any idea's?
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
You might be able to get an appropriate spanner wrench at a chandlery (where the deck fill caps are) or you may have to get a machine shop to whip one up for you to fit just right.

I've never done a complete overhaul on winches, including replacement of parts, and that doesn't necessarily need done to yours. Most likely you just need to disassemble, clean, and grease it. Should be done every season and certainly doesn't need new springs and pawls every season.

An important tip for this project is to take a shallow cardboard box, cut a hole to just fit over the entire winch, and then tape it to the deck so it will catch all the little springs and pawls that fly out, and that you were hoping not to replace. :)

Nate
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
I have not done this particular type of winch but general thoughts on winch servicing follow.

1. Take your time and get all of the old dried up grease out of there. A parts washer like used in a automotive shops works great if not a pail of mineral spirits and a few toothbrushes.

2. Do not use any grease on the pawls. If you want to put something there use a light machine oil but NO GREASE.

3. Apply a very very very light coat of grease to the rest of the parts. This is the number one reason why winches get slow. People think more grease is better than less and they load up the parts. The excess grease attracts dirt and eventually dries up making a mess.

Many race boats dont use any grease just a light coat of oil and they service the winches several times a year. This is not practical for me. I just did all 6 of the winches on my 38. It was a pain cleaning them as they had tons of old gunk in there. I think brion toss has some good points on this stuff on his website.
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
I had barients on my last boat, but now I can't recall what the size was. It was a two speed, but not self-tailing. I don't know how similar that would be, and besides, it's been 4 or 5 years since I did the job. :oops:
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
One further suggestion, is only do one winch at a time, so that if you forget how the pieces reassemble, you can check and compare to others that are still intact. If you are slow and methodical, and careful with the little parts, it should be straight forward.
Good luck.
Frank.
 

windjunkee

Member III
Having just installed 5 new winches and tried to service a pair of the old ones, its not a difficult job. Just keep track of the parts. You can order a rebuild kit. We had the barient non-ST winches and the rebuild kit was very easy to find. I don't recall where we got it, but it was really easy to find.

Having the winches apart for the install, most places on the winch are easy to reach. The suggestions of putting the winch, absent the drum, into a bucket with solvent is a good idea and then lightly oiling the gears, is a good one. In the owners guide for the new Harken's we acquired, they recommend oiling, as opposed to grease, and I've already pulled them once just to clean and re-oil the main moving parts.

As for getting the drum off, can't help you there. Our old barients had a hex bolt. Our new Harkens have a slotted screw.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA
 

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
Pin Wrench

If you want a tool to use on the top ring of the Barient winches try googling ADJUSTABLE PIN WRENCH and you will find all types and prices. I bought one for my son from Harbor Freight to use with deck fills, but I don't know if it is large enough for winches.

Cycle shops sell them also.

You can bend a piece of stiff wire. I have one the same as for the rudder post cover but smaller.

Being a hammer mechanic I would take a large screwdriver, hold it at an angle to a pin hole and tap the screwdriver with the heel of my hand.

ARCO has a better method: Insert a 3/16" rod or a small screwdriver into one of the two holes. Insert your winch handle into the winch and turn the handle against the screwdriver in the CCW direction to unscrew the Retaining Nut. Turn the winch handle in the CW direction to tighten the Ring.

You can find the original winch owners manuals at http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/
Look at the very bottom of the left column.
 

Kim Schoedel

Member III
Thanks a bunch but one more question!

Thanks to all for your response on this little project!

If you hear severe cursing coming from Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho this weekend......

BTW, Is this a 6 pack job? Half a rack? Maybe a few snorts off the ole Admiral Nelson's Rum Jug?
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
Depends on how many winches and how dirty they are. My big lewmar 52's each took 1.5 hours to clean after they were all apart and that was using a parts washer at my budy's shop. Probably a 6'er per winch if they are really bad.
 

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
Less than a six-pack for both primaries.

Other than removing the drums, don't disassemble them both at once. It helps to have a sample when reassembling them.

I use a small bucket of kerosene from my lamp supply (from the local gas station) and an old tooth brush to clean the parts. BTW, Do NOT use your wife's tooth brush. She might get very testy.:egrin:
 

Kim Schoedel

Member III
I'll just take a half a rack in case some poor schmuck wanders by to "chat" with me while I am working. I make em wash parts for beer. Wow, new idea! Carry a sign around "Will work on boats for beer".
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
I used a gallon can of noxious-smelling but very effective carburetor cleaner--the kind with the dip tray and the layer of yellow stuff floating at the top to prevent the volatile cleaner from evaporating--to soak out the grease from my winches, one at a time.

Put it in, let it sit, shake it up, drip it dry--done.
 

Kim Schoedel

Member III
In the past, I used diesel fuel to clean and then lightly brushed winch grease on all but the pawls and springs. This is what the local service marina had suggested. You couldn't believe how much grease the PO of our past 30 Catalina put into those winches. Gobs and gobs of it. Must have used a grease gun for a farm impliment on them.

I think I will use the same technique this time as it seemed to work well before. Just not too sure of all the extra parts and things these Barients might have in them that will want to take flight when taking things apart.
 

Cory B

Sustaining Member
Barient 27's

We completely removed and stripped down our Barient 27's this summer. I think they had suffered long from neglect from previous owners, and they are much better now. We used no special tools, and ordered new pawls and springs from layline.com. We soaked them in kerosene overnight to clean them up. They have to be removed from the boat to fully service, so hopefully yours won't be bedded with 5200 like ours were. :)

- Cory Bolton
1984 Ericson 35, "Balancing Act"
 

lbertran

Member III
Unscrewing Top Plate

I just use a punch in one of the holes in the top plate and a small hammer to tap it around. This works fine to both remove and retighten when done.

Laura Bertran
Footloose, 1985 E35-3
 

Kim Schoedel

Member III
oops

Well, I have been a bit quiet about my project because when I put the pieces back together on the first one, the center shaft would not go down all the way. So, in a fit of frustration, I pulled the dumb thing off the boat and pulled the other winch too, brought them home so I could compare and get the #Z%&*@!+$# project finished! I am thinking that the center shaft is tapered where it fits into the main gear and I may have the gear upside down. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.

Pulling the winches is easy on mine because there is a mounting bracket that the assembly attaches to. I wouldn't want to try to remove the bracket from the boat unless I had a small monkey on board that was handy with tools.

On the positive, the trick with using a small punch and a winch crank to loosen the top caps works swell. And taking a shallow cardboard box, cutting a hole in the bottom the size of the winch drum, placeing it over the winch, drapeing a piece of canvas over the life lines with the bottom stuffed under the box, works real swell too for the posibility of things going overboard.

BTW this was not a six pack, nor a half a rack job. I drank hot coffee as it was 40 degrees out and the wind was a blowin real fine. It always blows when I am working on the boat! Darn
 
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