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The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by pastmember</i> <br />#7 There are Lewmar cleaning kits, follow the directions. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> The halyard winch -- originally on the mast, but often relocated to the coach roof -- is a #7. The primaries -- for the jib sheets -- are usually Lewmar 16s. Or, at least mine are. Self-tailing was an option, which my PO exercised.
I agree with Frank and Steve: servicing them is pretty easy. You can buy a kit, or just the lube grease, which is often all that's needed, at West Marine (for you, in Glen Allen or Deltaville).
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Blue Nose</i> <br />What is required to remove the winch on the mast? I would like to take it off permanantly. What remains? Are there holes left to deal with? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Doing some of your own homework, using google, will net you a shocking amount of information, like this:
You'll have to take the winch apart to get to the base and the mounting screws. A prior owner of our C-25 moved the jib halyard winch from the mast to the cabin top. He/She simply filled the empty holes in the mast with SS screws, look like sheet metal screws.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Blue Nose</i> <br />What is required to remove the winch on the mast? I would like to take it off permanantly. What remains? Are there holes left to deal with?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I just removed my mast winch and relocated it to the cabin top since I also moved my main halyard and reefing line to the cockpit. Removing the winch is easy enough... remove the circlip/snap ring from the center of the winch. Then slide the winch drum off the interior spindle and the mounting screws are obvious. Unscrew and the winch base comes off! I think the screws are 10-32s, so for now, I'll just but screws in the holes, but I'm open for ideas.
If you do put screws in to fill the holes be sure to use very short screws that do not go much beyond the mast wall. The fewer things that halyards can possibly get caught on the better. I have simply put good quality electric tape over a few holes on our mast. It does the trick of keeping moisture out and lasts all season.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Sloop Smitten</i> <br />According to the instructions for the use of winchers, the groove is used as a cleat. The actual self-tailing is suppose to be possible by the pressure caused by the underside of the wincher capturing the top coil. If you cleat it in the groove you will lose the self-tailing feature. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Joe's right. FORGET the groove, it is really NOT there for anything. For year and years people have had this incessant fixation with those %$^*(%#@ grooves.
The winchers work, I used them for 12 years on our C25 and it was one of the very first things I bought for the boat. I never bothered with cleats or cam cleats or clam cleats near the winch. A few wraps, then hand the sheet, then use the winch handle. It's so simple and so many people can't figure it out because they complicate the simplciity by trying to use the grooves.
Do a search on winchers, or google it and you'll see.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Stu Jackson C34</i> <br />[quote]<i>Originally posted by Sloop Smitten</i> <br />...Great product, lousy instructions.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">You mean the part where they say to tuck the tail into the groove after trimming, to keep the turns secure on the winch, just like you do on a self-tailer? What's the alternative--the horn cleat?
You don't need a cleat of any kind at all, Dave. That was my point. The wraps around the body of the winch ride right up to the the wincher's "bottom" and just stay there.
Does anyone actually take 4 wraps on a winch? That's a lot of wrapping and unwrapping, and possible tangles. To get the winches to 'self-tail' by using the underside of the winchers, must you use a winch handle, or can you still sheet by hand and not gum it up?
And now I've learned that the grooves are not for 'cleating' like I earlier professed, however it does work for me, and will probably keep doing it. Four wraps is two too many.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by HeelinPatrick</i> <br />To get the winches to 'self-tail' by using the underside of the winchers, must you use a winch handle, or can you still sheet by hand and not gum it up?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">If you're sheeting "by hand", <i>you</i> are the tailer, and you probably want fewer wraps to reduce the chances for an override. The four wraps to the wincher would be for using the handle and letting the wincher tail for you (if it will). It never really worked for me, but I probably didn't do it right. (Now I can blame the instructions--thanks Stu!)
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Blue Nose</i> <br />My winchers always want to ride down the winch not up. Not sure why that is?? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Is your first wrap at the base of the winch, not the top?
It is at the base. If you made your first wrap at the top you would have to pass all your line under the first wrap for warps 2,3 and 4 which would not work. Since I hand line they may just be useless to me...
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Blue Nose</i> <br />It is at the base. If you made your first wrap at the top you would have to pass all your line under the first wrap for warps 2,3 and 4 which would not work. Since I hand line they may just be useless to me... <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Well, I was just checking. I can't image why your wraps would ride down the winch, unless you're consistently holding the tail lower than the winch.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.