Norine's Page

"Make sure you inspect the forward edge of pawls when you remove them. This is the edge that engages the teeth on the inside of the winch drum. Their job is to  prevent the drum from spinning backwards. If they're worn they'll slip…"

"The same thing applies to the primary winches. Depending on conditions I sometimes use 4 wraps rather than 3. My buddy that sells Beneteau, Catalina and Jeanneau tells me he's seen the fingers break off. In any case I'm always alert to any…"

"Yep my boat is 8 years old, fresh water use only until last Aug, decommissioned for three years and the grease inside was more like a sticky paraffin wax if there is such a thing. Totally unacceptable. "

"That's it Sam! I recall the main luff a tad loose while sailing, threw maybe three wraps on the drum and pulled it tight. Afterwards, it was jammed.  On a side I remember saying to myself "I shouldn't have done that while under…"

"I found that five wraps of line on the cabin top winch is required to prevent slippage and possible bending the stripper arm. I had one bend early on.  and replace it. Sam"

"After reading this I've decided to service my winches this week! Its been 8 years so they're do. Thanks for the motivation!"

"Thanks for the tips!"

"Wayne, thanks for the update. You must have really put some pressure on that arm for it to flex that much. Glad to hear you got it apart and serviced. As an FYI next time use an appropriately sized piece of hardwood as the drift. Or lay the wood…"