Harken sheet winch maintenance

[tedp]

During my first sail of the season I noticed one of my sheet winches got a little noisy, so I thought it might be running dry. I have to admit I never yet took one of them apart, so three years after I bought the boat I thought it was time to take a look. So I removed the winch and took it home.

The Harken website gives an overview of winch maintenance manuals: www.harken.com/article.aspx?id=18795


For my 2004 SO32 I found the correct type of winch under the 'manual classic' tab. The 32.2ST which proved to be similar to mine, a self-tailing two-speed winch. The manual can be downloaded as a PDF file.

Removing the winch from the deck is easy. Remove the central screw from the head and take off the drum and the self-tailing head. This will reveal the mounting screws which are secured with nuts and backing rings under the deck. After removing the screws, push in a screwdriver under the base and flip the winch off.

At home I took the winch apart. The bearing pins can be pushed out of the two gear assemblies from below. After pulling these free, the central shaft drops out of the base.

The winch proved to be very clogged inside, with old grease caked all over the mechanism. This must have caused the grinding. Harken's advice is to clean the parts in turpentine or petrol, except for the plastic parts of the self-tailing head. I used some paper towels and a matchstick after dipping the parts in the solvent for a while. The matchstick helps cleaning the teeth of the gears. After a while the winch looked like this:


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_08_54.jpeg

This was the easy part - now it had to go together again. First I assembled the central shaft, which has a fixed gear at its base and a ratchet and a loose gear on top of that. The ratchet was clean enough - I didn't take it apart except for the loose gear. The pawls of the ratchet are lubricated with a little engine oil.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_09_39.jpeg

Next is the central needle bearing, which goes on top of a large washer. The manual shows the washer going on top of the bearing but that won't work as it will not go into the housing. The bearing and the gears are lubricated with grease (a lot more grease than shown in the photos). I had some Lewmar winch grease which I expect will be OK for any winch.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_10_15.jpeg

Here is the ratchet of the high reduction gear being oiled. The pawls are spring-loaded. Mind that you fit the outer ring with the gear the right way up, otherwise the winch won't go together. A washer will go under the pawls to prevent them catching on the base of the winch housing.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_10_53.jpeg

In the next photo the gears are fitted to the mechanism.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_13_04.jpeg

Next we fit the main bearings of the drum, with a separation ring between. Again, apply grease to the bearings and rather more than shown in the photo.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_13_47.jpeg


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_16_04.jpeg

Finally, the drum is put on the winch. The self-tailing head is re-assembled, with the upper half pushed in by the spring loaded lid. Four screws will go into the lid, compressing the springs slightly. Then the rope guide is fitted to the head with the ring carrying the Harken legend on top. The top bush is greased and inserted into the winch and the central screw re-fitted. Testing the mechanism with the winch handle and checking for any play in the drum (to ensure it has gone together according to the book) completes the procedure.


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_17_04.jpeg


www.009dutch.nl/jeanneau/569_13_05_13_7_17_47.jpeg

[MalcolmP]

Very informative, great description and clear pictures, so do keep them coming. I will transfer as well to Hints and Tips when I get a moment - that may not be for a while as I have a new job ;-) M

[tedp]

Thanks, Malcolm - if you need the photos for the 'how to' page you can download them or I could send them to you.

[jcnyb]

Really interesting and informative!!!

[orion]

Very Impressive tedp.

I am a new owner of a SO32i 2006 with a single Harken winch on the port side. Up to now I believed the winch to be single speed however after your demo I may now question should it be 2 speed. The winch makes the noise when you reverse the grinding however the drum does not turn. Anybody know the spec, nothing in the manual.

I am thinking of putting a second winch on the Stbr side as I find it a bit ackward when reefing. Anybody out there found this?

ORION

[MartyB]

WHile not quite as crazy as this, I do remove the drum and bearings, replace the pawls once a year and do lubricate the setup. I do this literally ON the boat with out removeing the winch.

I've seen a few folks that will put a box around the winch so to keep loose items from flying off the boat into the water. I've not had that issue with my Barbarosa winches. Which are now harken as Harken bought the Barbarosa plant.

Nice pics and wright up.

Marty

[MartyB]

Orion,

Assuming you do have a 2 sp, then the pawls are screwed up on one side. If you open the winch up, and only find literally "one pawl" then you have a single speed. If find two pawls, then you have a two speed. I've had this issue with my 40's on the deck where they do nt literally work in one direction.

Also, many of us do have 2 or even 4 winches on the cabin top. This allows dropping a main sheet on one side, using the other side for reef lines etc, still have lines on both sides attached to winches. Or I use the cunningham hook for the mast end for reefing, then a seperate line for the clew. When racing, I can have one person tightening ea line, then tighten up the main halyard.

I currently have three winches on the cabin top, but a 4th is in the plans. Outside for spin line and my 110 jib, inside for the mast lines, be it halyards, reef lines, cunningham etc.

Marty

[orion]

MartyB,

Thanks for the info, will have to look at the inside to confirm now that I know what to look for.

ORION

[tedp]

The winch on the SO32i cabin roof, port side, is a single speed winch used for the halyards and for reefing. This lacks the reduction gear and the second ratchet of the double speed winch. The single winch on the roof is standard issue. I myself have a second winch and bank of halyard stoppers which the boat came with. Reefing is much easier when you have the second winch.

The winches on deck next to your cockpit are the sheet winches. This is the double speed type I took apart and cleaned. The rooftop winch is taken apart the same way, but it is less complicated.

An example of a single speed winch is in this service manual (click for the link).

An example of a double speed winch is in this service manual (click for the link).

If you leave the winch on the boat and only take off the drum, you can grease the gears, but you cannot get out the central shaft as that needs to be dropped down the bottom of the housing. You might squirt down some grease on the central bearing from the top but you won't reach the ratchet pawls. If any of them starts to stick, it needs to be cleaned and oiled.

Harken recommends to take the winch from the deck and service it the way I have done.

[Trevor]

Great thread......good pickies....I might have a go at it myself!

Thanks....

[lateron]

Thanks Ted for those great photos. You and I must be connected somehow. I got my 32 3 years ago, the winch was making a noise and so I did almost what you have done. My only real problem was that one of the pins securing the outer gears to the winch base had seized so I had to take the whole winch off to drive it out from beneath. Thank goodness Jeanneau don't cover them up on the inside with headliners.
All done now and much freer moving.

Also if you go on You Tube and enter servicing Harken [etc] winches,, there are any number of videos to show you how to do it.

Regards Ron

[orion]

Hi tedp,

Thanks for the info. You truely are an 'expert member'

I did notice however that the top of the port hand winch does actually say'single speed'.

I plan putting a second winch on the starboard side. I have ran the outhaul line back to this side and will move one of the reef lines to the starboard side also.

A single speed winch should do. Two Harken types available, Base 90mm Drum 60mm or Base 115 Drum 68mm.

Any recommendations?

ORION.

[tedp]

Is it an SO32i you have? It may be of a later building date than mine. I would measure the size of the winch you already have on the port side and install one of similar size.

I'm not sure what type of winch I have on my boat but I think I have the 16ST which isn't sold any more. I'm not sure of the exact size but it's quite small. A single speed winch is quite adequate for handling the mainsail of the 32.

Apart from moving the outhaul and one reef line, I would also move the mainsheet and the topping lift to starboard. You'd need to copy the port side guide blocks on the cabin roof to starboard, and fit a bank of jammers.

You'll find handling the main will be much easier than it is using one winch.

[MartyB]

While ST winches are nice, The few 16st's I have come across are single speeds. The non tailing 16's are dual speeds. Frankly, for the outhaul, pole lift, cunningham, reef lines, and the like, ST's are not needed as much as a sheet line. Even halyards to a degree I find non ST's function fine if you can pull the sail up the majority of the way with out a winch. Even sheet line frankly, if racing a lot, non st's seem to work well as one can undo them in a hurry quicker than an st. that is not to say I do not wish my sheet winches were still non tailing styles. someday an upgrade to 44st's, the 40 to the outside of the cabin and move the 16's inside.

Marty

[tedp]

The winches on my cabin are indeed 16s, the smallest in the old Harken range.

Today I removed the port side sheet winch and took it home for maintenance similar to the other one. An old toothbrush worked wonders during cleaning in a tray of solvent. When I took the winch apart I found the washer on the central shaft is indeed under the bearing, not on top as the drawing in the manual suggests.

Finally a warning. I had put the winch in a plastic bag to take it home, and when I stepped on the jetty the bag tore open. The winch fell out and I could just catch it with my foot and jam it against the rail, or it would have gone overboard. Some people have all the luck!

[Trevor]

The last paragraph was the most harrowing of the entire thread......as I started reading a voice in head was saying..."oh no..oh no..oh no"!!!

[tedp]

Well you can imagine what I said as it happened! Or perhaps you'd better not - I used to be a merchant sailor...

[so40gtb]

Ted,

I've been disassembling, cleaning, lubricating, and reassembling my winches for several years, but your comprehensive picture set is a great aid to both those of us who have done it and the many more who have stood on the edge of decision. My "routine" is now to do this cycle every other year. Thanks so much for posting and may you never again face the panic of something heavier than water succumbing to the force of gravity!

--Karl

[tedp]

Thanks, Karl. It's funny that your post which I read on board caused me to check why one of the winches didn't rattle like it should when turning the handle one way. I suspected some grease had invaded one of the ratchets. So I took the winch from the deck and opened it up. The inner ratchet on the main shaft proved to be contaminated with a milky looking mix of oil, water and grease. So I cleaned it off and reassembled the winch, which now has a healthy ring to it. Which taught me that although there should be enough grease on the bearings and the gear surfaces, it shouldn't be overdone.

[MalcolmP]

Just seen this helpful Dutch language video which shows a step by step in situ service of one of the new style Harken winches that have a fully removable core, all quite self explanatory, even if like me you can't understand Dutch.. 

waterkampioen.tv/p2v/3575

[tedp]

Thread updated after re-hosting the photos, May 30, 2016.

The photos had disappeared due to the demise of the Dutch language Jeanneau forum.

[sleighride]

I serviced my four two speed Harkins about six weeks ago before I left for Alaska, using the Harkins website manuals; and it is possible to do the complete job without removing the winch from the boat. I used an aluminum turkey roaster to store the parts to keep grease off the boat and keep the parts in order for reassembly. I also used WD40 as the primary solvent to clean off  the old grease. In my view, the key is not to use too much grease on the gears. The only real problem I had was removing the pawl springs to replace them with new ones. I sent an email to Harkin and received no response. I also called their customer service line and got no response.

[tedp]

Suppliers not responding to queries seems to be the norm today.

Grease should be kept away from the sprung pawls, or they will stick. The pawls on my winches were oiled with engine oil. After a few years they still work as they should.

Removing the pawls for cleaning needs you to lift the spring out of its groove using a tiny screwdriver. Best done inside, or they may 'twing' over the side.

[joljaz]

Removed my primary winches, took them home to clean and lube. Easy to do. The question I have is on placing them back on the boat, they were pretty much glued down after removing the screws. What is this rubbery glue that Jeanneau uses and I'm assuming I need to add or replace this stuff so I don't get a leak. 

[Don Reaves]

Yes, I realize this is an old thread, but it ends (so far) with an unanswered question...

I removed my port-side Harken ST 40 winch today to deal with a seized gear & pin. The "rubbery glue" that seals the water out is silicon rubber. This is the first time it's been removed, so it was done this way by Jeanneau. It's definitely not a serious adhesive like 3M 5200.