Harken Winch Service - WTF?

[renegade27]

One of my jib winches froze up last fall and I disassembled and attempted to unfreeze it yesterday. First time getting into any of the winches on my '06 JSO 35.

WTF!? I have to remove the winch from the deck to get at the inner bearings, gears and pawls? I've serviced winches before, and while not my favorite job around the boat, it's never been beyond my capabilities.

The positioning of the winch on an angled deck also makes the trick of cutting a hole in a box and working on the 'winch in a box' to minimize parts overboard doesn't work too well either.

There are screws and calking holding the winch core to the deck. What's under these? Do I need to get under the deck (by the holding tanks) to reach these? Hope the calking is not 5200.

Other experiences? Am I over-reacting on the difficulty of this?

[ianqv]

Hiya,

Yes you have to remove the winch from the deck if you wish to service ALL the parts.
They are very very easy to do.
Have a look in the hints and tips section here:

www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/harken44service.html

and

www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/harkenservice.html

Step by step how to do it.

Best Regards

Ian

[Phantom]

Remove the bolts securing the winch to the deck. This will involve removing the headliner to access the bolts and washers. Reassemble the winch and insert the winch handle and use it for leverage by pushing down on the handle. If the winches are not working easily, they need a good cleaning. The winches can be cleaned off site to avoid loosing parts. Reinstall using Butyl rubber tape (available at RV stores) to bed the winches. See attached website for detailed butyl ribber description: www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware