barton wincher - ok for mainsail halyard winch

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niccapotamus

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we really need a self tailing winch for raising our mainsail 30ft boat - lines brought back to cockpit

do you guys think that a barton wincher added to existing winch will do the job?

or should i be searching the small ads for a s/h winch.
 
Just a thought, but it might be worth addressing the friction in the system before getting a better winch. On our 34 footer with a fairly large mainsail, and halyards led aft to the cockpit, I can hoist the sail to the masthead by hand without major effort. I then just put it on the winch for a couple of turns to tension the luff, and that would be ok without a self-tailer. If you need to winch it most of the way up then quite possibly you're wasting lots of effort in seized sheaves, sticky sliders, etc.

With modern low-maintenance rigs, especially operated from a distance in the cockpit, it's easy to go years without really looking at some of the working parts. Something I've noticed since moving from a wood-and-leather gaff rig that had to be dismantled for varnishing each year - on that boat I handled every part on a regular basis as a natural consequence. Whereas on Ariam there's been various broken stuff inside the boom, which has been hindering reefing and the action of the outhaul, for at least the three years we've owned her - and I only just noticed this month because I got round to doing a specific inspection. Fortunately I did spot the collapsed sheave axle (and resulting flat-spotted sheave) at the masthead soon after we bought her - that would cause exactly the kind of issue that leads to uprating halyard winches to hide the symptoms.

Pete
 
thanks - @prv the mast has just been dropped so we'll be looking at all sheaves etc at the weekend. Part of the problem seems to be sticky sliders so going to liberally lubricate the mast track - ptfe/silicon grease has been suggested. also smaller hi-tech halyard to reduce friction etc.
 
niccapotamus said:
thanks - @prv the mast has just been dropped so we'll be looking at all sheaves etc at the weekend. Part of the problem seems to be sticky sliders so going to liberally lubricate the mast track - ptfe/silicon grease has been suggested. also smaller hi-tech halyard to reduce friction etc.
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Silicone spray works well but grease can pick up dirt/grit and make it worse after a while.
 
I have tried most of the PTFE type sprays and grease on my fully battened main.The greases do indeed pick up dirt.A dry PTFE spray from bike shops works OK and can be good value.
But for once I must say the more expensive Harken lube in the spray can(about £12) is by far the best product I have used.It does coat the mast and lasts a long time.
I had my mast down last winter, sprayed the track before it went back up and sail dropped perfectly all season.
I usually try not to pay the extra money for "marine" products, but in this case I think it is worth it.Just my opinion of course.
 
ditchcrawler said:
But for once I must say the more expensive Harken lube in the spray can(about £12) is by far the best product I have used.It does coat the mast and lasts a long time.
I had my mast down last winter, sprayed the track before it went back up and sail dropped perfectly all season.
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That's good to know. My sail goes up ok, but needs some assistance to come down which is annoying as we have a stackpack and it would otherwise be entirely self-stowing. I have a can of this stuff but haven't applied it yet. I'm partway through making a sort of fabric mop which will fit into the track to be hauled up and down with a halyard - not as good as spraying it on directly but I hope it'll do the job if applied liberally to the fabric before sending it up.

Pete
 
prv said:
That's good to know. My sail goes up ok, but needs some assistance to come down which is annoying as we have a stackpack and it would otherwise be entirely self-stowing. I have a can of this stuff but haven't applied it yet. I'm partway through making a sort of fabric mop which will fit into the track to be hauled up and down with a halyard - not as good as spraying it on directly but I hope it'll do the job if applied liberally to the fabric before sending it up.

Pete
Click to expand...

Hi Pete - what does the fabric mop look like - where do I start with it? ta Nick
 
niccapotamus said:
Hi Pete - what does the fabric mop look like - where do I start with it? ta Nick
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Bear in mind that I've no idea yet whether it works :)

I have a short length of rope that goes inside the mast track, like an old-fashioned boltrope. Some acrylic canvas is sewn around this, so that it comes out of the slot like a sail. The part just outside is going to be stuffed with foam rubber, so that it hopefully presses against the outside face of the mast either side of the slot, where the cars for my full-length battens run. All the surfaces that are meant to touch the mast have a layer of fuzzy fleece-type material sewn over them. There will be a loop of webbing sewn onto the top and bottom to haul it up and down with.

Pete
 
One other item that you might wish to check is whether the slides (assuming that they are plastic) have any signs of wear. This sometimes happens when they go past track gates, their leading edges get scratched and eventually cause quite a bit of added friction.
 
niccapotamus said:
thanks - @prv the mast has just been dropped so we'll be looking at all sheaves etc at the weekend. Part of the problem seems to be sticky sliders so going to liberally lubricate the mast track - ptfe/silicon grease has been suggested. also smaller hi-tech halyard to reduce friction etc.
Click to expand...

The frictional resistance between mast foot block and coach-roof mounted winch doubles the effort needed to raise the main on my boat.
If I have someone on the end of the halyard I find it easy to sweat my mainsail up the mast.
I'd strongly advise against anything but PTFE dry lubricant on mast slides and batten ends.
 
thanks everyone. the harken mast lube (ptfe style) stuff should be delivered today so the mast and slides etc will get a close inspection and lube before it is re-stepped :)

and maybe some sewing to make a fancy mid season lubricator as well
 
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