Can "Winchers" be removed and re-fitted?

Robert Wilson

Robert Wilson

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My two primary sheet-winches (non ST) have Winchers fitted. I'm hoping to re-chrome the winches this winter but just realised that the rubber may suffer on removal and/or re-fitting.
And they are pigs to fit in the first place!

Any thoughts, ideas, tips, experience?

As usual, thanks for any/all responses.

RW
 
I bought my winchers secondhand off a forumite, so he certainly managed to remove them! To fit them, I found dunking them for a few minutes in a pan of hot water helped to make the rudder more pliable. Rather difficult to do with them installed on a winch, I admit...
 
Kelpie said:
I bought my winchers secondhand off a forumite, so he certainly managed to remove them! To fit them, I found dunking them for a few minutes in a pan of hot water helped to make the rudder more pliable. Rather difficult to do with them installed on a winch, I admit...
Click to expand...

:o Aye, very difficult, I should imagine!!

Love your typo!!!!! ;)

Thanks for the encouraging info.:encouragement:
 
ghostlymoron said:
Slapping a hot wet towel on them would help. It works for getting hoses on/off.
Click to expand...

Aye, but the rubber on Winchers is incredibly tough/hard. I'm afraid it might split with the force needed to remove them. They've been on for over a year, in all the weather up here can throw at 'em!!
The rubber may have lost elasticity.
I'll try "the hot wet towel" technique. Sounds a helpful idea.
Cheers
 
Robert Wilson said:
Aye, but the rubber on Winchers is incredibly tough/hard. I'm afraid it might split with the force needed to remove them. They've been on for over a year, in all the weather up here can throw at 'em!!
The rubber may have lost elasticity.
I'll try "the hot wet towel" technique. Sounds a helpful idea.
Cheers
Click to expand...

robert

I have not removed winchers but have put them on. As someone already posted put them in a pan of hot water.
I boiled them for about 10mins before fitting as advised by wincher people themselves.
To remove I would keep on the go boiling pans the kettle and keep pouring boiling water over them for quite a while then remove and hope they don't split on you.
 
If you remove the top of the winch, complete with wincher, from the body, the wincher will slip of easily. The top flange of the wincher is much thinner and more pliable than the bottom flange. This is the way (in reverse) to fit them in the first place, makes fitting a piece of cake.
 
Stork_III said:
If you remove the top of the winch, complete with wincher, from the body, the wincher will slip of easily. The top flange of the wincher is much thinner and more pliable than the bottom flange. This is the way (in reverse) to fit them in the first place, makes fitting a piece of cake.
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Why is it that the most sensible and probably obvious answers to a problem are the ones that are omitted from the original instructions? !!!!!!!!!!

THANK you, that is a great response.

Fingers crossed that I can save buying a new pair of Winchers - re-chroming is going to be expensive enough!!

Happy Christmas folks.
 
Stork_III said:
If you remove the top of the winch, complete with wincher, from the body, the wincher will slip of easily. The top flange of the wincher is much thinner and more pliable than the bottom flange. This is the way (in reverse) to fit them in the first place, makes fitting a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

The problem is that in all the non-selftailing winches that I have seen, the top flange is integral with the drum and thus cannot be removed...
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
The problem is that in all the non-selftailing winches that I have seen, the top flange is integral with the drum and thus cannot be removed...
Click to expand...

I think that will vary with manufacturer and also age.

Mine are Lewmar 30s dating from around 1980, similar to the model pictured at bottom right in this link, i. e. top flange integral with drum:

http://yachtfitters.com/resources/identify-lewmar-winch/

I certainly damaged my Winchers when I took the drums off for re-chroming a few years ago and had to buy new ones. In hindsight I should have taken the drums off first and THEN put them in hot water to soften the rubber.
 
It can't be that hard. I fitted Winchers to my 1980ish Lewmar 30s, and when I replaced them with 40STs I sold the winches and the Winchers separately on the For Sale forum. I cannot recall that removing them gave any difficulty although I do remember they were tricky to fit originally.
 
Why all the fuss?
Simply reverse the fitting instructions plus a bit of washing up liquid as lubricant. Worked on my antique lewmar though did use a big screwdriver as a 'tyre leaver'. Fitted removed wincher onto another winch. Rubber safe lubricant, heat as in boiling water to keep towel over winch hot and wet for a while, plus a bit of brute force worked.
 
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srm said:
Why all the fuss?
Simply reverse the fitting instructions plus a bit of washing up liquid as lubricant. Worked on my antique lewmar though did use a big screwdriver as a 'tyre leaver'. Fitted removed wincher onto another winch. Rubber safe lubricant, heat as in boiling water to keep towel over winch hot and wet for a while, plus a bit of brute force worked.
Click to expand...

That's good to hear. The reason for my concern is that with my first pair I had to remove them, then on refitting they split wide open. Even with heat and lube - and a big screwdriver.

May just have to admit it's another pair needed, but I'll live in hope.

Cheers,
RW
 
Leighb said:
It can't be that hard. I fitted Winchers to my 1980ish Lewmar 30s, and when I replaced them with 40STs I sold the winches and the Winchers separately on the For Sale forum. I cannot recall that removing them gave any difficulty although I do remember they were tricky to fit originally.
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And I can confirm that your secondhand winchers lived to see another day on my boat, and as far as I am aware are still going strong.
 
Spurred on by this thread I had another go at fitting mine to a pair of Lewmar 8s I acquired to replace the 6s (for which you can't get a Wincher as the smallest available is too big) on my boat.....just not a matching pair, but both 'new' and unused. One has the removable top and the other doesn't.

Well I got both on OK, but by a stroke of strange luck the winch without the removable flange went on easier. When I managed to stretch it over, the top lip of the Wincher folded back on itself, so all I had to do once it was on the drum was slide it up and flip the lip over again around the top rim. It took me a lot longer to persuade the uninverted lip to go round the other one, and I used the rounded back of a desert spoon as my tyre lever (SWMBO being at pilates..etc etc).

I wore some fabric gloves so that I could exert more 'push' without excruciating pain, and that worked out as well, and used washing up liquid of course. It wasn't a pushover (well I suppose it was if I'm speaking literally), but it was quicker than I expected and it worked better than when I first tried and gave up.

Thanks for inspiring me to persevere. Another job ticked...just got to fit the winches and I have some lovely Iroko bases and a couple of circular 4mm stainless steel backing plates which I have drilled. I may not need the bases, but they are so nicely made (by a neighbour) It'd be a shame not to use them.

Tim
 
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Robert Wilson said:
Why is it that the most sensible and probably obvious answers to a problem are the ones that are omitted from the original instructions? !!!!!!!!!!

re-chroming is going to be expensive enough!!

Happy Christmas folks.
Click to expand...

You might like to check out any local Hydraulics repair work shops, the larger ones do re chroming in house. I have also used local Earth Moving machinery shops like Komatsu and Hastings Deering.

No 'Marine' tag on the price.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
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