Coachroof winches- size/brand?

[Kelpie]

Looking at buying a 27ft boat which has elderly Lewmar 8s on the coachroof (for reefing lines etc). I think I'll have to factor in their replacement when I buy, so wondering what's reasonable to consider. A direct replacement with up to date Lewmars is quite a lot of money- about £340/pair. At the other end of the spectrum I can get a pair of Antal 7s for only £125 which seems a comparative bargain. Somewhere in the middle, I could get Barton Nautilus 8s £200/pair, which seems OK, ish. A pair of Antal 8s would be about the same price.

Any advice?

 

[sailorman]

Looking at buying a 27ft boat which has elderly Lewmar 8s on the coachroof (for reefing lines etc). I think I'll have to factor in their replacement when I buy, so wondering what's reasonable to consider. A direct replacement with up to date Lewmars is quite a lot of money- about £340/pair. At the other end of the spectrum I can get a pair of Antal 7s for only £125 which seems a comparative bargain. Somewhere in the middle, I could get Barton Nautilus 8s £200/pair, which seems OK, ish. A pair of Antal 8s would be about the same price.

Any advice?

if they work why change them

 

[MoodySabre]

My Moody has Lewmar 8 winches on the coachroof - they work OK. The advantage of a single speed winch is that you can ratchet the action. With 2 speed winches you need room to be able to use them properly if the sprayhood is up and you may need to stand on the seat to grind them (unless the roof is low or you are tall).

Just 2p worth.

 

[Kelpie]

if they work why change them

Cos they're very tired looking and take a different sized handle to the newer sheet winches. That must make them pretty old, I think.

Btw all the winches I'm considering are single-speed (and non self tailing). Really just wondering about differences between brands and materials (alloy vs composite) as well as wondering if I can get away with 7s rather than 8s.

Before anyone asks, the boat is currently de-rigged so I can't really comment on whether 8:1 is necessary for this application cos I can't try it out for myself.

 

[Quandary]

Cos they're very tired looking and take a different sized handle to the newer sheet winches. That must make them pretty old, I think.

Btw all the winches I'm considering are single-speed (and non self tailing). Really just wondering about differences between brands and materials (alloy vs composite) as well as wondering if I can get away with 7s rather than 8s.

Before anyone asks, the boat is currently de-rigged so I can't really comment on whether 8:1 is necessary for this application cos I can't try it out for myself.

You are almost repeating a discussion from last week, have a look, there was quite a bit posted on the different brands and metals.
BTW - might be worth waiting a season before deciding, they can be replaced while afloat.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Why on earth would you want to spend money replacing size 8 winches with size 8 or even size 7?

 

[Kelpie]

You are almost repeating a discussion from last week, have a look, there was quite a bit posted on the different brands and metals.
BTW - might be worth waiting a season before deciding, they can be replaced while afloat.

Yeah I did follow that thread but it seemed aimed towards larger winches, different application. I don't think I'll be splashing out on chromed winches for this, it's a question of alloy vs/. composite and of Barton vs. Antal rather than Lewmar/Harken.

I probably will wait a while before replacing, just want to get a rough idea of whether I need to set aside £125 or £340 to do the job.

 

[Plevier]

I went to Marine Superstore - Port Solent - last week to look at a variety of winches after the helpful responses to my post on here.
They seem to have the best prices at the moment and I got a great deal on some Lewmars.
I looked at the Barton's in passing and thought ugh.
I noticed they had some Antals although not listed on their website - might be a deal going if they are oddments.
I suggest giving them a ring.
They are advertising the Harken 8 at £109.95 and free delivery.

 

[Kelpie]

I went to Marine Superstore - Port Solent - last week to look at a variety of winches after the helpful responses to my post on here.
They seem to have the best prices at the moment and I got a great deal on some Lewmars.
I looked at the Barton's in passing and thought ugh.
I noticed they had some Antals although not listed on their website - might be a deal going if they are oddments.
I suggest giving them a ring.
They are advertising the Harken 8 at £109.95 and free delivery.

Thanks for that, they do indeed have keen prices on the Lewmars, maybe cheap enough to consider replacing like-for-like after all.
What was so 'ugh' about the Bartons, by the way? Bearing in mind these winches are going to be protected by a sprayhood most of the time.

 

[panthablue]

The only suggestion I have is - add a 'Wincher' to each winch to convert them into self tailer's. £15 a pair (roughly). They take a bit of practice to get the hang of, but very effective.

 

[Kelpie]

Ummm, why? These winches are for tensioning lines led aft on the coachroof- halyard, reeling lines, kicker etc- which are locked off on clutches. Self-tailers aren't really necessary- although good to know that the winchers are worth trying, since my primaries aren't self-tailing and I'd consider converting them.

 

[sailorman]

Ummm, why? These winches are for tensioning lines led aft on the coachroof- halyard, reeling lines, kicker etc- which are locked off on clutches. Self-tailers aren't really necessary- although good to know that the winchers are worth trying, since my primaries aren't self-tailing and I'd consider converting them.

with winchers you dont need to "Make Off" the line it jams up under the rubber collar

 

[Plevier]

What was so 'ugh' about the Bartons, by the way? Bearing in mind these winches are going to be protected by a sprayhood most of the time.

Yes I knew you would ask that as soon as I had pressed post!
Erm - difficult to justify really - i just picked one up and thought it looked crude and seemed very light and I quickly put it down again, I might be being totally unfair on them. Try and look at one and form your own opinion, I shouldn't have said it! I only looked thoroughly at the Lewmars and Harkens.

Sorry Mr Barton.

 

[sailorman]

Yes I knew you would ask that as soon as I had pressed post!
Erm - difficult to justify really - i just picked one up and thought it looked crude and seemed very light and I quickly put it down again, I might be being totally unfair on them. Try and look at one and form your own opinion, I shouldn't have said it! I only looked thoroughly at the Lewmars and Harkens.

Sorry Mr Barton.

The original Lewmars on my boat built 30 yrs ago are far better made than later models where the manufacture has been refined to allow speed of manufacture over engineering quality. i bought a pair of used lewmar 40s from a forumite a couple of yrs ago to replace the originals ( they only needed re-chroming), these came with "winchers", & prol 15 yrs old. the quality in engineering terms was poor compared to the originals & later models even worse.