Harken 8 Single speed winch

[Colin Brown]

Hi I am looking to service my two Harken 8 single speed winches on my Beneteau 21.7. These are bolted to the deck with 4 no 8mm bolts , can these be removed by just undoing the nuts under the deck ? Or do I need to partially strip the winch down to gain access to both sides of the bolts? I would prefer to service them at home rather than on an expose deck in the boat park.

 

[johnalison]

I don't know the Harken as I have had Lewmars, but I don't think it is a particularly good idea to service the winches off the boat and mess around with the fixings. If they are anything like mine, which are two-speed, servicing only takes a few minutes, though a bit longer if I do a 'deep clean' and get all the old grease off with paraffin. The only real problem is the risk of losing parts, especially pawl springs. This can be prevented with due care and keeping spares. I generally do mine when on the water, and have various ways of ensuring lack of loss, such as setting up a barrier outboard of the winches with a cushion or board. I would just choose a nice day in the spring and enjoy a few minutes communing with gears.

 

[SteveA]

Hi I am looking to service my two Harken 8 single speed winches on my Beneteau 21.7. These are bolted to the deck with 4 no 8mm bolts , can these be removed by just undoing the nuts under the deck ? Or do I need to partially strip the winch down to gain access to both sides of the bolts? I would prefer to service them at home rather than on an expose deck in the boat park.

Colin, You will need to take the drum off and access the slot headed tops of the bolts to stop them turning when undoing the nuts. I did this very job when swapping mine to self tailing winches. I also took the opportunity to swap the silly penny washers for a complete plate the same size as the winch base.

 

[wallacebob]

Look here: https://www.harken.co.uk/en/tech-articles/classic-winch-manual-chart/

 

[Stemar]

The only real problem is the risk of losing parts, especially pawl springs.

AFAIK, all winches have these and Neptune really wants them, though I've no idea what he does with so many. As for removing the winch, I'd service it in place unless there's a compelling reason not to.. Disturb the seal around the fixings and you might regret it.

 

[KevinV]

These are bolted to the deck with 4 no 8mm bolts , can these be removed by just undoing the nuts under the deck ?

It's not entirely impossible that they'll undo, but the slightest turn of the screws and you'll have to remove the drum anyway - so you may as well start by removing the drum. By the time you've removed the drum you're halfway through servicing the winch so you may as well service in situ.

I have four of these on my boat, and they hadn't been serviced for years when I got it. The worst part was getting the delron bearing sleeves out - it's worth disassembling as far as you can, then leave drenched in oil for a while and coming back to it another day - take your time.

 

[Corribee Boy]

Before taking the drum off, cut a suitably-sized hole in the bottom of a carrier bag and place it over the drum, then start work within it.

If/when the gubbins springs out you'll know where to find it!

 

[tjbrace]

I replaced my Lewmar with Harken a few years ago. Lewmar had slot head screws but Harken used hexagon head screws which were held in place by the base plate moulding. These are 46.2 and the nuts are removable without dismantling the winch drum.

 

[justanothersailboat]

In a similar vein to Corribee Boy, a shoebox with a winch-sized hole in the base can be a handy way of catching loose bits... though if you/previous owner left the winch too long, the cement-like old grease will hold almost all pawls and springs in place.

I never tried actually removing a whole winch just to service it, though.

 

[Colin Brown]

Colin, You will need to take the drum off and access the slot headed tops of the bolts to stop them turning when undoing the nuts. I did this very job when swapping mine to self tailing winches. I also took the opportunity to swap the silly penny washers for a complete plate the same size as the winch base.

Steve A , I have the penny washers under my winches. However i have not noticed any problem with the mounting on the deck. Did you replace the penny washers with a Stainless steel plate or Alloy? Final what thickness plate did you use? Guessing about 2mm in s/s and 4 mm in alloy

 

[Colin Brown]

I don't know the Harken as I have had Lewmars, but I don't think it is a particularly good idea to service the winches off the boat and mess around with the fixings. If they are anything like mine, which are two-speed, servicing only takes a few minutes, though a bit longer if I do a 'deep clean' and get all the old grease off with paraffin. The only real problem is the risk of losing parts, especially pawl springs. This can be prevented with due care and keeping spares. I generally do mine when on the water, and have various ways of ensuring lack of loss, such as setting up a barrier outboard of the winches with a cushion or board. I would just choose a nice day in the spring and enjoy a few minutes communing with gears.

Hi I am looking to service my two Harken 8 single speed winches on my Beneteau 21.7. These are bolted to the deck with 4 no 8mm bolts , can these be removed by just undoing the nuts under the deck ? Or do I need to partially strip the winch down to gain access to both sides of the bolts? I would prefer to service them at home rather than on an expose deck in the boat park.

Thank you for all of the replies below. As usual in the boating world there are as many excellent ways to tackle the same job. I will try to remove them as the boat is a 2007 vintage .
, and all of the fitting etc will need re bedding to prevent leaks in the future.

 

[SteveA]

Steve A , I have the penny washers under my winches. However i have not noticed any problem with the mounting on the deck. Did you replace the penny washers with a Stainless steel plate or Alloy? Final what thickness plate did you use? Guessing about 2mm in s/s and 4 mm in alloy

Colin, Yes I used 2mm S/S plate. I also used this plate to beef up the cleat fittings (that also had penny washers) as I kept ours on a swinging mooring.

 

[Colin Brown]

Hi Guys and thank you for your advice. The Harken 8 single speed winches are off the deck and in the garage. Very simple inside with no ball or roller bearings just plastic delrin bearing surfaces.( Are spares available?) Cleaning appears easy with white sprit. Re assembly, what lub should be used on these internal load bearing surfaces and do i need " special" oil on the pawls or will 3 in 1 fine cycle oil do the job. Having stripped the winch down now I see the value Kevin V statement above. Once apart its not a big job

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Harken don't specify the type of oil 3 in 1 would be fine or any light machine oil. servicing instructions, well what there are, are here!

 

[Colin Brown]

Thank you for the Harken diagram.
Colin

 

[littledancersadhu]

Thank you for the Harken diagram.
Colin

Just serviced my single speed size 6 winches, i needed 1 spring as it had snapped, they are very easy to make using music wire an a nail 6mm in diameter, could not source anyone who would supply just 4 springs without charging me a fortune for postage, so i made my own!

 

[Colin Brown]

Pleased you got sorted. I purchased the two Delrin bearings from Harken- expecting them to cost a fortune, but really cheap, both winches for £10. The springs were also we priced but the pawls, expensive. Still both winches as good as new for well under £ 60