I don’t believe it!

[jimi]

Went out for a sail today, on first tack the winch I was tacking onto scraped jaw material off and jammed (ST48) on closer examination the feeder arm was bent, on even closer examination there were fresh scratch marks on the top where it had been unscrewed and top was loose. This was working fine a few days ago. I can only conclude some thief has bent his and nicked mine. Criminal behaviour and really sad a sailor could do this.

 

[RichardS]

It should be unbelievable .... but, as far as scumbag thieves are concerned, nothing is unbelievable.

Richard

 

[Cardinal]

That is indeed despicable behaviour.
I hope that your insurers sort it quickly for you.

 

[jimi]

That is indeed despicable behaviour.
I hope that your insurers sort it quickly for you.

I can replace the arm and damaged jaws for £170 so not worth a claim. But the behaviour is despicable , I cannot express the contempt I feel for the perpetrator

 

[westhinder]

Despicable indeed and something you would hope could not happen among yachtsmen.
By the way, does the winch happen to be Harken?

 

[jimi]

No, it is a Lewmar 48ST.

 

[johnalison]

My gob is well and truly smacked.

 

[Scillypete]

Are you marina berthed? Any cctv available. . . Just a thought

 

[West Coast]

Might you have bent it without realising? Reason I suggest this is that I had the same issue a few years ago, winch in question was a lewmar 44st. When away cruising, I noticed one day that the winch was not tailing properly, and arm was scraping on the drum. On taking the winch apart, I found that the arm was bent in a similar way as you describe. To this day I have no idea how I did it, and it cost a similar amount to repair as you have suggested. But I must have done it myself somehow as had been on the boat myself all the time, and winch was working perfectly when I had left home port.

 

[Catalina36]

Might you have bent it without realising? Reason I suggest this is that I had the same issue a few years ago, winch in question was a lewmar 44st. When away cruising, I noticed one day that the winch was not tailing properly, and arm was scraping on the drum. On taking the winch apart, I found that the arm was bent in a similar way as you describe. To this day I have no idea how I did it, and it cost a similar amount to repair as you have suggested. But I must have done it myself somehow as had been on the boat myself all the time, and winch was working perfectly when I had left home port.

It happened to one of mine in a RIoW race some years ago. When I went to Lewmar for a replacement I was told that the cause was not taking a full three turns on the drum before going over the arm. The result is that in strong conditions the arm is taking some of the crushing load that should be taken by the drum. I'd actually instructed the crew to take three turns but it turned out that in a rush of short tacking they'd cut corners and only put one or two turns on.

 

[prv]

It does seem a little far-fetched that someone would bend part of their winch, prowl around who knows how many boats until they found another with the same model, remove part of it, and then install their damaged part in its place.

I know the top plates of my winches tend to loosen off over time (I just nip them back up as and when) and two posters have described how the arm could become bent without your realising it. Are you certain that the scratches weren’t there before?

Pete

 

[Norman_E]

I doubt any thief would hang around to put his bent part on to your winch.

 

[dom]

It happened to one of mine in a RIoW race some years ago. When I went to Lewmar for a replacement I was told that the cause was not taking a full three turns on the drum before going over the arm. The result is that in strong conditions the arm is taking some of the crushing load that should be taken by the drum. I'd actually instructed the crew to take three turns but it turned out that in a rush of short tacking they'd cut corners and only put one or two turns on.

FWIW, Lewmar told me that 4 turns were optimal on 48s with many lines (function of line size and composition) and the 58s up require 5 turns in blowy conditions

 

[RichardS]

I doubt any thief would hang around to put his bent part on to your winch.

That's a very good point.

Richard

 

[jimi]

Hmmm. I was on the boat a few days before for a sail, no problem. This time in the very first tack (winch is only used for genoa sheets) is a F3 the winch exhibited immediately the behaviour noted. I've used the boat in the same way for 9 years now including sailing in F8 a couple of times, F7 fairly frequently and often in F6 and had no issues with the winch. Onthe top were fresh scratch marks where a metal implement had been used to loosen it. I managed to end it back enough to allow us tio sail home using steel pliers but I had to use one heck of a force. My initial thoughts were that I must have stood on it when folding the mainsail or something but would have been surprised if my weight would have had that impact , however the scratch marks and the ease of removal convinced me. I examined and removed the other for comparison. So on balance, I think someone nicked mine, not absolutely certain but I'm about 75% sure.

 

[jimi]

FWIW, Lewmar told me that 4 turns were optimal on 48s with many lines (function of line size and composition) and the 58s up require 5 turns in blowy conditions

mine are well oversized (18mm on 40 sqm genoa) and usually have 3 turns on, 4 turns and a riding turn beckons. As I said, I've never had any issues in the last 9 years.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

As an aside, have a thought for the chandlers.

I was involved in the trade for a while and it was disheartening to say the least how often people nick bits from complete items, i.e. bolts from a Blakes
seacock say. Even smaller and much cheaper items too. Something you wouldn't expect from boat owners.