Lewmar Winches

[Sam_Steele]

I have 2 Lewmar 44 ST winches which were produced in the 70's. The drum ( aluminium) is worn and needs replacing. Understandably Lewmar don't have any spares, does anyone have any ideas of where I could get a second hand one from? The internal gearing still works ok - so I am reluctant to buy new ones.

Thanks in advance
Sam

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[vyv_cox]

You could repair them using metal spray techniques. Look at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.metalcoatengrs.com/profile.htm>http://www.metalcoatengrs.com/profile.htm</A> for some ideas. Cost might be high for a small job, though.

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[Davy_S]

I also had 70S Lewmar Winches And had problems with spares. I e mailed Lewmar And received a reply from an engineer, who when he knew the parts i needed,sent them for free! (I like much cheapness) It could be worth a try. Good luck.

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[richardandtracy]

Cast new ones yourself..

Don't laugh, I'm fairly serious!

It's very cheap and very satisfying. My charcoal fired aluminium casting crucible furnace cost a grand sum of £1.25 for a furnace capable of melting up to about 2lb of aluminium in a steel crucible, and it's entirely scalable. I suggest you look at www.backyardmetalcasting.com to see how to do it and add cheapness.

Use your old drums as a pattern with plasticine to build up the worn away areas. Put the impression in sand, then throw the things in the melt along with any other cast scrap alloy you can lay your hands on. (Best to do one at a time as if the first cast goes wrong, no pattern...).

Finally machine or file off the bearing surfaces. Aluminium's soft enough for most hand tools to work OK with a bit of persistance. The rough sand cast finish is very good for gripping ropes.

Regards

Richard.

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[dickh]

Have you considered having them machined true again and then knurled by a local engineering company? How worn are they? Alternatively do Lewmar do replacement bronze ones which would probably fit?

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif