Vintage 3-speed Lewmar 44 winches - please advise

antaris

antaris

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My 1978 vintage boat has these on board:

Winches (1).JPG44.jpg

Does anybody know what the speeds (i.e. ratios) are? Also, how does the button work? When pressed in, do I get a shorter ratio (cos I do not see any difference)?

I find it difficult to take the genoa in, as I am not very heavy/strong myself.

I found the service manual on the internets, but no "instruciton manual" per se... Any feedback appreciated! (except for "replace with self-tailing", as budget does not allow currently! :))
 
I think you should get a shorter ratio when pressed in and winding clockwise.
1st/3rd clockwise
2nd anticlockwise

Might need to be under load.
 
I think it might be, push the button in will give you high gear, which is 1:1.
As you change to winding the other way for middle gear, the button pops out
then when you wind clockwise again, you're in low gear.

Don't replace with self tailing, recruit an oik to wind it, then you can tail...
 
I found an image with original sticker online, sadly it doesn't suggest which of 1st and 3rd gear needs the button pressed down. Have you got a link to the service manual?

1598884079151.png
 
From what I can see, the button should override the direct drive pawls at the top, so with it depressed you can use either of two planetary drives at the bottom (one of which is also accessible with the button raised).

Do you currently get 1:1 drive when going clockwise?
When winding anticlockwise, does it make a difference whether the button is up or down?
With the button pressed, what exactly happens? Does the handle just turn freely?

https://www.picclickimg.com/00/s/MT.../LEWMAR-3-Speed-Winch-Parts-for-44-48-_57.jpg

[Not my pic]
 
TLouth7 said:
From what I can see, the button should override the direct drive pawls at the top, so with it depressed you can use either of two planetary drives at the bottom (one of which is also accessible with the button raised).

Do you currently get 1:1 drive when going clockwise?
When winding anticlockwise, does it make a difference whether the button is up or down?
With the button pressed, what exactly happens? Does the handle just turn freely?

https://www.picclickimg.com/00/s/MT.../LEWMAR-3-Speed-Winch-Parts-for-44-48-_57.jpg

[Not my pic]
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to respond

As far as I can remember (not on boat currently):
clockwise is 1:1 (so pretty fast, really)
anticlockwise is slower (I only use that to really sheet in)
Button up or down... no noticeable difference, ratios feel the same. Button does click and stays suppressed (under load), but not much happens... So I take the winch handle out, move to convenient angle and push with body weight - and repeat for as long as it takes. This is truly silly.
 
Hmmm, it looks from the service manual that removing the top cap with the button is pretty simple (just need to fish off the circlip). I'd definitely do this and see if all the moving parts are moving.

Ooh have a look at this, it looks like you need to do a partial rotation to close some pawls, and then either reverse or keep going (not clear which) to access one of the gears.

http://www.ohlson38.de/Ohlson38 Documnets/downloads-4/files/Lewmar.48.pdf

There also seems to be a clutch, not sure what function it serves though. Annoyingly it seems to require full dismantling to access it (and the several ratchets at the base)
 
I have these on board as spinnaker sheet winches.

Depressing the button first (before doing any winding) allows 1:1 winching to get the sail in quickly..

When that gets hard, change direction, the winching gets easier and the button pops up by itself.

When winching gets harder still, change direction and you should be onto the third speed.

Just make sure the handle is placed into the winch oriented in a way that it doesn't prevent the button for popping up.
 
Just worked it out in the workshop - adding here for other's reference:

SPEED 1 (1:1 fast) Clockwise, button pressed
SPEED 2 (4:1 medium) Counterclockwise, button irrelevant, but will pop-up
SPEED 3 (8:1 slow) Clockwise, button UP
 
TLouth7 said:
Great! What did it take to get it all behaving properly?
Click to expand...

Well, the advice given was indeed correct (see Martin_J above) - but I had to do some bench testing to comprehend.

There is this top element that you easily pull out:
20210527_123310.jpg

On the underside, there is a set of Pawls that "latch" on to the big drum - for the faster speed (1:1)
Screenshot 2021-06-02 113808.jpg
Here you see it with the paws removed.

If you reassemble without them, there is no harm done and the winch reverts to the two shorter speeds, regardless of button position. In the future, you may reposition the parts and return to a 3-speed mode.

The reason of the malfunction was the plastic crown that operates the pawls, that was damaged (dotted lines indicate what was broken on mine):

Screenshot 2021-06-02 113117.jpg


You either replace or remove altogether (I opted for the latter, as all contemporary winches operate on 2 speeds anyway, so less instructions to crew).

In addition, there is a metal pin that is operated by the white button - I will also decommission that pin, as it rubs against the brass ring below it (and is slowly eating it away).


In few words, remove all the unnecessary bits from below that upper part and reassemble for a 2-speed winch!

Hope that helps!
 
Hello! Great to see some info about this Lewmar winch that i also have on the boot! On mine the button is stuck and they only work as 2 speed. Is there a video or document on how to service them?
thanks
Maarten
 
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