Winches - Harken or Lewmar

Who makes better winches (for cruising/club racing use)??

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Plevier

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I'm thinking of splashing out on a couple of new ST winches and wondered if there is any strong feeling about which is better, Harken or Lewmar?
I'm impressed with the quality of Lewmars I've handled (but they have all been old and as usual, rumour has it that they don't make 'em like they used to) and the Harkens appear to be more fiddly to take apart to maintain, so I would lean to Lewmar BUT I can get the Harkens quite a bit cheaper (standard range, not the new model) and on most items one would put Harken near the top of the tree.

Anyone think there are any real pluses or minuses please?
 
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Having used both there is little to choose for usability. The Harken is somewhat more complex to sevice, but no big deal. Also find the barrel of a Harken is prone to slight corrosion, but new Lewmars may also do this.

No issues with either of them.
 
On the whole I would always go for Harken over Lewmar for most deckgear, the only exception to this are the winches and as such I fitted 2 new 46ST's a couple of years ago. That said Harken have just launched some new winches but I have no experience of these...
 
Agree,

Most of our (American boat) deck gear is Harken, but not the winches, which are Lewmar and very good.

John

PS Boat is 1992 so my advice is more than a bit out of date
 
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Winches.

My current winches are SS Harken, the previous boat had Lewmar chromed bronze. I liked the action of the Lewmars better and they seemed to last forever. I think the difference in feel is down to the sturdiness of the bronze.
The boat is washed well in fresh water including the winches and then wintered 4 miles inland under a deck cover but each spring we have to polish the rust spots off the Harken stainless steel barrels which is irritating as none of the other deck fittings corrode at all. I am reluctant to spray them with anything as you have to get it all off before you use them
I would be tempted by the new Harkens though, they seem to be a significant improvement which is probably why the old stuff currently needs to be discounted so much.
 
I had a great time with Lewmar when onboard a 57ft yacht - Easy to take apart and put back together, good spin very sturdy, No complications with springs flying off even the electric ones were easy to take apart!
 
Having used both Lewmar and Harken I prefer the Lewmar winches with the following caveat. Two of my Lewmar winches are much newer than the rest. (2 years old v 20 years old.) I have not been that impressed with the newer Lewmar winches due to the self tailing mechanisms. Consequently I just don't think there is anything in it. I haven't seen the new Harken winches mentioned above.
If I was buying new winches I would seriously consider going for Anderson winches.
Having said that I would prefer to have the same brand throughout the boat purely to avoid duplication of spares and the ability to mix and match bits.
 
I have Antal 32s on the coachroof. Half the price and do the work as well as the Harmar Lewken alternatives....
 
FullCircle said:
I have Antal 32s on the coachroof. Half the price and do the work as well as the Harmar Lewken alternatives....
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I can find the Antal single speed 30 for a few pounds less than the Harken but the two speed is considerably more so I don't think that's attractive but thanks for the suggestion.
 
That's good to hear some liking the Antal stuff.... I think I might have to replace a couple of small coachroof winches but can't spent a lot on it.
 
Had Lewmars on previous 3 boats. They didn't like being neglected, and the pawls would stick 'open' (i.e. winch spun freely) if they weren't serviced every year. However, they were pretty straightforward to service - even the 3-speed ones.

Current boat has Harkens, which are a bit more complicated to strip and re-assemble, but OK once the nice man on the Harken stand at LIBS shows you how! They have 'demanded' less servicing, but they are sheltered under a full cockpit tent when the boat on on the mooring.
 
Winches

Surely the real difference is between chromed bronze which is cast and stainless steel which is fabricated. Where weight is not an issue I tend to regard bronze as the superior metal
I would support those who advise against mixing the winches on a boat, particularly if you ever envisage selling it.
 
I had Antal 40 STs on Ariadne, they were excellent value for money. A good winch, no frills and no complaints with them at all.

On CAPE we have all Lewmar winches, all original 1981, all working great and a nearly all parts interchangeable if need be (the 56 sheet winches have a bigger pawl and spring). I'd stay with Lewmar just for ease of maintenance and spares.

Nothing against Harken gear, just all Lewmar when I bought her.
 
I think there is far more difference between the chromed bronze ones and the aluminium ones than there is between makes, but I have been impressed by Andersen winches which have a drum design which is kinder to ropes than the rough knurled surface on other makes.
 
I put new Andersen genoa winches on a previous boat, at the time they were the cheapest we could find but were excellent.

If considering Antal be careful in comparing all the values quoted for them. When about to buy new 16ST halyard winches I compared all of them but found the Antal figures (power factor, IIRC) were actually far lower than those of Lewmar, for nominally the same winch.
 
SolentBoy said:
Any special reason you are not considering Andersen? We have them and they are great.
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I also have Andersen winches and they are very good - don't know how new ones compare with Lewmar or Harken as I picked them up at a boat auction for a song and after a service(they had been underwater) they have been perfect.
 
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