Worn winch self-tailors.

[AndrewB]

My old Lewmar 43ST winches are still in excellent condition, apart from the self-tailors which are worn and no longer grip the sheets well. Spares seem no longer obtainable. Is there any way of renovating or resharpening self-tailor blades?

(I would also welcome the opinion of anyone who has retrofitted Barton Winchers or similar on how well they work, though this is rather an expensive solution).

 

[thinwater]

My old Lewmar 43ST winches are still in excellent condition, apart from the self-tailors which are worn and no longer grip the sheets well. Spares seem no longer obtainable. Is there any way of renovating or resharpening self-tailor blades?

(I would also welcome the opinion of anyone who has retrofitted Barton Winchers or similar on how well they work, though this is rather an expensive solution).

Some dumb suggestions you have probably considered:

• Different ropes.
• One more turn on the drum. There should be very little load on the jaws.
• Perhaps it is the drum that is worn? The can be replaced or retextured by peening.
• Station a cam cleat down stream to hold the tail.
• In the future, keep the winches covered to reduce UV damamge to the plastic bits.

 

[geem]

My old Lewmar 43ST winches are still in excellent condition, apart from the self-tailors which are worn and no longer grip the sheets well. Spares seem no longer obtainable. Is there any way of renovating or resharpening self-tailor blades?

(I would also welcome the opinion of anyone who has retrofitted Barton Winchers or similar on how well they work, though this is rather an expensive solution).

Are they Waveline winches? Identifiable by the 4 screws on top?

 

[Stemar]

I had Winchers on the non-self tailers on my Snapdragon. They worked well enough and were a big improvement over the plain winches on their own, but they fall well short of proper self tailing winches.

I'd try Thinwater's suggestion of a turn or two more on the main body of the winch first, because I'm not sure how you'd put Winchers on a knackered self tailer.

 

[geem]

Are they Waveline winches? Identifiable by the 4 screws on top?

If they are Waveline winches, there is a guy in the UK doing a conversion to true Lewmar ST with the the sprung jaw. He converted our worn out Waveline winches. The difference is amazing. Very happy with them

 

[AndrewB]

Are they Waveline winches? Identifiable by the 4 screws on top?

They are as below, marked 'Lewmar'. I've hunted around, but no-one I found has spare self-tailors though other parts are available. I'd appreciate contact details for your guy, please!

 

[geem]

They are as below, marked 'Lewmar'. I've hunted around, but no-one I found has spare self-tailors though other parts are available. I'd appreciate contact details for your guy, please!
View attachment 147258

Those are Waveline.

Tony Cobden 07588767893. Best to use WhatsApp

 

[penfold]

What are the jaws made of? Worth looking at whether replacements can be made as new winches of that size is serious money.

 

[dankilb]

Those are Waveline.

Tony Cobden 07588767893. Best to use WhatsApp

Great tip - thanks geem

We've got a set of Wavelines in otherwise good condition (and recently removed and reconditioned - as much as possible - by me) and I've often worried about what we'd do if the ST 'jaws' (I think Lewmar called it the 'crown'?) needed replacing.

I did ask Andy who sells Lewmar spares via eBay and is often recommended on here. He confirmed that new-old stock of Waveline tailing parts were now mostly unavailable (whereas many other parts still are). He suggested 3d printing as a possible future alternative. Given how critical and visible that part is, replacement with an actual Lewmar part would obviously be preferable.

 

[geem]

Great tip - thanks geem

We've got a set of Wavelines in otherwise good condition (and recently removed and reconditioned - as much as possible - by me) and I've often worried about what we'd do if the ST 'jaws' (I think Lewmar called it the 'crown'?) needed replacing.

I did ask Andy who sells Lewmar spares via eBay and is often recommended on here. He confirmed that new-old stock of Waveline tailing parts were now mostly unavailable (whereas many other parts still are). He suggested 3d printing as a possible future alternative. Given how critical and visible that part is, replacement with an actual Lewmar part would obviously be preferable.

Here is one of our Lewmar 43 Waveline converted to Lewmar ST spung jaw

 

[penfold]

What's that cost to do? Looks like a tidy conversion.

 

[geem]

What's that cost to do? Looks like a tidy conversion.

Contact Tony. He can give you up to date prices

 

[dankilb]

What's that cost to do? Looks like a tidy conversion.

Jaw kit from Lewmar is over £100 for starters: Lewmar - Jaw Kit for Ocean Winches Size 44ST & 46ST

 

[geem]

Jaw kit from Lewmar is over £100 for starters: Lewmar - Jaw Kit for Ocean Winches Size 44ST & 46ST

I think it was about £200 a winch when we had our 43s done. Compared to cost of new its a big saving.

 

[dankilb]

I think it was about £200 a winch when we had our 43s done. Compared to cost of new its a big saving.

Absolutely. The fact we’re all otherwise praising their condition after 30+ years (ours are 33!) attests to their quality and value. We’re lucky to have had them fitted to our boats back then - the replacement cost/implications are eyewatering and new wouldn’t be substantively different/better (IMHO and for our needs at least). “Up the wavelines”, I say!

 

[LadyInBed]

Maybe seperate the jaws and insert a shim so that the sheet binds in slightly deeper?

 

[geem]

Just found out that the Lewmar winches with fixed jaw are Wave grip not wave line. My mistake

 

[Thistle]

My old Lewmar 43ST winches are still in excellent condition, apart from the self-tailors which are worn and no longer grip the sheets well.

Gone for a Burton, perhaps?

(I'll get my coat.)

 

[Daydream believer]

This is a total long shot but may be an idea
I assume you mean that the ridges on the 2 tapered rings, or jaws, have worn away & lost their grip

Are the rings aluminium?- I assume that they are metal of some sort & not a carbon plastic. It would still work with plastic though
Remove the top disc
I would use my Mill, but you would not have access to one. So try this:-
Use a die grinder to machine the space between the ridges 2mm deeper. Thus making the ridges 2mm taller & more effective. Then put the disc in a lathe & reduce the flat shoulder 2mm, so the disc sits lower & closes the "V"gap. Then fit a 2mm washer on top to take up the slack. The top disc is already worn so it is worth a go. If it works you could repeat for the top of the main drum, but without the lathe work

You should be able to get an air powered die grinder with grindstones for under £50 then hire an air compressor from a hire shop. The whole process might be cheaper than buying replacement parts.
Any model engineer with a lathe will machine the shoulder off the disc for you in an hour. I would do that part for a beer.

 

[awol]

Today I discovered that if the screws in the top are hex-socket screws rather than cross-head, indicating even older, there is no off the shelf solution. The lower jaw is part of the drum with these. I am investigating casting and machining at the moment, scanning and 3-D printing in metal seems a tad OTT but .........