WARNING - Lewmar Winches Please Inspect

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

I recently came across an issue with a set of Lewmar Ocean Series self tailing winches that leads me to post this. The winches in question had the pawl pockets so worn, stretched or sloppy that the springs apparently jammed in-between the bronze gear and pawl and finally both pawls failed to spring back / operate. In my 40+ years on the water I have certainly seen worn and sloppy drums (usually aluminum), failed pawl springs, rounded pawl locks and worn pawl sockets too. Usually these were all on poorly maintained winches. However I have rarely seen pawl pockets this badly worn out especially on relatively new winches that have been routinely maintained using Lewmar branded grease and pawl oil. That is the real stumper here.

This failure caused a dangerous situation which meant the winch would no longer stop the drum from spinning backwards. The owner almost broke a wrist. A winch handle on a loaded drum with no pawls can easily break and arm or worse, especially if it were to hit a child.

Also, when this one spun backwards, and failed to lock, it broke the line stripper off causing the line to jam under the feeder arm when the sheet was cranked back in.:cussing:

These winches are not very old, a current series, though the EVO series seems to just replaced it. These are/were Lewmar's top of the line winch and had been cleaned and lubed religiously using Lewmar brand grease and Lewmar Speed Lube for the pawls & springs..

Please check on & inspect your Lewmar Ocean Series winches!

A Lewmar Ocean Series ST Winch (not the one with the failure)

How loose the pawls were fitting. Brand new pawls in this gear fit exactly the same way:

One of the pawls can simply slide out of the pocket !!!

Not good!!

This is what the new pawl gear looks like. There is little to zero slop in the fit. This is how it SHOULD fit.

Please, for the safety of you and your crew at least inspect your pawl gears!!!


If yours are worn the replacements are NOT inexpensive. At 40% off list (I buy wholesale) I have about $400.00 into the parts to repair these not very old & yet very well cared for winches. I replaced both pawl gears, 4 total, (there are two in each winch), the line jaw kits, because a line stripper was broken due to this failure. The line jaw kit was not much more than a line stripper kit so why not do it right....

 

[tomfoolery]

Thanks Maine! Is it possible the wrong Pawls were installed at the factory ? Do different Lewmar sizes use different sized pawls? A failure like this would be like the old wire reel winches only at least with them you knew the risk and acted accordingly.

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks Maine! Is it possible the wrong Pawls were installed at the factory ? Do different Lewmar sizes use different sized pawls? A failure like this would be like the old wire reel winches only at least with them you knew the risk and acted accordingly.

No, the pawls are correct. Winches are sized correctly and the line angle to the drum is spot on.

What makes me most upset about this situation is that I was told on Monday by Lewmar that this is not an issue they have ever seen. Go figure, I am the only one....

Yet with a little google search I easily found a discussion from 2006 on the J105 forums where multiple owners have had the problem, with the same winches. One owner even reports that Lewmar has developed hardened bronze gears and an optional stainless gear to try and deal with this issue. But yet, I am the only one to ever have this problem.... BTW I was not offered the upgraded gears so whether they really exist or not is debatable......

It is hard to say what happened exactly but it is clearly in the bronze that "gave". A brand new pawl fits exactly the same way.

Apparently I am not the only one to have seen this issue:cussing::

J105 Forum - Worn Lewmar Pawl Gears

 

[Ross]

Either a defect in material or workmanship. My Barent winches are as nicely fitted as a good clock.

 

[RichH]

Youre definitely not the only one, Maine.

I was on a charter/school boat a few years ago when a big Lewmar winch slipped both of its pawls and almost broke the arms of the crew member who had just finished gorilla-grinding on the winch.
We disassembled the winch, and like you, found that the base plate that holds the pawls had ductile failed, thus allowing the pawls to release. Luckily we had onboard a ballpeen hammer with which we 'moved' the base plate metal back to a tight fit ... but obviously didnt 'trust' the winch after it 'quite violently helicoptered' its winch handle.
BTW- when we disassembled, not a 'hint' of grease could be found - total lack of winch maintenance.

 

[Johnb]

Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is you are supposed to avoid putting grease on the pawls. When I service my winches I just oil the pawls.

 

[Maine Sail]

Youre definitely not the only one, Maine.

I was on a charter/school boat a few years ago when a big Lewmar winch slipped both of its pawls and almost broke the arms of the crew member who had just finished gorilla-grinding on the winch.
We disassembled the winch, and like you, found that the base plate that holds the pawls had ductile failed, thus allowing the pawls to release. Luckily we had onboard a ballpeen hammer with which we 'moved' the base plate metal back to a tight fit ... but obviously didnt 'trust' the winch after it 'quite violently helicoptered' its winch handle.
BTW- when we disassembled, not a 'hint' of grease could be found - total lack of winch maintenance.

But these winches were perfectly lubed, no "gum" and the pawls, like I find so often, had been properly oiled using Lewmar products, not greased. I know because I have been the one maintaining them, on this boat, for at least 8 years and I don't believe the winches are even 10 years old yet.

Either way I think folks who own these winches should take the time to pop the top, remove the line feeder, slide the drum off and pull the gear pins & gears to inspect the pawl sockets. It takes about 10 minutes to do so, at best. A broken arm will put you out a lot more than 10-20 minutes....

 

[Rick]

Hey Mainsail, your next post, if you dont already have it in your archives, should be how to take apart a Lewmar winch, clean and reassemble it. I did all four of mine over the last few months. Its a tedious but fun job. Will give you insight on yet one more critical system of your boat should anything happen like you mentioned. Could not believe the difference on a tack after the winches are restored.

Tip: Get a carboard box, like a case of beans comes in. Cut a hole in the bottom of it corresponding to your winch size. That way when maybe a spring or gear finds its way out of your hands, it will hopefully be caught by your clever little "parts saver".

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers

 

[Maine Sail]

Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is you are supposed to avoid putting grease on the pawls. When I service my winches I just oil the pawls.

Grease should not be on the pawls but often is because folks have a tendency to "over grease" the winch and it simply migrates there.. Some who don't know better do put grease on the pawls. "If a little grease is good more must be better, right?" WRONG.........:cussing:

This was not the case with these winches and only Lewmar oil (pawls) and Lewmar grease were ever used on these winches. They were in perfectly clean and lubed condition the only issue was the pawl sockets which apparently caused the springs to jam... I suspect this was not a wear issue but a deformation issue of the bronze sockets.

 

[Joe]

Hey Mainsail, your next post, if you dont already have it in your archives, should be how to take apart a Lewmar winch, clean and reassemble it. Cheers

In case you can't wait for Mainsail, here's a Youtube video from Lewmar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqCunPhQHw4


For an interesting contrast in winch construction, check out this video about the new Harken design. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTJR2bQRG40

 

[Rich Stidger]

Mainsail:

You cost me 2 hours, but I now have peace of mind. I've been bad- I haven't serviced my winches since..... mmmm. After seeing your post I immediately disassembled all four of my winches and inspected and re-greased/lubed. Everything was in excellent shape. Nice square edges on all of the pawls and nothing like your pictures. Not only were all the winches in good shape (after 15+ years) but they now operate more smoothly and quietly.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Edited to add: I have two 48ST, one 30ST, and an electric OP2. All were in good shape, and now re-lubed.

 

[Maine Sail]

Mainsail:

You cost me 2 hours, but I now have peace of mind. I've been bad- I haven't serviced my winches since..... mmmm. After seeing your post I immediately disassembled all four of my winches and inspected and re-greased/lubed. Everything was in excellent shape. Nice square edges on all of the pawls and nothing like your pictures. Not only were all the winches in good shape (after 15+ years) but they now operate more smoothly and quietly.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Glad to hear they are fine!

I suspect the rounded corners on these pawls occurred from the slop in the pawl socket. The soft corner looks much more pronounced in the pictures than in real life due to shadows. When laid flat on glass you can't even slide a piece of paper under that edge.

These pawl gears are apparently used in both the 44ST and 48ST winches..

 

[Johnb]

Every now and again when coming about we get in a mode where the jib is thrashing around in the wind before it is sheeted in and the flailing of the jib is causing the winches to hammer. This report makes me think I better not let that happen in the future.

This does not happen with halyard or the mainsheet winch which get a more even load.

What service were those winches in?

 

[tomfoolery]

Maine Sail. I am looking at a 96 376 Hunter with 4 lewmar 44 st winches, I do not expect there is anyway short of disassembling the winch to determine if this pawl wear is an issue?

 

[Stu Jackson]

tomf - The issue, as I understand it from Maine Sail's description and photos, is that they are for Ocean Series winches. Lewmar made a series BEFORE the OS that we have on our 1986 boat. You would have to check most likely with using Lewmar's website, about whatever may be on that boat you're looking at. IIRC, the OS winches are best identified by how close together and thin at the edges the black winch tops are made. The older winches, pre-OS, had much thicker black pieces.

 

[25yearslater]

Probably should have read this post before going up the mast. New #6 Lewmar halyard winches this year. Any reports of newer winch failure?

 

[tomfoolery]

Thanks Stu, so noted !

 

[Maine Sail]

Probably should have read this post before going up the mast. New #6 Lewmar halyard winches this year. Any reports of newer winch failure?

You are more than likely fine. This is probably not a common issue but one that appears to be out there at least on certain Ocean Series winches. Even if one owner discovers this dangerous condition and addresses it the post will be worth while. A loaded winch that fails can be very dangerous, especially if a winch handle is in it when it does...

 

[Rick]

Mainsail:

You cost me 2 hours, but I now have peace of mind. I've been bad- I haven't serviced my winches since..... mmmm. After seeing your post I immediately disassembled all four of my winches and inspected and re-greased/lubed. Everything was in excellent shape. Thanks for the heads-up.

Wow Rich what was your secret to cleaning them? I used mineral spirits for a soak. A toothbrush and ice pick for cleaning the teeth of all the gears. I sprayed them with brake cleaner to get the old grease off. Mine as far as I know had never been cleaned and were a mess. Took me almost that much time pre winch.

I don't have a parts cleaner or access. But would be inclined to service them more often if I knew a shortcut.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Wow Rich what was your secret to cleaning them?<snip>

When I disassembled, the winches were clean. The existing grease was not dried out or caked with debris, so I wiped off any accumulations and applied some new grease. I lubed the pawls with some liquid Superlube oil and wiped all bearing surfaces and gears with the Lewmar grease. I rubbed the bearing cages inside and out with grease and worked it into the cages.

Had the grease been dried out or dirty with any kind of contaminate, I would have made a note to disassemble again and clean thoroughly at the season end. Yesterday when I inspected the winches I was on-board and did not have adequate parts cleaning solutions.

Regarding cleaning solutions, I have used kerosene-based degreasers in the past for cleaning automobile bearings prior to re-packing with grease. I would avoid the water-based degreasers simply because they have water in them. After cleaning you must be dilligent in working the new grease well into all bearings and on the gear teeth. It's not a clean job. Be sure to do only one winch at a time so parts don't get mixed up. And I like to take pictures of each dis-assembly point so that if I get confused have pictures for reference.