One of my Lewmar #7 single speed winches suddenly popped up while sailing last week. I had never serviced the beasts, and I was suddenly forced to acknowledge that I would have to. My boat is a 1979 Oday 23 and the winches are original equipment. Lewmar's website has downloadable manuals, but only for models built post-1991. I figured I was out of luck, and would have to make due with what was available. However, I called the Lewmar America headquarters (phone # on the website), and told the receptionist that I would like the service manual for a 1979 winch. She told me she would pass my request on to a technician, and they would mail me the document that afternoon. Sure enough, two days later, the service manual for the entire line of older Lewmar winches arrives in my mailbox. Step by step instructions on how to do weekly and annual maintenance of the darn things. Armed with this and the advice on winch maintenance in this site's archives, I'm gonna take a shot at it this afternoon. I think good customer service deserves a pat on the back.