I am thinking about replacing the winches on my H-30 with self tailing ones. The current winches are Lewmar 22's. Most brands now offer size 20 then jump to 30. Is a 20 too small for this boat? Would there be a huge difference going to the size 30 ?
Replacing Jib Winches
- Thread starter newage1461
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With all due respect to Stu, don't bother with Winchers. I had them on a previous boat and they were unreliable even with the winch drum completely loaded up with turns. There is nothing worse than not knowing when or whether the jib sheet will let go.
The current boat has the self tailers and they are great! If you want ot save some $$ check e-bay
Matt
The current boat has the self tailers and they are great! If you want ot save some $$ check e-bay
Matt
Here is a link to an article on the Harken website for determining/calculating winch sizes:
http://www.harken.com/article.aspx?id=12821
And here is a winch size recommendation chart on the Lewmar website:
http://www.lewmar.com/cms/assets/1/categories/winches_selection_guide.pdf
I faced the same decision type of decision when I bought my 36' boat. The charts suggested a 46 size. Harken at the time offered 44ST's, which were just on the lower edge of acceptable. I found a good price for these (Nonetheless the two cost 12% of the entire price I paid for the whole fully functional sailboat!).
The size has worked ok for me, but I am still strong enough for serious cranking. With the genoa or my 90% jib in the typical 20+kt winds in my sail grounds, I think most women or most older or smaller people would not be able to adequitly tension the sheets. With the 44's often I have to use almost all my one arm strength to get the job done. Anyway, I'm recounting my experience because I think its best to to go up a size rather than down if you can.
My dock neighbor's boat is a 36' Jenneau. It was factory fitted also with Harken 44ST's. But, the Jenneau's mast is located further towards the bow than mine and hence she flies a relatively smaller jib set than my boat. I mention, because the typical jib size you fly also determines.
http://www.harken.com/article.aspx?id=12821
And here is a winch size recommendation chart on the Lewmar website:
http://www.lewmar.com/cms/assets/1/categories/winches_selection_guide.pdf
I faced the same decision type of decision when I bought my 36' boat. The charts suggested a 46 size. Harken at the time offered 44ST's, which were just on the lower edge of acceptable. I found a good price for these (Nonetheless the two cost 12% of the entire price I paid for the whole fully functional sailboat!).
The size has worked ok for me, but I am still strong enough for serious cranking. With the genoa or my 90% jib in the typical 20+kt winds in my sail grounds, I think most women or most older or smaller people would not be able to adequitly tension the sheets. With the 44's often I have to use almost all my one arm strength to get the job done. Anyway, I'm recounting my experience because I think its best to to go up a size rather than down if you can.
My dock neighbor's boat is a 36' Jenneau. It was factory fitted also with Harken 44ST's. But, the Jenneau's mast is located further towards the bow than mine and hence she flies a relatively smaller jib set than my boat. I mention, because the typical jib size you fly also determines.
I put Winchers on my H33 primaries and loved them. I now have one on my mainsheet winch on the coachroof of my H37C. Love it. Never had one slip. Easy to use and very economical upgrade.
The cheapest, although not the easiest to find, way of increasing your winch power is to use 12" winch handles instead of 10". I have an old Barient 12" SS handle and it makes quite a difference in heavy weather.
I put Harken 40.2st genoa winches on my H30 four years ago. The choice of Harken over Lewmar or Andersen was purely opportunistic. Harken was introducing a new winch design and the out-going model was 25% off. It was a good deal at the right time and I have been entirely happy with them. You will love the self tailing winches -- especially if you solo sail.
The rule of thumb is the sheet winch should be sized to handle the size of the genoa (sq meter measure). The 150% genoa on the H33 is about 41 sq M. The Practical-Sailor top rated winch was the LVJ. On the LVJ site, a 41s would be the size to get for the h33.
http://www.lvjwinchesusa.com/selftailing.htm
Lewmar's guide is reflects this selection as well; 40.
The best value winch was the Harken. If you can get a Lewmar for a beter price than the Harken, it would be the best valued winch. I know there is a good sale coming up on the Lewmar series of winches where you can get 2 for the price of 1. That is why I will be going for the Lewmar 40 (either EVO or Ocean series) stainless steel winch.
The info is embedded in the blog link on Minney's website ... The very last entry. I suspect you will have to call to get the latest info on inventory and offering.
Finally broke down and ordered a pair this afternoon. Saved over 50%. $995 for 2 30ST's with handle... Felt sorry for my crew..
That's great, newage. I bought a pair of Lewmar 40 CST (Chrome over Bronze) on the last day of the Annapolis Sailboat show (Monday); $800 each plus 2 free winch handles. With tax each winch was about $850.
We'll beat anyones price on Harken, please give us a call, because of MAP pricing rules, we can't publish pricing:
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?14551
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?14588
Minney's Yacht Surplus is a good source, but way back when I worked there, self tailers were rare in the used market
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?14551
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?14588
Minney's Yacht Surplus is a good source, but way back when I worked there, self tailers were rare in the used market
Got my 30ST's today. Nice & shiny & heavy. For $495 each including a winch handle and a t-shirt for my son, how can I go wrong.
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