So I have what I consider to be "standard" locking Lewmar 10" winch handles... chromed bronze... perfectly adequate... I don't care too much about shaving weight, or going fancy with this sort of thing. 2 out of my 3 handles however, have developed "sticking" and non-centering problems with the little thumb locks on them. I figured I'd fix them now that I'm hauled for the season... tried lubricating, but that's not it, it is the thumb latch itself that's worn/deformed. It seemed simple enough to pop off the lock, and replace the worn thumb lever that controls the spring/lock. Looked online at a how-to video... easy peasy... less than 5 minutes to fix... just a little plastic piece that's worn out. Look online for the repair kit, and West Marine wants $35 plus shipping for each little repair kit each (times two in my case). Strangely it looks like they're the only business on the planet that carries these little thumb locks. Really? I can get entire locking winch handles (albeit not top-of-the-line ones) for not much more than that via Defender or Amazon. I guess it's the world of boating (and especially the world of WM) so I should be used to the marine mark-up, but this seems like an insane price for what is essentially a little molded thumb knob and a little stainless steel wire bent into a spring. I've had these same handles on both boats I've owned, so have no experience with other styles (floating ones, or carbon fiber ones, aluminum ones, etc.)... mostly I want cheap ones as long as they're not going to somehow fail. Anyone have wisdom/experience to share on whether I should just suck it up and spend around $80 to repair those little latches, versus just buying affordable winch handles (I'd want locking ones, and 10" ones... but not many other features matter... at least I THINK I don't care) and I'd keep my less-than-perfect ones stashed away as spares?
Winch Handle Repair Kit
- Thread starter ToddS
- Start date
Keep the old ones as back ups and get these Lewmar one touch handles
They are sooo much nicer.
I tried the red floating ones but they break much faster than I lost any overboard.
They are sooo much nicer.
I tried the red floating ones but they break much faster than I lost any overboard.
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I was just having a similar problem with my latch type winch handles. I disassembled the latch, cleaned it up and very lightly lubed it with Lewmar winch grease. Now it works great but I did notice that my Spirol pin (#8) in the Lewmar exploded diagram was slightly bent. I wrote their tech service and was informed that Lewmar has discontinued the repair kits. If anyone knows the diameter of the pin please post it. Get a repair kit while you can. From Lewmar:
Good idea as they are easy to work with and allow simple two-hand cranking if needed. But make sure you can return it as they do not work with every brand of winches.. I bought one and the locking piece in it did not fit the Maxwell 24 winches, so it would not secure properly in the winch hold. I talked to One Touch who is the manufacturer of these handles and sent him measurements but he could not do anything. Fortunately a friend with a Catalina 30 wanted it, tried it and it worked perfectly with his winches (don't know what brand). So if you can try one before buying I'd suggest you do. Good luck.
We have the Harken equivalent of the one touch. Works great. Much easier and more reliable than the little thumb latch. Only problem is that the handle is so wide it doesn’t fit in a standard winch handle holder. Not a big deal as we use it in a winch where we can leave it in place most of the time, but it might be an issue for jib sheet winches. Not sure if the Lewmar is any more streamlined.