Nor have I, nor have I heard of it every happening to anyone I know. Since it's cited as a reason not to leave the winch handle in place, I thought I would throw it out there. Just stirring the pot.
Winch handle safe use
- Thread starter stickinthemud57
- Start date
Winches deserve respect.
I've been on winches where a pawl stuck 3 times. All related to using grease on the pawls (don't do that). Only one was my boat. There were no injuries or excitement.
All three where completely obvious by feel and did NOT result in the handle spinning. I could feel there was no catch, added a turn, and cross sheeted. In all three cases I later popped the top of the winch, either while underway or at the dock that afternoon, wiped off the pawl and gave it a few drops of motor oil, and that was the end of it.
The likelihood of the winch spinning when not been used seems vanishingly small. I have never heard of spontaneous release. I've never heard of a cleated tail becoming loaded because of this. I have seen tails with a good load on them when the winch did not have enough turns and the wind increased. Totally unrelated, and would not cause the handle to turn, but worthy of caution. Often you remove the handle when easing the line, but not if you are trimming from time to time and may grind a few inches in soon. I've seen damaged gears, but the winches were horribly maintained, so this should not have been a surprise.
If you are cranking the winch, use a firm grip, always in control. No crazy spinning and no throwing your weight at it. Control. And don't use grease on the pawls, and replace the springs.
[I was sailing a few weeks ago, found a pawl spring on the deck underway, and then found myself checking the winches (4) one at a time, underway, because of a nagging doubt that a spring was missing. In fact, it must have been one I replaced but failed to discard. No harm.]
I've been on winches where a pawl stuck 3 times. All related to using grease on the pawls (don't do that). Only one was my boat. There were no injuries or excitement.
All three where completely obvious by feel and did NOT result in the handle spinning. I could feel there was no catch, added a turn, and cross sheeted. In all three cases I later popped the top of the winch, either while underway or at the dock that afternoon, wiped off the pawl and gave it a few drops of motor oil, and that was the end of it.
The likelihood of the winch spinning when not been used seems vanishingly small. I have never heard of spontaneous release. I've never heard of a cleated tail becoming loaded because of this. I have seen tails with a good load on them when the winch did not have enough turns and the wind increased. Totally unrelated, and would not cause the handle to turn, but worthy of caution. Often you remove the handle when easing the line, but not if you are trimming from time to time and may grind a few inches in soon. I've seen damaged gears, but the winches were horribly maintained, so this should not have been a surprise.
If you are cranking the winch, use a firm grip, always in control. No crazy spinning and no throwing your weight at it. Control. And don't use grease on the pawls, and replace the springs.
[I was sailing a few weeks ago, found a pawl spring on the deck underway, and then found myself checking the winches (4) one at a time, underway, because of a nagging doubt that a spring was missing. In fact, it must have been one I replaced but failed to discard. No harm.]
I don't agree with this, but I have to respect it ...
... [From the Anderson winch manual]
10. Assemble in reverse order. During assemble, by the use of a small soft brush lightly grease
all gear teeth, drive shaft, roller bearing, shafts, pawls, springs and bushings. Pawls should
only be lubricated with a very thin film of ANDERSEN WINCH GREASE. It is very important
that pawls can move freely.
Having tested tested winch greases for wash-off and aging, I can tell you that Anderson grease is considerably thinner (less viscous) than other brands. Still, I would go with oil. That said, after testing a lot of lubes, and observing that wear in the pawl pockets is probably the most common cause of death for winches, I switched to using 0-W20 synthetic motor oil instead of very thin pawl oil. It lasts better, lubes better, and protects against corrosion MUCH better. It won't thicken.
As for the grease, Lewmar did very well against wash off, corrosion, and oxidation (stiffening). The other winch greases did no better than the average waterproof grease.
... [From the Anderson winch manual]
10. Assemble in reverse order. During assemble, by the use of a small soft brush lightly grease
all gear teeth, drive shaft, roller bearing, shafts, pawls, springs and bushings. Pawls should
only be lubricated with a very thin film of ANDERSEN WINCH GREASE. It is very important
that pawls can move freely.
Having tested tested winch greases for wash-off and aging, I can tell you that Anderson grease is considerably thinner (less viscous) than other brands. Still, I would go with oil. That said, after testing a lot of lubes, and observing that wear in the pawl pockets is probably the most common cause of death for winches, I switched to using 0-W20 synthetic motor oil instead of very thin pawl oil. It lasts better, lubes better, and protects against corrosion MUCH better. It won't thicken.
As for the grease, Lewmar did very well against wash off, corrosion, and oxidation (stiffening). The other winch greases did no better than the average waterproof grease.
I use this...
that I affectionately call sewing machine oil… because my grandmother used it on her sewing machine. I have never had any problems with my winches, but I have also never done a direct comparison with other products so… YMMV
The same as any other handle, only there's a 50-50 chance it would be folded so no worse than having the winch in the pocket. Though, I don't know anyone who's had that happen.
Not documentation, just an anecdote. Sheeted in tight and cleated off. All good, so far. Upon uncleating the sheet, drum starts spinning CCW drawing my hand in. (stuck pawl) This happens very quickly. Dropping the sheet is the only choice at this point. Had the handle been in the winch it could have created a very unsafe condition. I stand by my practice that the handle is in the winch only when a hand is on it.
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Like so many things, it's fine until it isn't. A handle sticking out of a winch is a trip hazard. Unless, of course, it is a $250 folding handle.