Winch maintenance - how often do you?

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Which, to add to your question, if you don’t mind sir……Do most of you do this while in or out of the water? And what do you use to keep the parts from going everywhere while the service is being done?

Hauling a boat as a seasonal thing is common up North but not here so in/out can be a function of where you live.

Might also be a function of which winch. It would be a disaster if I tried working on my mast mounted winch in situ. And the cabin top winches are in an awkward place to be comfortable working on them so we remove them but the cockpit ones are easily serviced while sitting on the cockpit seat.

From the comments, it appears the consensus is every 2-3 years.
If anyone is curious what the manufacturer recommendation is, I spoke to Harken today and they said every 1-2 years.

 

[All U Get]

Just did mine, all thirteen. Mostly sticky grease with little wear.

 

[thinwater]

IME, a full cleaning can probably go 2-5 years for most folks (most are never serviced). However, the pawls should be cleaned and oiled every year (oil does not last as long as grease) and springs should be replace every 2-5 years (a failed spring can result in free-spool, spinning handles, and damamge--I've had several springs fail over the decades, but no harm since there are 2 and I replaced the spring immediately--keep some springs on-hand). Use top quality synthetic grease (does not harden) and don't use too much; just a smear.

Just cleaning and oiling palws and springs is a fast, easy job.