All Brand Winch Service and $38 LEWMAR Special

Okay, be honest. When was the last time you had your winches serviced properly—taken completely apart, inspected, cleaned, springs replaced and everything lubricated? 3 years, 5, 10, ever? If you haven’t had your winches serviced on a regular basis, start checking the cost of new ones now. They won’t last forever without regular service. And they aren’t cheap. They may look good on the outside, but if not regularly maintained, they could be ready to retire to paperweight status by the end of your

next sail.

There are many metal parts working against each other inside one of those shiny winch drums that you so diligently clean and polish every few weeks or so. In our harsh marine environment, salt will always find a way into every moving part, eventually starting the corrosion process. Dirt and metal shavings continue to grind down surfaces every time the winch is used. Small parts wear down over time. The only remedy is a good, thorough cleaning and re-lubrication, if the damage isn’t too far along yet. Even better though, preventive regular maintenance will keep them running smooth and more efficiently, with no worries about breakdowns (or extremely expensive replacements).

As a rough guide, most serious raceboats should have their halyard winches serviced a couple times a year, with inspections on a more regular basis. Their genoa and spinnaker winches may need even more service. Cruising boats that are used mostly on weekends (1-2 days a week) with a two week cruise each season can probably get away with once every season or two. But again, genoa winches require more attention, so please be more diligent with them.

We service all brands of winches—Harken, Lewmar, Barient, Andersen, Barlow, etc., you name it. We service single speeds, 2-speeds, 3-speeds, regular and self-tailers. Chromed, bronze or anodized aluminum. And in 2006, were offering a great LEWMAR SPECIAL rate running all season.

LEWMAR SPECIAL, Great Overall Pricing

We’ve got a great service deal on LEWMAR 2-speed winches running all season. A complete disassembly, thorough cleaning, proper lubrication of every part, inspection, replacement of pawl springs, and reassembly normally takes about an hour per winch, sometimes more,depending on condition and size. At normal industry rates, that’s about $75-$95 per winch. At DMYS this season, all 2-speed LEWMAR winches up to size 40 will be serviced for a flat rate of $56.95 per winch and only $50.00 per winch for single speeds! There is a 2 winch minimum. (The photos at right are just a small sampling of what is involved. For the complete sequence of servicing a winch from start to finish, see our TechMate section.)

Though these rates are very special, we also offer discounted rates on larger, more complex Lewmars. Winches over size 40 start to get more and more involved as the size goes up from there. The time necessary to clean them thoroughly grows exponentially as the size of the winch increases. So, we charge for larger winches based on actual time spent, but then charge a lower hourly rate (for Lewmars) than our advertised hourly rate. On average, a number 55 Lewmar winch takes about an hour and a half or so to tear down completely, thoroughly clean every piece, inspect, replace all pawl springs and reassemble. If they are particularly gunked up, it may take longer. And, less time if they have had continued service over the years. 3 speed Lewmar winches can take nearly twice as long to service as a similar sized 2 speed. Other brand winches are billed based on actual time, at our regular low-industry rate, but still, reasonable.

Any parts or supplies necessary are charged additionally. Pawl springs are always replaced on winches that haven’t been serviced for awhile, but the cost for those is minimal—under $2 per spring. If the winch has been serviced regularly, it’s unlikely many other parts will be necessary. A service kit, costing approximately $30 will likely be needed for 2 size 40 winches.10 pawl springs are included with these kits. For service that requires more than 10 springs for two winches, the additional springs are charged out individually, as needed. As long as we don’t find any broken parts or extremely worn gears/spindles, that is about the extent of typical parts charges.

There is a travel fee added for boats that must be serviced outside the Milford/Stratford area.

As long as we don’t find any broken parts or extremely scored or worn gears/spindles, etc., we’ll put each winch back together and you’ll be good to go for another season or so. But, don’t wait for more than a couple seasons to have all your winches serviced again. The harsh environment in which they must perform, over and over again, handling extremely high loads, will catch up to them soon enough. The only way to protect them is to have them properly serviced on a regular basis. It’s not going to the break the bank unless you don’t service them.

Now, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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