Wildly Intrepid Sailingvideo

Beginner's Guide to Sailboat WINCH Maintenance

21 November 2021 · 10 min · 22K views

What this video covers

Alex and Cory perform a full teardown and maintenance of a stiff sailboat winch.Watch To access the internal gears and bearings, they remove five mounting screws and unbolt the unit from the underside of the deck.0:56 After disassembly, they clean the components using bronze or brass wool and a multi-tool, avoiding steel wool to prevent rust fragments on the deck.3:23 They apply winch grease to the main gears and bearings but use only light motor oil for the pawls and their associated springs.2:59 Reassembly requires careful manipulation of the snap ring and pawls to ensure the mechanism clicks properly.7:30 The team uses butyl tape to seal the mounting bolts during reinstallation.8:54 Proper lubrication of the internal gears and bearings restores smooth winch operation.10:07

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