Lewmar Winch No7. No Roller bearings ??

[sstrong200]

Hello all,
I am a newbie to this site, and having not sailed in years, I consider myself a newbie in general..
I just purchased a new boat. Old owner told me he had not touched the winches in the 4 years he owned it, Its a 1979. So I took the advice from this site and took apart the Lewmar No 7 that seemed pretty tough to turn. One thing that I noticed is that there are no Roller Bearings. From what I have looked at from various websites, it appears to me that this particular winch never had roller bearings? Does this seem right to anyone or am I missing something more than my bearings? Was there a time when not all winches needed roller bearings? or should I be looking for a new winch. Its a cockpit winch, one of only two and I'm thinking I want both to be in the best shape possible..

Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated..

Thanks

[TrueBlue]

According to Lewmar's manual for No 7 winches, there does not seem to be any roller bearings between the center stem and drum.

Lewmar No. 7

[sailingdog]

That may be due to the fact that a No. 7 winch is a fairly small winch with relatively low loads on it.