Question: compass and winch repair

[hotdogs]

Hi everybody,

Thanks again to everybody that helped answer my fenders question. I have another pair of questions that I am hoping to get some advice on. To clarify my situation, I'm currently responsible for outfitting and repairing five boats (2 J/22s, 2 J/24s, and 1 J/29) for a sailing club. My budget is very limited.

Anyhow, here are my questions:

1) I have an older compass that, as far as I can tell, still works fine. The only problem is that the clear part of the compass is badly scratched up and cloudy. I have heard that wetsanding with 1000 grit sandpaper can fix this. Is this true? Is there a fairly cheap way to make the compass look better?

2) I have several (approx. 12) winches that seem to be working fine, but I don't believe they have been inspected/regreased in minimally 6 years and possibly as many as 15. Figuring out what to do isn't an issue, but I am wondering if this is work that I need to do. The boats have several other issues to address, so is this a good use of my time? Roughly how much time should I allocate for removing, inspecting, regreasing, and reinstalling each winch? What risks would I be taking in not working on the winches? (Note: I sail on a freshwater lake, if that matters.)

Thanks in advance.

[lbdavis]

Mineral oil. Put mineral oil on that cloudy compass and it will look as good as new.

I can't take credit for this, I read it on the tips thread, but I can tell you it definitely works. I apply every couple of months.

[Idiens]

1) toothpaste may be better than 1000 grit paper.

2) a poorly maintained winch can either jam or slip. Both make it useless. In a good blow, that could be a safety issue.

It does not take that long to strip and gease/oil a winch, maybe 15 -30 minutes - depends on type and follow manufacturers lube recommendations.

[lbdavis]

12 winches? Wow. That's quite the replacement cost if those start falling apart. I'd suggest servicing them all. Perhaps you can do three or four a year. Every year.

I would say it's definitely worth it.

[US27inKS]

I can answer the first question for you. Wetsanding with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit sandpaper works but will leave it hazy. Then you need to polish it with a plastic polish. I've used a liquid plastic polish on mine with great results, but I can't find the name of it right now. If I come up with the name I'll let you know.

[sailingdog]

If the globe is plastic...then you can often polish the scratches out to the point where it will be useable again, provided the hazing is surface scratches and not deep crazing.

I would recommend opening up each winch and re-greasing them. Use light oil on the Pawls, and grease on the bearings. Cleaning and re-greasing them will keep them working smoothly for quite some time... If they're like my Lewmars, cleaning and re-greasing each one takes about 20 minutes. If you don't clean and re-grease them, they make become damaged if there is any grit inside them or seize up if there is any corrosion going on inside them due to a lack of lubrication.... Replacing them is far more expensive than maintaining them.