winch size

[maestro]

on my O''Day 22 I have winches made by Gibb England. I can not find any information on them. I was looking for a parts list, size, diameter, etc. Anyone know anything about this winch??

Also, I do not want to purchase new self tailing winches ( no need for me to spend the $ for the type of sailing I do)...but I do want to add a pair of "winchers" to make my winches pseudo self tailing. When asked for the drum diameter...do I measure the inner size where the line wraps or the flanged end at the top???

Thanks.

[jklewissf]

You measure the diameter of the drum where the line wraps, not the flange at the top. I got a cheap plastic caliber in a hardware store that is good for that job. I set the caliper to the right size on the winch and then measure it with a tape measure. I dont trust the calibration on the caliper itself.

When you start to put your winchers on you will think you got the wrong size. They fit very tight are can be a real challenge to force on the winches. They do help.

[Denr]

The self-tail wantabes are a waste of money and time, in that order. I once owned an O''day 23, I can honestly say I never used the winch handle for something other than a weapon. I could easily muscle the lines in without the mechanical advantage of the winch. Can''t answer the question about Gibb, I had Barrients which were used primarily as mooring cleats.

[jklewissf]

I put one of those winchers on the main halyard winch on my Norsea 27 and was actually surprised at how well it worked. It did not truly self tail but the amount of tension needed to tail the line was much less with the last turn forced against the wincher. Since that winch was hard to tail the wincher made the job much easier. Never tried them for primaries.

[WHOOSH]

J:

I had exactly the same experience using a Wincher on our mainsheet winch. It''s awkwardly located re: body geometry and it made tailing the line unnecessary, allowing us to assume a somewhat more human position. You have to ''un''self-tail the line as it comes in, but that is easy.

Jack

[maestro]

Thanks for all your comments. As I said, for the type of sailing that I mostly do, daysail, some weekend over nights , and singlehand PHRF racing, coupled with the fact that I''m not looking to spend $100''s on new self tailing winches, I need something that will allow me to quickly cleat off my jib sheets and release them while racing. Typical cleats are too slow to cleat/uncleat. I have thought about cam cleats but "Winchers" seem easier for me.
I''m still looking for info on GIBB winches for spare parts...just in case I need to repair my winches.

[olson34]

Don''t pay too much for the "Winchers". Too many sailors have complained about ''em. As to Gibb, they were folded into the Lewmar conglomerate. Contact Lewmar for parts and info.
LB