another winch question

[Barquito]

When I crank on my mast winch the halyard bunches up on the base of the winch. The halyard goes directly from the mast head to the winch, that is mounted perpendicular and close to the mast. Is it just that the surface of the winch is too rough?

[sailingfool]

The winch needs to be on a base that provides the proper entry angle, see "Line Entry Angle Important" in Harken: Winches Magnify People Power.

[smurphny]

Maybe you have a halyard with a separate cover that is bunching? Some of the new Dyneema, etc. lines are covered with another more "grippy" woven tube that can bunch up.

[Barquito]

I think the angle to the winch is probably OK. If it is too steep, do I need to add a fairlead on the mast?

[mitiempo]

Sounds to me like the angle is not correct. A line led to a winch parallel to the winch base will cause problems, the reason why many mast winches are angled down a bit.

From the Harken page linked to earlier:

[klem]

How many turns do you have on the winch? Too many turns for a given load will do this.

[Barquito]

How many turns do you have on the winch? Too many turns for a given load will do this.

Only 3. However, the bunching probably happens before there is much load on the line. That is probably what is happening. My last boat was 22', so I didn't have to deal with these winch-y things much.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by Barquito

Only 3. However, the bunching probably happens before there is much load on the line. That is probably what is happening. My last boat was 22', so I didn't have to deal with these winch-y things much.

Maybe you are experiencing overrides? To eliminate that risk, try starting with only two turns on the winch, add the third or fourth turns only after the line has taken a load. If you trim an unloaded line on a winch with three or more turns, you are likely to develop an override. Same situation exists with sheet winches.