[ericb760]

I have budgeted new halyards this year and am set to put in my order. I'm thinking about buying enough length to extend them to the cockpit. I have the hardware (blocks, clutches, etc.) although they are not installed. I'm wondering what size winches are optimal for placement on the coach roof. Boat is 24'. Any suggestions?

 

[svzephyr44]

Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor once said "you can never be too rich or too thin." You can never have winches that are too big. The bigger the winch the easier to grind. In general production boat winches are about two sizes too small. So I would look at other boats that have about the same sail area and then upsize the winches.

 

[deltaten]

Eric;
If it's any help; my 27 footer has Lewmar 7's for jib winches and a Barlow #6 for the halyards .
I donn't seem to need much more and hardy use theJibbers. anyway EEither would be a nice size fornthe rooftop; tho the Barlow's a tad smaller. Look up listings at mfgrs for dimensions. IIRC, the Ls are 4.5"d X 4.75"h But I could be wrong/close.

HTH,
Paul

 

[denverd0n]

Do you have a winch on the mast for the halyards now? Is it big enough? Running the lines to the cockpit will introduce additional friction, which means that if the current winch is just big enough, you'll want one a size or so larger. If you feel the current winch is too small, you'll want to go up a few sizes. If you raise the halyard now without a winch, then a quite small one should be enough.

 

[ericb760]

Do you have a winch on the mast for the halyards now? Is it big enough? Running the lines to the cockpit will introduce additional friction, which means that if the current winch is just big enough, you'll want one a size or so larger. If you feel the current winch is too small, you'll want to go up a few sizes. If you raise the halyard now without a winch, then a quite small one should be enough.

Thank you. I do have a winch on the mast which I use to hoist the last few feet of the mainsail. It does the job just fine. I honestly don't know the exact size of it, but I'm geussing it's a 6?

 

[bobmcgov]

Single speed #7s or #8s should do just fine if your leads are fair; if they aren't, bigger winches won't make life much better, as chafe & hardware strain will still be there. For even quite large boats, many sailors use #16s on the coachroof. One key is swing room, tho: 8" vs. 10" handle. If there's only room to turn an 8" handle, you may want a larger or geared (2 speed) winch.

We're moving the Enkes #20s (2 speed) from their place on the coamings, aft, up to the coachroof. They are undersized for sheet or afterguy work w/ a 750sqft spinnaker, or for kedging or use w/ drogues. The current Lewmar 40 primaries will move back there. The #20s are oversized for the coachroof, but we have them, and the 2 speeds and gear ratios will be nice with an 8" handle. One other thought is drum height: your lines should lead up onto the winch drum at 12 degrees or so. Small winches have short bases & may need to sit on risers to obtain that angle.

 

[MarkSF]

I just changed my cockpit-mounted main halyard winch to a self-tailer. That might be something to think about - it makes life easier if you're single handed, and makes raising the sail less effort - why? because you have two hands free for grinding, not one.

The one I used is a Lewmar 16 CST. Note that when sizing self-tailing winches, an additional consideration is the line size. The 16 CST takes up to 1/2" line.

 

[zz4gta]

lewmar 16s for primaries and 7s for coach roof secondary's.

 

[miatapaul]

I would say get the closest size you can find on Craigslist. If you go much bigger be careful if you let someone else put it up, as if they crank hard they could damage something by mistake.

 

[azguy]

I have a Catalina 22..

I have 6's for the Halyards and 7's for the jib sheets, I bet the would work on your boat just fine or you could go one size up on each.

Winches are big money, I'm always shocked at even the used prices on eBay

 

[ericb760]

Miatapaul & azguy, I have an acquaintance in the "sailboat reclamation" business. He assures me that he has whatever size I need and he'll cut me a deal because I gave him the second roll of butyl tape that I bought from Maine Sail

 

[rhr1956]

Lewmar 7's on my Pearson 26.

 

[azguy]

Lucky you !!

I'd go 7's on the roof top and ST 8's for the jib sheets, you'll be all set with those sizes...

 

[Boredop]

On my Pearson 26,I have 12ST's for my primaries, 8's on the cabin top for spin sheets and a single 7 for my halyards.

 

[ericb760]

On my Pearson 26,I have 12ST's for my primaries, 8's on the cabin top for spin sheets and a single 7 for my halyards.

Where did you place the single 7?

 

[Alex W]

My Catalina 25 had a single #7 for halyards on the port aft corner of the cabin top.

That was more than adequate to get good halyard tension.

Lines were led aft using blocks at the base of the mast leading to a triple deck organizer.

 

[Boredop]

Where did you place the single 7?

My halyards have been run to the cockpit so my single 7 is the port side of the companionway, just onboard of the port cabintop #8.

The boat previously had the 8's as primaries until I upgraded to the 12's. I had the 8's just sitting around and figured they would work great on the cabintop for spin sheets and for roundings when transitioning jib sheets.

 

[blt2ski]

SIngle speeds as suggested will work.....For my 28' boat with a 190# main and 345# 155 jib, I do prefer dual speeds in the 15-16 range over a single 14 I have on my cabin. I've gone non tailing......With a clutch in front of the winch frankly not sure one really needs a self tailer for a halyard. Jib sheets, they come in handy, altho racing at times.......I find my human tailing winchs work fine too. Larger is better here!

Marty

 

[Brent Swain]

With the number of boats being scrapped lately, good used winches should be in good supply, at good prices. I bought my Arco 40s at a dock sale in 1995 for $150 each. Don't skimp on size, just go a couple of sizes bigger than other boats in your size range are using.