PIX of Halyard Winch with Missing "Catch" and Cute KITTEN!!! Combo!

[Antioch]

OK.. The Mast mounted halyard winch was impossible to use when one man was on the sheets. This made singlehanding s/v William Bligh tough if there was any wind in the main. The headsails have not been a problem to raise, but it took both Brian and I to raise the main while underway, as the halyard winch starts to slip at a certain undetermined amount of strain.

Here are some pix.. I found that there is an effing "catch" missing on the top part of it.. Maybe someone can help correct my terminology.. The following pictures are in order and the kitten's name is Alawai, who I rescued two weeks ago in Michigan.. her eye is like that because her mother had Feline Herpes, and the microsurgery to fix it is only a temporary fix, as it'll say like that. The Vet I took her to in Nova Scotia last week did some research and called the condition Symblepharon.
She will be fine.

The winch was made by Marinium... I'd like to replace it with one with a greater ratio.



Missing catch.

[Amgine]

The piece which is missing is called a "pawl".

There's more than one method of hoisting the main without a winch, depending on the sail area. One technique is to add a block on the halyard, with a loop, giving a 3:1 advantage if rigged right.

But most likely you'll want to replace it with a winch. The *diameter* of the winch determines how much mechanical advantage it has, plus the gearing if any. Iirc, your boat's size and sail area mean you don't need much power; you should be able to raise the sail by hand, and get the luff reasonably taut just swigging it in, with the halyard only required to get the last half inch to an inch when the wind comes up strong.

For most sails which have not stretched out of shape, you don't want the luff any more than just tight enough to not scallop/wrinkle. Tightening more is going to stretch your sail without really benefiting your sailing.

[CharlieJ]

On our boat, Laura at 5'2"  can raise the main alone- no winch. If the sail is THAT hard to hoist, there is something else wrong- sticky slugs or something. Find out WHY it's hard to hoist- even if you use the winch to get it tight you shouldn't need it for more than the last foot or so. You should be able to hoist easily by hand on a small boat like that..

Of course we have a sliding gooseneck, and a down haul on the main, so we hoist to the top, then tighten the luff with the down haul, which is a 4 part tackle.

We DO have a winch on the jib though.

And by the way- I noticed a mention of the jib halyard cleated to the starboard side- glad I'm not on that boat- I'd get confused BIG TIME::) ALL boats I've ever sailed on-race boats I crewed on, the schooner I crewed on, and all of my own, the MAIN halyard cleats to starboard, Jib to port

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd point out that you really aren't supposed to grease pawls.  This can cause them to stick and cause the winch to fail to operate properly.  The bearings in a winch are supposed to get greased, but the pawls are only supposed to be OILED.

[Antioch]

On our boat, Laura at 5'2"  can raise the main alone- no winch. If the sail is THAT hard to hoist, there is something else wrong- sticky slugs or something. Find out WHY it's hard to hoist- even if you use the winch to get it tight you shouldn't need it for more than the last foot or so. You should be able to hoist easily by hand on a small boat like that..

Of course we have a sliding gooseneck, and a down haul on the main, so we hoist to the top, then tighten the luff with the down haul, which is a 4 part tackle.

We DO have a winch on the jib though.

And by the way- I noticed a mention of the jib halyard cleated to the starboard side- glad I'm not on that boat- I'd get confused BIG TIME::) ALL boats I've ever sailed on-race boats I crewed on, the schooner I crewed on, and all of my own, the MAIN halyard cleats to starboard, Jib to port

I think it's rigged with the main on the port side, which is quite tall for a 25' boat, because that's what side the winch is on. I'venever needed the winch for the jib or genoa. Yes, it could be sticky slugs.

[Gus]

Good point!! I used 3-1 oil I think it is?

I'd point out that you really aren't supposed to grease pawls.  This can cause them to stick and cause the winch to fail to operate properly.  The bearings in a winch are supposed to get greased, but the pawls are only supposed to be OILED.

[ThistleCap]

Dear Capt. Bligh,   Two points that may help if I may.
You mentioned difficulty hoisting with any wind in the sail.  When the gaskets are off, lines free to run, the sheets should be cast off so there is no wind in the sail until fully hoisted.  If the air is light, the sheet should be pulled through the mainsheet tackle so line friction doesn't allow any wind to fill the sail.  As mentioned, until you get to about 40 ft.-plus, LOA, the sail should go up hand over hand.  The winch shouldn't be needed until you need to put the necessary tension on the luff.  The second reason for having no wind in the sail is it makes it difficult to see the luff tension.  The given wind blowing over the sail will exert the needed presssure on the sail, and you winch the last revolution while watching the luff.  As soon as you see the tension line or curl START to develop along the luff, that's when you stop winching as anything more Will over tension the luff and stretch the sail.
The second thing that may help is a groove wiper, assuming you have a groove in the mast.  I've seen them in catalogs from time to time, but they're easy enough to make.  It's nothing more than a piece of suede or soft but durable fabric stitched around the appropriate sized boltrope with an eyelet at the top and bottom.  You put some teflon-based lubricant on the material around the boltrope, attach the halyard to the top eye and a tag line to the bottom, feed it into the groove and run it up and down the groove.  It only usually needs to be done a couple times a season, and keeps the slugs running freely.  If everything is running well, if the halyard is at the mast (not led through fairleads or sheaves to the cockpit), the sail should fall at least 2/3 of the way down by its own weight.
Charlie is correct on the halyard placement, which is universal except on some French boats, at least in all that I've seen.  The headsails need the winch, and headsail tension needs to be greater than main.  On a smaller boat, the main tension can be achieved by sweating-up, which describes how you take a turn on the cleat, grab the halyard and pull not down, but out perpendicular to the run of the halyard, and then maintain tension as you swing down and in, taking the slack on the cleat.  If you have a downhaul, the tackle on it will give you the needed tension.  Sweating-up is even used on traditional vessels over 150-ft in length.    
Happy sailing.

[mitiempo]

It's possible that the masthead sheave isn't turning freely as well. If this binds you;ll always have trouble hoisting. Inspect it and replace if necessary.
Brian

[Gus]

I keep a can of Sail-Kote in the cockpit locker, that stuff sure makes things easier.