Since Brenda's departure I have reverted from Tourist mode back to Maintenance mode, complete with the alarm clock set for 6.30 AM. (I actually got up at 5.30 AM this morning.)
My current project is maintenance of the 6 Maxwell winches, which I am ashamed to say I had not done since shortly after purchasing the boat. The four cockpit winches are hefty Maxwell 28's. The two on the cabin are smaller versions.
The top photo shows the main housing all cleaned, greased, and ready to be remounted. The second photo shows the base of the winch, gears and bearings in place, ready to receive the housing. The third photo shows the main housing in place. Next are the components of the drum, clean and ready for greasing and mounting. Then two main roller bearings have been fitted over their stainless steel sleeve ready to receive the drum. The bottom photo shows the starboard spinnaker winch ready for duty.
From memory there are two sets of pawls (the things that make the clicking ratchet sound), eight tiny pawl springs, four sets of roller bearings, 5 gears, three stainless steel sleeves, several spacers, and the self tailing mechanism up top. The work gets a little nerve wracking because much of it must be done on site, on top of the coaming, one short bounce from the murky water.
The winches are probably the original on Pachuca, making them 29 years old. But they are solid and seem to be holding up well. Maxwells winches are no longer manufactured but I was able to buy a reasonable set of spares shortly after I purchased Pachuca.
1 comment:
Glad to see you are working hard again Robert...it will help you stop missing your friend who flew away!!!! BTW Please tell Arnold that the salmon he gave us was amazing!
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