How to service a Harken sailboat winch

This is a short amateur demonstration of maintenance done on the boat for the classic Harken 40 and Harken 46 sailboat winches. The intriguing mechanism of how these winches work is shown, and a few elegant design features are shown in detail. Possible errors of reassembly are demonstrated.
This is an amateur demonstration, offered for free but with no guarantees as to safety or accuracy. Be sure to look up the manual for your winch before deciding to proceed. Any misadventure you encounter if you decide to accept the risk of DIY repair is your responsibility.
Music “Book_Bag” by E’’s Jammie Jams from the KZbin audio library, CC 4.0.
“This is a Jazz Space” by Midnight North, source royalty free KZbin music library

[@careylee2595]

Just did my harken 40s after watching your vid a couple of times. Really helped, thanks. Way better than harken’s how to infomercial. (They should be ashamed). The last time I serviced them was pre-covid and we were locked down away from the boat. It was a distant memory! Servicing was needed, they were jamming and rough, now smooth as can be. Now to go ⛵️ !

[@ozzstars_cars]

Without gears we couldn't be as productive in life. Nice job Dave with the video and explanation on how the winches work internally.

[@spelunkerd]

I believe this kind of engineering goes back to the 1800's. Those guys were brilliant!

[@acampbell198]

Waaaayyyy better than the Harken video! Thank you!

[@athertop]

Fantastic video! Perfect level of detail. Many thanks

[@perjohanramsli]

Thank you so much for this video! It was really helpful for me- doing the same job on four Harken winches today.

[@edwardabbey2128]

Great mix of how to and technical explanations. Spelunkerd's smooth delivery is easy to follow. I will get a tester and stop my method of cranking the starter for 10 seconds then measuring the battery voltage as a battery test. thanks, Duke

[@spelunkerd]

What a kind remark, thank you. Yeah, when on the road, as you say, using the load of a starter motor is an easy way to test a battery, and you can even use the headlights as a crude gauge of how far voltage falls if you have no tools. In a boat when a bank of batteries is used for starting, the story is more complex. Thanks for watching! Dave

[@marksteven3534]

It looks like very high quality to last a lifetime if maintained. Worth the time to clean for sure.

[@stuzman52]

Thanks for sharing the breakdown and reassembly of the winch! I've never seen one before and was a simple design with the design of the pawls. Great work Dave!

[@spelunkerd]

Yeah, like all of the great and time proven designs, it is cleverly simple.

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

WOW , That is a simple design .Yet very strong .. Great share Dave !

[@Misiekgren]

Thank you soo much for the detailed video. Much appreciated!

[@StewartGartland]

Thanks, really terrific demo! G'day from Australia

[@spelunkerd]

Thank you. I'm taking my daughter and new son in law to the airport this morning, headed to Australia.

[@johnkyd3977]

Thank you for this walkthrough. Makes me feel much more comfortable doing this for the first time this weekend.

[@stevesmelts1269]

How'd it go? Got to do mine soon

[@billk5727]

Great video! I always seem to over lubricate parts like these. Especially with grease. I try to get away from if a little bit works, a lot does better, but in the end......

[@spelunkerd]

Yes, it is telling that performance winches on those big racing yachts used in events like the the Volvo ocean race use very little grease. They don't care much about longevity, but they do care about loss of energy. With plastic components being the choice of the day, I'd rather have an older style like the classic shown here, made of stainless steel and brass. Thanks for watching!

[@zx8401ztv]

That's a clever design :-D So it's basically a ratchet that drives say 1 gear for fast, and another ratchet to drive 2 gears for a slow and more powerfull rotation. The two gears keep the rotation the same direction. Roughly speaking, like i often do lol.

[@spelunkerd]

For sure!

[@rrmech11]

Very interesting

[@64Seawind]

Thanks. Very informative. New subscriber.

[@spelunkerd]

Thank you! Dave

[@PsychoTillerSailing]

I really enjoy the detail and methodical approach you take to your videos! Will definitely use this one as a reference next time I service my winches when I get to that point where I start saying to myself "hmm which way does this go back in again?" Very nice boat too, for some reason it looks vaguely familiar :) I've never thought to use wd40 to clean the winch parts, for certain will give that a try next time. Enjoy the summer sailing season!

[@spelunkerd]

Hey James, thanks for stopping by! I was racing last month (Swiftshure and Round Saltspring) and I saw a few J-109's. One guy had a code 0, the tack is tied to the end of the boom and he furles at every tack. It was cool to see how much more sail area is moved forward away from the overlapping area with the main. When I spoke with his crew they emphasized how much work it was to furl at every turn, and I wonder if it has a negative effect on pointing ability into the wind. Lynn wouldn't appreciate more work when we're short handed, ha ha. I'm still wondering how to change my outhaul line, it looks like I'd have to remove the rivets at the gooseneck. Do you know anybody who has changed his outhaul line? Cheers!

[@PsychoTillerSailing]

We're all waiting for you to be the guinea pig & make a video on how to replace the outhaul :) Seems most 109's are around the age where replacing the outhaul is coming due but I think we all come to the same conclusion once we look at it, looks like quite a project! I've tied a small piece of spectra between the end of the boom and main just in case ours gives out before I see your video on how to replace it. Regarding the code 0, in light winds we've found it is possible to tack or jibe the code 0 but above maybe 9-10 knots it needs to be furled. The other challenge with the code 0 we've found is it creates so much speed and changes the apparent wind angle so much it's hard to hold very high upwind. I don't think it works well much higher than a TWA of 65-70 degrees. Other than that it's a fantastic secret weapon given the right conditions. We're still holding a spot for you on our boat next time you're in the San Francisco Bay area!

[@PsychoTillerSailing]

btw, hope you don't mind I shared your video on the class website. We're still waiting for your outhaul overhaul video though!

[@spelunkerd]

Thanks, James, I got an email from Bill today. Mine is hull #43. Good idea, the problems on my older boat may be very helpful for other J-109 owners. Yesterday we spun off an alternator belt, but fortunately I had a spare on the boat so I was able to swap it out while my wife sailed in circles, ha ha! I'm hoping somebody else will post a video on changing the sail drive boot or changing the rudder bearing, they sound like common issues with this boat. Cheers.

[@kossa807]

Thank you for movie, really usefull ;)

[@christopherschembri7793]

Thanks for sharing, a very informative video. Is the grease lithium-based?

[@spelunkerd]

Honestly I don't know, the bottle labels lack detail. Because the salt water environment is so different than typical machine exposure, I tool the humble (lazy ignorant) approach to simply use what one winch manufacturer recommends. You can certainly find cheaper alternatives at the hardware store, but that might turn into an expensive mistake if a lubricant promotes corrosion or galvanic reactions near salt water. I like to think they did homework on the issue. Thanks for watching!

[@christopherschembri7793]

@@spelunkerd Thanks. I checked the specs online regarding the winch grease recommended by Harken but could not find this detail either.

[@mikewilliams4947]

15:00 great tip. Thank you for putting in the time to put this video together. I'm looking at a salvage boat that sank all the way. I know it has electric winches. It's a 2016 model. I know this is old but what do you think I'll find when I open the winches up. The bottom of the sea was murky muddy. The boat has a fair amount of mud / silt in it. Do you think the electric motors can be rebuilt?

[@spelunkerd]

If it was salt water, the motors are scrap, but I bet you could fit a new motor or maybe convert to manual. Good luck! You might think about turning a camera on and sharing your experience with the rest of us here on the 'net.

[@mikewilliams4947]

@@spelunkerd Roger that! Thank you. I’m considering making it a series. The boat is in Vietnam! Lol. So refit mechanical and interior in Hochimin after getting it back in the water and sailed due south about 200 miles. You in? 4 shares redeemable at actual cash value invested. We get the boat to the med through the Red Sea and refit exterior in Croatia or Turkey.

[@isilder]

On the 46,the planetary gears axles are held down by the the plate with allen key screws. But on the 40 , they arent tied down.. did you see damage from the axles riding out ? Maybe we get stronger sun and dusty winds here, at NSW, but the winches I cleaned today I scrubbed gunk off everything ...

[@spelunkerd]

Not much runout to speak of, they are both holding up well.

[@zainulwahab7352]

I need side mirror installation diagram please send