Maintenance and Refit
How are winches serviced and how often should they be greased?
Most winch faults come not from old grease but from the wrong grease: too heavy a grease holds the pawls in cold weather and the winch begins to slip. Stripping, cleaning and checking the pawls and springs at the start of the season is enough.
Why it works this way
A winch that slips under load is a deck safety matter rather than a convenience one, which is why it is operated under load during a survey rather than simply turned by hand.
Related services
Serkan Kotel · independent yacht surveyor · IIMS · ABYC · MCA
