Tophat mark 1 mast winches.

[Arohanui]

My main sail winch on my new new th is a bit sluggish, or grabs when trying to hoist the sail down. You have to play Around with the brake for the sail to come down fully which isn't ideal. I pulled this winch half apart and slapped some grease in there but now I've applied so much grease that the brake will not wrk at all thus won't hold the sail up. This happened a day before going on a 5 day cruise , so I installed the biggest cam cleat I could find and ran the main sheet back to the cockpit.
I like this system as I had it on my bluebird and could raise and lower the main from cockpit, but the main sheet is too thin for the cleat and slips . I've either gotta replace the main sheet with something thicker- which I should do anyway, so that the cleat works, or revert back to the mast winch which involves it I being properly fixed - which is what I want to do. They look like pretty basic winches by I'm not familiar with them. Are these available if I needed one? Ideally I'd like this winch fixed, and when cruising I can attach a line to the brake so I can release the main from the cockpit rather than going forward.

[Phillip]

We need a photo, with the 'modern' Top Hats being 50 years old many different types of winches have been fitted to them.

I have two winches I removed from SEAKA's mast one of which may do as a replacement?

[Arohanui]

Wow Philip thats an awesome offer..hopefully you can see these pictures clearly???

[Phillip]

Arohanui,

Here are some photos of the two winches I removed from Seaka last year when bringing all my halyards back to the cockpit.

They did 45 years of service!

The top winch is a Bakelite rope Halyard winch which requires a cleat to fasten off the halyard. [Had to destroy original cleat to remove it!]

The bottom winch is a wire main Halyard winch with a friction brake.
There are two winch levers with this winch [as I keep loosing them overboard ] and drawings to make more !

Seaka-winches-a.jpg (142.49 KiB) Viewed 4550 times

Seaka-winches-b.jpg (351.81 KiB) Viewed 4550 times

Seaka-winches-c.jpg (107.8 KiB) Viewed 4550 times

Seaka-2011.jpg (165.25 KiB) Viewed 4546 times

Winches in use in 2011 off Queensland coast.

[Troppo]

Looking at those pics is like looking in a museum.

troppo

[Phillip]

It is a bit Troppo, seeing I have all those lines back to the cockpit now

[Phillip]

Right, these winches have to go as well!
See above for photos.

$50 each!

[Phillip]

The lower winch pictured on the mast has been sold.

Now only have the main wire winch for the main sail wire halyard.

Now $25.