Winches

[Phil Spicer]

  For 3 or 4 years the jib sheets have been slipping out of the jaws of the winches. Thought the sheets looked thin from tension...New sheets slipped out too. i found a grove in the teeth of the crowns so last spring I machined the inside of the crowns & thinned the stripper ring to reduce the space between the teeth. A little better, but still not good.
  The wife said we should replace the really bad winch last spring & the other winch this spring. OK, lets chech boat show prices,ugh!
  Found an add for "Minney's Yacht Surplus" & I asked about used crowns. FoundNEW Lewmar 45CST winches for $995 & free shipping.......DONE ! Fedex said they will be here on Wednesday.
  I have read about others having this same trouble. As of last Thursday Minney's had 10 new 46's. I ordered 2. Just thought someone may like to know of a good price.  Check Minney's Blog or call them.
  I went with new winches because thw crowns are long out of production.

[heliraf]

Yes, Minney's is one of those places that is a real treasure, and every sailor should know about it.  Those of us who are fortunate enough to live not too far from it, Newport Beach, Orange County, CA,  usually know it well and go there regularly.  It's like an old curiosity shop, for sailors.  I've been going there for years, and just the other day discovered two new rooms which I've never been into before!  I also met Ernie the owner himself first time, a very nice guy, and we even spoke about the very winches you posted about.  Problem is, I can't leave that place without spending lots of money on stuff I never realized I needed until I saw it and saw what a great price it was going for.  One guy said to me, "you can go broke saving money here", well ain't that the truth!  Second hand stuff in all the bins they have is difficult to buy over the telephone, but they do have loads of used sails with accurate descriptions and ratings for condition, so that's something you could buy over the phone easily and it's handy for sailors to know about this resource.  Here's their website:

http://www.minneysyachtsurplus.com/