Meissner Winches

[mfeene01]

I've recently purchased a boat with Meissner 23ST-41A winches. I am looking for tear down instructions so I can clean and grease them. Apparently Meissner winches have changed ownership a couple of times and I have not been able to locate anyone with said instructions.

I've been sailing for a number of years, mostly charter stuff, and have never needed to pull maintenance on a winch before.

If anyone has experience with these winches, I'd appreciate any information/input you have.

Thanks to all
Mike F.

[By Invitation]

Mike,

Most winches are all basically the same in construction and design. Personally I would have no hesitation to just open up the winch, clean it, re-grease it and put it back together. Even if you can't find specifics on your winches you could use any Lewmar, Harken or Anderson instructions on the correct procedure. The only real key parts are the bearings and if you want to replace those you just need to take exact measurements once you open them up and I am sure you could find replacements. Most manufacturers use standard sized bearings when they design the winch in the first place. Even the pawls and the springs can be interchangeable between brands.

[GordMay]

What By Invitation said.

Meissner Winches:
Holmatro Marine Equipment

In 2004 Holmatro Marine Equipment (a division of the Holmatro group) took over Meissner Winches, and its product line including mechanical, electrical and hydraulic winches for classic yachts.
Contact:
Holmatro Marine Equipment
PO Box 33
4940 AA Raamsdonksveer
The Netherlands
T +31 162 58 92 00
F +31 162 52 24 82

[Pblais]

Mike is pretty much correct. Once you remove the top (snap rings or hex bolts) You can lift off the drum. For a two speed winch you will have two sets of pawls with springs. You may want to replace the springs as they get weak and won't make the nice click click sound. The pawls will cake up with dry grease too. With any luck they will be like a Lewmar or Barrient springs / pawls. You can buy pawls and springs at West marine and they usually even have them in stock. Pawls don't usually go bad but the springs do. Tiny little devils.

When you access where the pawls and springs are you need to be careful as the springs can fly and go deep sea diving (they don't float). That is really the only nasty part of the job - losing the springs. Clean everything is kerosene or something petroleum based. Gasoline works too but don't blow yourself up. A tooth brush works great for the gear teeth (teeth are teeth).

I would pick up some winch grease (any kind White lithium grease isn't bad) and some lubricating oil (non detergent from any hardware store not "3 in One" as it's detergent). You oil the pawls and bushings but lightly grease the bronze gears (use a tooth brush to spread it on as I said teeth are teeth).

If you go to the Lewmar web site download their instructions for cleaning as it will clue you into what to expect when you open them up. It's getting the top off that is different from winch to winch. For a large two speed it takes me about 40 minutes start to finish. If the old grease is dried out it can take a while to dig it all out of the teeth. You should find your winches work a whole lot better when they are clean. Not unusual for folks to go 10 years and not clean them.

[Pblais]

Sorry Gord. Nothing on the web site for support or download.

[mfeene01]

Sorry for the delay in responding, I've been gone from the boat for awhile.

Thanks for your input.

I looked at the schematic for lewmar winches and mine appears to be quite different. After the drum is off, the gears are only somewhat exposed most of them being within a cast metal structure.

I don't really want to disassemble one without having a roadmap to reassemble it. I will if I have to but........

Please take a look at the picture and if anything comes to mind, please let me know.



Again, I appreciate your input.

MikeF.

[mfeene01]

Sorry, the picture didn't get included for some reason.

[By Invitation]

Looks very similar to a Barient winch I ussed to have. As far as taking it apart, it's really very simple if you do just one part at a time. If you don't feel comfortable you may want to have a good mechanic do this for you.

If you remove one gear at time, clean it, regrease it and place it back then go to the next, you really can't mess anything up.

[Pblais]

Looking at the gears they look identical to Barrient or Lewmar gears. The large bottom gear on the left has pawls inside it and the smaller gear holds the pawls and springs. The small gear will lift out and fits in a cup on the base plate and is also held on the top. There is a way to remove the case so you can lift out the gears.

My guess is there is a snap ring at the top. The outside shell has to be able to be removed else it could not be manufactured. You should not need to remove the large mounting screws that secure the bottom plate. On my Barrients the center of the top had a hex nut that came out. Some other Barrients and Lewmars use a snap ring to attach the top to the shaft that is part of the bottom plate. That will let you lift off the housing. Nothing should fly out as the pawls and springs are inside the larger gears.

[Stuarth44]

As a yachtbuilder and sailor, I can not begin to tell you how good Meissner are
the original designer was willem van der beer, in Holland, he made them too, in an old farmhouse, but to good an offer came and he sold
the winches are really easy to strip, cant get into trouble, just watch the hairclip springs
We used Hydraulic for primaries, power was enormous, and I made the power pc at fraction Lewmar prices
cheers

[bobelon]

Looking at the photo you are almost home - really no mystery from here. Simply pry up on the roll pins in the slots and the pins will slide up and out then the gears will slide out. The driveshaft will also just pull out. Keep track of the spacers. Clean it all up and grease it up and put it back like it was. Anything left over I call "factory included extras". I am looking for one of the brass gears that holds the palls for my Meissner 25ST-45. The US rep gave me this email address ( mainstay@csolve.net ) as my rep for parts. Two emails later still no answer except about a month ago he said he would contact the manufacurer and report back. Anyone else find a supplier for parts?

[Jim Cate]

Mike,
One thing that might give yu more confidence: most winches on boats come in pairs. So, disassemble only one at a time... then if you get confused about how it all goes, check out the OTHER one for hints!

Cheers,

Jim

[SquireDude]

I had my local rigger over yesterday to service all my winches. IT took him about1 hour per winch to break down wash, degrease, clean re-grease and put back together.

In all the Meissner winches are the easiest to service. If you are not sure then only breakdown 1 winch at a time so you can pull the bell and see the insides of the other as a guide.

I really do not think that you should have any problems. This winch is very well designed and service was a definate thought in the original design.

Phill

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Pblais

Sorry Gord. Nothing on the web site for support or download.

Servicing Meissner Winches
➥ http://www.holmatro.com/marine/en/m1...-my-winch.aspx

Disassembly:
Use the Holmatro top-cap key to remove the top cap for inspection and servicing your winch.

Cleaning instructions:
1. Clean all metal parts with white spirit
2. Clean all composite bearings with water and mild soap

Greasing instructions:
Please keep the following instructions in mind
1. Bearings: never grease the bearings, they are designed to be dry, and grease will have a negative effect on their performance
2. Pawls: use light oil to lubricate them. It is very important NOT to grease the pawls because grease causes them to stick. If they stick, the gears will not engage, and this can create dangerous situations.
3. Gears: after re-assembling the winch, lightly brush on some clean winch grease.
4. Re-place the drum, and use the Holmatro key to hand tighten the top cap.

[Martkimwat]

I cannot see the pictures so not sure if they are the same as mine, but I have Meissner 18STs on my Parker 27, very straightforward to remove the top but if you want to 'deep' clean them , you need to remove the winch completely to get at the inside (accessible from the base). If they are not too bad you can clean them without removal, just a bit more of a faff, lots of old rags or tissue to mop up the petrol, diesel or degreaser or whatever you use to clean the old muck off. Once you've done it the first time it will give you the spur to clean them regularly so that you don't need a deep clean!