Slippery Winches

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Howdy folks! I was wondering if anyone could advise on what to do about a couple of old Barlow winches that have lost their grip. The sheets slip way to easy rendering the winches pretty much useless.
Can a person have the drums knurled or is there a product to apply to the drum to give them a little grip?
I'd hate to have to replace them because a) they're big and expensive and b) they work well otherwise.


Thanks in advance

[Celestialsailor]

Hey Cappy...I'm a Machinist. To answer your question...yes...they can be knurled. It is easiest if it's not tapered. But if it is, not impossible. If you could...be there when they knurl to get your desired texture. Too much and you'll eat sheets.
Another way would be to sand blast or glass bead. I'm assuming these are bronze without chrome plating or plating that is otherwise gone. Hope this helps.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Thanks CS, They are chrome plated but ya, the plating is almost gone. I'll look into which of those options might be available locally here.

Cheers!

[sailinman]

there is some spray stuff that is used on fan belts to help with slip.. I am not sure if that could be used on winches or not, or at least for a stop gap measure until you can get the winches fixed...

[David M]

Would you be up to roughing it up with some 60 grit wet or dry aluminum oxide sand paper? It may not be pretty but it would work.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Ya I was wondering about a non-slip spray solution but I think I like the idea of roughing it up with the sand paper better. It's cheap, it'd be long-lasting and given that the chrome plating is pretty much gone, aesthetics is no longer paramount.

I was also thinking about trying a coat of epoxy with colloidal sand but it probably wouldn't last long and the expense would add up over time.

Thanks for the ideas

[cal40john]

I took my friends old winch drums in and had them sand blasted years ago. I thought it worked well. Again old winches chrome plating long gone.

John

[TheOffice]

I've heard of people gluing sandpaper to the drum.

[barnakiel]

What happens if you give the line one turn more? No help?

Our winches are completely 'smooth' - polished SS.

b.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

No I've tried as many wraps as can fit on the drum and with every rotation of the drum I lose about half the distance gained to slippage. Very frustrating!

[Jim Cate]

G'Day CW,

First, do not use belt grip or such, nor glue sandpaper to the drums!!! Remember that as the winch winds in line, the turns must slide up the drum as new line comes in at the bottom and exits at the top. Anything that inhibits that upward movement will really bugger the line and increase the effort required.

We have the same issue on our boat, though. The OP had the bronze drums rechromed during a refit, and the bloody chrome shop thoughtfully ground all the surface texturing off, leaving a very attractive mirror finish which is slippery as snot on a doornknob.

We investigated having them reknurled, but the cost was completely out of reason (hundreds of dollars per drum), and really, the knurled finish isn't all that well suited.
What has worked ok for us was to take some 40 grit paper, wrap it around a bit of timber and use it to score the drums in a vertical pattern. The chrome is quite hard and you have to lean on the abrasive pretty heavily, but you end up with a reasonably uniform pattern of vertical micro-grooves on the working surface of the drum, and it provides satisfactory performance. You must re-do this process every year or so, depending on usage.

FWIW, the winches involved are Barient 32, 27, and 24.

Cheers,

Jim

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Hey thanks Jim, of course you're right. I hadn't considered the vertical movement required.

[sdowney717]

How about etch the surface with an acid?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day CW,

First, do not use belt grip or such, nor glue sandpaper to the drums!!! Remember that as the winch winds in line, the turns must slide up the drum as new line comes in at the bottom and exits at the top. Anything that inhibits that upward movement will really bugger the line and increase the effort required.

We have the same issue on our boat, though. The OP had the bronze drums rechromed during a refit, and the bloody chrome shop thoughtfully ground all the surface texturing off, leaving a very attractive mirror finish which is slippery as snot on a doornknob.

We investigated having them reknurled, but the cost was completely out of reason (hundreds of dollars per drum), and really, the knurled finish isn't all that well suited.
What has worked ok for us was to take some 40 grit paper, wrap it around a bit of timber and use it to score the drums in a vertical pattern. The chrome is quite hard and you have to lean on the abrasive pretty heavily, but you end up with a reasonably uniform pattern of vertical micro-grooves on the working surface of the drum, and it provides satisfactory performance. You must re-do this process every year or so, depending on usage.

FWIW, the winches involved are Barient 32, 27, and 24.

Cheers,

Jim

Sorry to hear knurling was so expensive. I like your idea of 40 grit. How are you turning the drums?

[Stumble]

We have a machinist here in town that re-knurled winches for about $25 a piece. But he only does it once or twice a year. He was telling me that the problem is it takes a while to get the jig set up correctly, and it isn't worth it to just do one at a time. But if he can collect a good number and do them at once it isn't so bad.

My thoughts would be ask around and see who else needs it done, then go to a shop with a package deal. It should be a lot cheaper if you are asking him to do a good number instead of just two.