Barient, Barlow, Lewmar

[SkiprJohn]

Has anyone had any particular problems with these brand of sheet winches?
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[cat man do]

Never had problems as such, but did find that stripping and interchanging some of the parts on same size/brand winch on one brand in particular made them run a bit smoother. Also found the hatches from the same company had warped frames.

I have used all of the above winches, the ones i'm talking about above were brand new as were the hatches.[ give you a hint ]

If you are replacing winches my honest opinion is you can't beat Anderson. A touch more expensive , but soooo much better, by a long way.

This is my experience , others may disagree

Dave

[senormechanico]

Our old boat had self tailing Barients which were trouble free as long as they got greased every couple of years, but I even though the Andersons on our current boat don't quite have as good a tailing mechanism as the Barients, they're always beautiful, never need polishing and they work great.

[delmarrey]

Two of my sheet winches are selftailing Barients that are 26 years old and still going strong but don't know if they still build them the same. But as the saying goes " You get what you pay for!"............................_/)

[Pblais]

Barlow, Barient and Masport winches are all very very similar and all have not been made in many years. Lewmar is the only winch of the bunch still being made. Lewmar bought Barient to reduce the competition and I don't know the history of Barlow and Masport but suspect they ended in similar fashion.

This link will show you the cross reference for which winch is similar to the other:

http://www.kiwiyachting.co.nz/products/barient.htm

Some parts were interchangeable but not all and many models changed over the years so it is complicated. Parts get harder to find every year. My last boat had old Lewmars and the latest boat has Barients. Personally, I like the old Lewmar better and both are of similar age.

All these winches can last a good long time depending on the abuse. They take a fair amount of neglect but not an unlimited amount. Annual service will make them operate a whole lot smoother. I would suggest a Lewmar or Harken winch grease.

[Stevens 47]

I have Barient's on my boat, still going strong. The link following is a source for parts. http://www.arco-winches.com/spares_2.html

Jack

[Geoff S.]

I had bronze Barlows on a Cape Dory 30; they were very dependable, but after twenty years of use they finally started to feel a bit sluggish. I disassembled and greased them up, and they spun like roulette wheels.

Prompted by the favorable reviews in Practical Sailor, I've been buying Andersens for the Cuttyhunk. They are spendy, though. I'm still trying to find a pair of not-too-abused ST68s that I don't have to remortgage the house for...

[blahman]

I sailed a Hunter 37 from Tampa to Key West that had a bunch of Barlow winches. Lines were tending to bunch near the base on non-self tailing models, which is an annoyance.

I prefer Lewmar and Andersen winches.

Best of luck,
Aaron N.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Aaron et al,
Thanks for all the valuable input. Please send any comments.
Aaron could that have been a sheet lead problem versus a winch problem?
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[cat man do]

Check out my earlier post.

The clunky lewmars were halyard winches and always had " Blue " on them where they ate my blue spectra halyards.

The Andersen "Power Rib" never did that and had so much more power for a similar size winch, with less wraps.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Geoff,
Wow, 68STs. I did see something like that on eBay about 5 months ago. Way too big for my machine. I need 52s or 54s ST of course. Barients and Barlows have a different numbering system.
Andersens. I would love to have Andersens. For my budget they are just too spendy.
I have one Lewmar 52ST and am looking for a mate for it. It is nice to have a matching winch but that's not as important to me as it's functionality.
Thanks everyone for their input.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[blahman]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aaron could that have been a sheet lead problem versus a winch problem?

John,

That was a lead issue, but there was no way to improve the lead without remounting the winches. Hunter knew of the issue when they put the winches on the boat, so they should have chosen a winch with a lower tendency to bind with the given lead.

Cheers!
Aaron N.

[Geoff S.]

Aloha back atcha John;

Dang, wish I'd seen that eBay auction; any idea what they went for?

I could probably live with 58s (and didn't there used to be a 62?) but more people than I can count have advised me to oversize my primaries, if I can at all afford it (which remains to be seen).

[Stevens 47]

It is a lead issue. To be more precise it is the angle of the winch in relation to the lead. I have seen sheets bunch at the bottom or ride up at the top, had nothing to do with the make of the winch.

Jack

[SkiprJohn]

Hi again Geoff,

I believe the pair went for something like $1600 but can't remember exactly. They were a bit large and pricey for me to bid.

Good luck in your search. I always check the auctions before considering a second hand store or, cringe, buying new.

Regards, JohnL

Aloha back atcha John;

Dang, wish I'd seen that eBay auction; any idea what they went for?

I could probably live with 58s (and didn't there used to be a 62?) but more people than I can count have advised me to oversize my primaries, if I can at all afford it (which remains to be seen).
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