windcree,
I have Barton Winchers on my
halyard winches. I don't use them much because I arranged the rig so that I don't have to
winch the halyards for hoisting the
sails: I have
bronze bearings in the masthead sheaves and I regularly lubricate the slides on the
mainsail.
But I find the Winchers useful in some situations such as tensioning the reef lines.
Alain