Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

At least the South Coast were top handle.

Trying to find a replacement for those South Coast handles was always a chore. Remember some time with a grinder making a 'too big' handle fit a smaller winch.
I sailed and raced with a guy who made his own winches (design, castings, machining) that were bottom handle. This was a wooden 37' yawl that started life as a 30' cat boat - owner swore there was still some of the original wood 'down there somewhere'. Arrived one morning at his YC (Robbins Reef) in Bayonne to find that he had turned a railroad tie at the edge of the parking lot into a wood lathe - and was turning down a spinnaker pole. No one aboard that day had ever flown a spinnaker before - skipper was behind the wheel reading from the book while the crew followed directions. It went up and flew!
You're probably better off without a Lewmar handle - they made some of those 'one touch' handles (squeeze to release) that had a history of hanging up in non-Lewmar winches. Had one hang up in a Harken winch - only way to get the handle out was to turn the winch upside down!

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