Winches on typhoon

[nscotia]

On my typhoon, when I use the winch on the starboard side the
jib sheet always gets tangled and stuck on the winch. Not good
on a windy day! The port side works just fine and no tangles
Could it be winding in the wrong direction and if so, can the
the winch be reversed?
Thanks
Hugh Harper enjoying a fantastic summer in Chester Nova Scotia!

[Steve Laume]

They should both be wound clockwise. The leads will be slightly different but should work fine.

Winches always turn the same way. Both ways if they are two speed which probably doesn't apply to the Typhoon.

Could they be gummed up and in need of cleaning and some grease?

It seems the farther north you go the better the summers are these days, Steve.

[jim trandel]

My starboard winch has the same behavior. I believe the cause is the when the farlead is aft (the position for heavy air), the angle of the sheet to the winch is too high and causes the sheet to double over and lock up. This is troublesome when you go to trim after a tack. I plan to install a guide to present the sheet to the winch at a better angle.

[bhartley]

Try reversing the sheet at the clew (or reversing them side to side). If the winch moves freely without a line, the sheet is most likely the issue.

[nscotia]

Thanks for your responses. I'm still in a quandary,
both turn clock wise. The settings for the
job sheets are the same on both sides. On
starboard side I wrap just once and the bottom
wrap always comes up over the top wrap.
One thing I know is that these winches
Have not been disassembled in years.
Maybe this will help, when I get the typhoon
on dry land.
Thanks for your help!
I will tell everyone, Chester and Mahone Bay
in Nova Scotia is awesome sailing!!

[Jeff and Sarah]

Rebuilding a winch will not solve wrapping however if you haven't rebuilt them in a while it is maintenance that should be done. Winches all turn the same direction (clockwise) with the exception of some very high end race boats. Wraps are caused by the lead angle being too high or too low, an also occasionally by having too many wraps on the winch (3 is almost always right). How many blocks do you have your sheets running through on the rail? Ideally there would be two- a forward one which you adjust for and aft for varying conditions to trim the luff angle of attack and twist in the sail and another block further aft to present the sheet to the winch at the correct angle. This aft block should never need to move very much. Try to get the block set so the sheet enters the winch at as close to a perpendicular angle to the drum as possible. I haven't sailed a Ty so you might only have one block- my J22 was that way but on the J the adjustable block could never be moved far enough in either direction to change the lead angle very much. If you only have one block, you might need to add a second or a fairlead on your starboard side. I'm sure the wrap is frustrating but you will be rewarded greatly if you take the time to get it sorted out.

[nscotia]

On the typhoon there is an fairlead on a track that's on top of the cubby cabin and its adjustable. The
port side has one and the starboard side has one. The sheet
is run thru this to the winch, mounted on the
cockpit coaming. All typhoons are like this. For a bigger
foresail you skip the fairlead and go to a block on
adjustable track mounted on the toe rail. My issue is not with bigger
sails(although I haven't tried one yet). So for my
smaller jib, all settings are exactly the same,
Port and starboard. I don't have a problem
on the port side, only the starboard side.

[Steve Laume]

So you are getting an over ride on the winch while trying to use them with the working jib?

Coming in to the winch from above will pretty much assure this happens. If you are using the working jib with the fairleads on the cabin top, you do not need to go to the winch.

Definitely use the winches with a larger sail sheeted to the rails and you should not have any problems. If you do not use the winches with more powerful sails and just go to the combing cleats you could crack the combings that are most likely not as robust are they were before years of weathering and refinishing.

It would still be a great idea to take apart the winches, to clean and lubricate them as they might not have been done in a very long time, Steve.