Need Specs on Maxwell 28ST Winches

[toddbrsd]

I was in the market to upgrade from my non-self tailing winches to a pair of self tailing winches. I picked up a pair of lightly used Maxwell 28ST winches, (in excellent condition), this week for a great bargain. Likely because these have not been made for over 10 years and parts will likely be a problem when it comes time to service them. For the price, ($400 for the pair), I decided to take the gamble. However, I was a bit surprised at how big they were, but other than weight, I figured it can't hurt to go bigger especially considering the condition/price. I have the space for them, so that is not an issue either. They will be used for a 32' Iroquois catamaran that I am rehabbing that currently has non-self tailing Lewmar 40 primary winches used for the head sails. The boat came with several head sails, including a Genoa.

In the event I decide to sell them to fund something a little smaller, I would like to get some specs as to what these winches were sized for, but I can't seem to find any literature online except for a link to an Australian company that may have some parts. Figured I would throw it out there to see if anyone either has these particular winches and what size boat/sail area they are being used or were designed for.

Thanks

[Jim Cate]

All you really need to know is the drum diameter and the gear ratios. The former is easy to measure, the latter can be checked by finding how many turns of the handle are required for one revolution of the drum (in both gears).

Armed with this data you can compare them to winches made by other companies and then use their proprietary recommendations for boat size, etc.

Cheers,

Jim

[Weyalan]

You can still get parts for these (although the parts are not cheap). Contact Alan Hutton at Arco Hutton HUTTON-ARCO Yacht Winches

Alan can also help you out with the specs, ratios, parts drawings for servicing, etc.

I have recently replaced 4 x Maxwell 28ST winches on our boat. These were nearly 30 yrs old, had been worked pretty hard and were probably a little bit under-spec'ed for the boat anyway.

For what it is worth, Arco-Hutton also give quite a reasonable trade-in price on old winches if you purchase new winches from them.

[toddbrsd]

Thanks Jim and Weyalan,

I stumbled across the Hutton-Arco site while researching these winches, but couldn't remember the name when I wrote the OP. I think I have enough info for what I need.

Todd