Can you use general marine white grease on Lewmar winches?
I'm doing my annual winch servicing and have a tube of Camp Grasso Nautica marine white grease. It says it's water-repellent and anti-corrosive. Can I use this to pack the gears and pawls on my Lewmar self-tailing winches, or do I really need to buy the expensive Lewmar-branded stuff?
Answer
General marine white grease is far too thick for Lewmar winches and will cause the internal pawls to jam in their sockets. You must use a light machine oil on the pawls and springs, and a dedicated marine winch grease for the gears and roller bearings.
Why white grease causes failure
Inside your winch are small metal pawls pushed outwards by delicate leaf springs. These engage with the ratchet tracks to stop the drum from spinning backwards under the massive load of a halyard or sheet. General marine greases, such as Camp Grasso Nautica or standard lithium white grease, are highly viscous. Manufacturers design them to stay put on heavily loaded, slow-moving parts like propeller shafts, seacocks or steering quadrants.
Applying white grease to winch pawls creates a suction effect against the machined bronze or aluminium. The weak pawl springs cannot overcome the tackiness of the grease, so the pawls stick flat in their closed position. When you load the winch, it might hold for a moment before a sudden jolt causes the drum to violently spin backwards. Keep clear of a spinning winch handle. A free-spinning drum under load is a severe safety hazard that can break fingers or drop a sail uncontrollably.
Even on the gears and roller bearings, general white grease fails. Over a season of hard sailing, heavy greases emulsify with salt water and harden. This turns the lubricant into a chalky paste that accelerates wear on your expensive bronze and stainless steel gear teeth rather than protecting them.
Correct Lewmar winch lubricants
Lewmar winches require two distinctly different lubricants to function safely. You cannot use a single tub of grease for the entire assembly.
- For gears and roller bearings: Use a dedicated winch grease. Lewmar Winch Grease, Harken Winch Grease or Andersen Winch Grease are the standard choices. A 100g tube costs around £15 to £20 and will easily service four medium-sized winches. These greases resist water and will not harden over the winter lay-up.
- For pawls and springs: Use a light machine oil. Standard 3-in-One oil, sewing machine oil or Lewmar pawl oil works perfectly. Do not use penetrating sprays like WD-40. These evaporate quickly and leave the bare metal unprotected against rust.
Stripping and cleaning components
You cannot add new winch grease over the top of old marine grease. Mixing different types of grease causes the chemical bases to react, breaking them down into runny oil and thick soap. Before applying any new lubricant, you must strip the winch and clean the components thoroughly.