Electric Winch to Step Mast

[Project_Mayhem]

I used a Harbor Freight ATV winch on a 19' and now my O'Day 25. For the 19 I did not use a gin pole but I did help raise it from the cockpit.

In both cases I attached the winch to a piece of metal and the metal to the trailer tongue and bow support. The result was a pole that went straight up in the air. In both cases I used a strap or chain from the top of the pole to the end of the trailer tongue to help support the load. Here are a couple of designs that might work for you. I think the first one is a more stable and robust design. The second one requires a four hole 90 degree bracket on the top and bottom of the bow support or better yet, weld it to the bow support.
I believe that attaching the chain to an eyebolt thats sticking out from the unistrut helps reduce the potential for twisting (not shown below). This eyebolt also serves as a means to tension the chain. I did not notice bending in any components when using a 1/2" eyebolt with square unistrut washers. I used small chain and a tiny shackle without issues. A U-bolt (unistrut replaced thin plate) was used to attach the chain to the trailer tongue. This also provided a means to tension the chain. If I were to do this again I would cut the metal at home and install it on the trailer in the parking lot of a Home Depot. It eliminates multiple trips for specific hardware



Here's the design I used on my old 19'


This is my design for my 25'. It's a 14' heavy steel tube that slides inside the bow support. I have support straps on three sides. Everything is beefier in real life


1. Will the rail support the tension or will I damage it with putting the weight of the mast on it?
-Possibly. I wouldnt do it without testing. Probably not worth the risk
2. Can I do away with the A-frame that I currently use to step the mast.
-I wouldnt. It's a good design. It may also reduce side to side sway to a degree. Like others have mentioned, just strap it to your trailer when not in use

As for power, if you're truck has a 7 pin trailer connector you might be able to. The manual for the Harbor Freight winches list power consumption in various applications if you're looking for some ballpark numbers. Check the fuse size and wire guage of your truck's wiring. This application is a very light load for the winch. The factory wiring for constant 12v on my truck's connector is 10awg and has a 30 amp fuse. If I used it more than a couple times a year I'd wire it to the connector

. I can see why you wish to dispense with the A frame, because that effectively makes your whole winch idea impractical due to the big change in angle between winching point and A frame as you winch up the mast. I think you can indeed delete the A frame.

The A frame acts like a gin pole. The gin poles are used to change the angle of the winch line from a near horizontal pull which puts lots of stress on all components including the mast step fasteners to a more vertical angle. The A frame should also provide a bit of side to side stability. It probably won't prevent a disaster but it may help lessen damage

 

[Noodat Lady]

I like the idea of using the trailer tongue, Mr. Mayhem, if the tongue is long enough. The weak link would lie in the vertical portion of the support, unless very heavily built. I don't think it would be safe with a 3500lb winch. We run our winch strap through the bow roller. This would be possible with your tongue mounted winch, meaning the vertical support could be much shorter and thus less subject to torque and lateral stress.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I like the idea of using the trailer tongue, Mr. Mayhem, if the tongue is long enough. The weak link would lie in the vertical portion of the support, unless very heavily built. I don't think it would be safe with a 3500lb winch. We run our winch strap through the bow roller. This would be possible with your tongue mounted winch, meaning the vertical support could be much shorter and thus less subject to torque and lateral stress.

On my 19 the chain was attached about 3' in front of the bow support. On my 25 it's 2-2.5'. It's beefy tubing but the top of it is 16' above the trailer tongue (the bow support adds some height). I was really worried about the 25' but there was no indentations or damage to any metal components. I've personally stepped masts on a my 19' and a c22 with one person pulling a halyard on the ground and another on board handling the mast. I know a couple that did the same with their O'Day 25 numerous times. As @Timm R Oday25 mentioned, it's a pretty heavy mast. It doesnt take as much power as one would think when pulling from the top of a mast

As for the strength of the winch I have not found this to be a problem. Most winches have a 50' spool of cable. The more line that's on the drum the less torque the winch will provide. In the case of a sailboat we probably wont use more than 25' when the mast is down. As the mast is raised the drum becomes more full and thus the amount of torque decreases. I understand your concern about having too much torque. When the mast is fully raised the backstay will become tensioned, RPM's will drop and your halyard will start to stretch. It's similar to rolling up a car window. Simply take your finger off the button at the appropriate time

 

[Timm R Oday25]

A word of caution if I may
While the thought of using a powerful winch certainly has it's appeal ,please consider the following:
While the mast of most of our boats may seem heavy in reality they ware not . Our sailboats for the most part were designed from the get go to be trailerable.. It would be all to easy to just a button and let a powerful winch do the work for us. Whether by hand ,manual winch or power winch the angle from the top of the mast to your pivot point is critical. Too low of an angle and the powerful winch will try to drive the mast base into the deck !
It's simple physics . By using a powerful winch you might not necessarily be aware that there is tension building until it is too late. A spare halyard ,sidestay or backstay may well catch or spreader may catch on something the winch would have not trouble tearing out . Don't ask me how I know .

 

[LeeandRick]

Here you go no gin pole required. Replace the manual winch with the powered one. Be careful of the wireless remote control as they don't immediately stop when you press stop. There is a delay and if a shroud hangs you may break something.

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[Noodat Lady]

Seems like quite a step up in complexity. Just need a bosun's chair to get up and down that quickly! I am always trying to simplify processes and structures.

Stepping the mast on a small, say 25' or less, sloop seems to become an elephant for many people. Very hard to see around it. Other people just do it, not having been told that there should be a problem. For two people, this process is easy, with a little planning, some coordination, a few dry runs and taking consideration of wind direction. For one person, then a range of aids indeed need to be considered, unless there is no wind, you know what you are doing, and no one is watching you....

 

[Will Gilmore]

and no one is watching you....

That can be done?

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Noodat Lady]

That can be done?

-Will (Dragonfly)

No.

No more likely than that the up-till-then-completely-still conditions do not suddenly turn into a brisk beam-on blast just as the mast reaches the 45 degree point.
But then again, some people make unaided single handed mast raising and lowering look easy.

Back to winches, this is the sort of thing I would consider.

This one about US$150. A generic wireless remote kit should be about $100. Power in, power out. Light winch, not overly powerful, wouldn't break the bank to try it. Of course this one doesn't ship to Canada, but we sneak across the border now and then.

Bob

 

[1SG RET]

Great information and very good illustrations. Thanks to everyone for your contributions.

 

[Hunter216]

I replaced the steel wire cable and hook on my winch with a length of Dyneema. Just splice a loop on the end to replace the hook.