Electric Winches

John Nantz · Jul 21, 2017

Lee - can't answer your question but I can come up with another one! Okay .... one of the problems on some boats (your mileage may vary as they say), is that the conductors which tend to be quite large, can be difficult to feed to the winch location after the fact. When the boat is built it's a lot easier. Just wondering if the routing and install of the cables is okay?

And another thought, if the option is available to go with 24V vs 12V, that would make the cables smaller and easier to feed. Otherwise, seems like a good project.

SG · Jul 21, 2017

I think you need to make your own cover. There are some collateral items which need to be co-located if they are like my Lewmar primary winches. You should simply look at the Lewmar site and check-out the installation manual.

There are some distances and wiring considerations. Call Annapolis Yacht Sales, they'll probably give you some suggestions.

Jackdaw · Jul 21, 2017

Have an electric halyard winch on the first 36.7. Had a custom teak box made (cheap) to cover the horizontal (Lewmar) motor. The installs are so different it would be hard to create a standard cover.

Ken Cross · Jul 21, 2017

You might consider creating a padded fabric cover. It could match upholstery or match a pillow.

Mark Maulden · Jul 21, 2017

Andersen makes an electric winch with everything above deck. It does sit a little higher due to motor etc

Ted · Jul 21, 2017

Harken makes an electric winch (UniPower Radial) that only protrudes 4.125" below the bottom of the winch base. Here's a link to that product. http://www.harken.com/productcategory.aspx?taxid=7278

mcrow33 · Jul 22, 2017

Have you considered a cordless electric winch handle? No modification to the boat. I've never used one, but I was thinking if I ever wanted an electric winch, that would be my thought.

JamesG161 · Jul 22, 2017

My Lewmar winch looks like this...
http://www.lewmar.com/node/12119?v=26508

Suggest replacing the winch that is closest to your engine starter battery, since that is the High output Amp source and if you unfurl your main, with engine pointing your boat, the alternator will be charging while using the winch.
700 watt unit has 90 Amp breaker which should be conveniently located.

If your outhaul line is on the opposite side from the battery, use that side winch as a capstan to route the line to the winch.

In other words all control lines [ port or starboard] can be used with your winch [ just do it slowly]

The electric winch is a Safety tool IMHO. Man Over Board rescue.
But...
I dream of using my winch to haul aboard my 600 lb Yellow Fin TUNA I catch,

drift fishing.

Jim...

PS: Cover? You don't need no stinkin' cover with the Chrome Bronze model.

BlowMeAway · Jul 22, 2017

mcrow33 said:
Have you considered a cordless electric winch handle? No modification to the boat. I've never used one, but I was thinking if I ever wanted an electric winch, that would be my thought.

Now that's funny...I don't care who you are. If you fab one they will be purchased.

jviss · Jul 23, 2017

You can, indeed, buy a cordless, electric winch handle, for about $750. But this is hardly a reasonable substitute for an electric winch, in my opinion. You must still hold the thing against the force it's applying, and as far as reliability goes, I wouldn't want to depend on it. A bit of a gimmick.

http://www.sailrite.com/WinchRite-A...EjHqW22SqmAMI3X6RFZDDEHwlV_VmlWkaAminEALw_wcB

Gunni · Jul 23, 2017

Lord, that is an expensive beast! And I thought having an $80 winch handle slide into the drink was a tragedy.

BlowMeAway · Jul 23, 2017

jviss said:
You can, indeed, buy a cordless, electric winch handle, for about $750. But this is hardly a reasonable substitute for an electric winch, in my opinion. You must still hold the thing against the force it's applying, and as far as reliability goes, I wouldn't want to depend on it. A bit of a gimmick.

http://www.sailrite.com/WinchRite-A...EjHqW22SqmAMI3X6RFZDDEHwlV_VmlWkaAminEALw_wcB

Well I'll be damned. I never saw anything like that until now.

Scotty C-M · Jul 23, 2017

Lee, I have a Lewmar electric winch on the starboard side cabin top of my Catalina 400. Just as you plan, I use it for my halyard and main sheet. I also use it to furl my main on the mast furler system. It is a very useful piece of equiptment. It is a relativly easy addition to your boat.

My winch has a cover on the inside of the cabin. It is made of a thin plastic material. It is shaped in a semi-circular shape with a flat bottom. It fits fairly closely to the shape of the winch. It is eithor painted or gel-coated to a color that matches exactly the color of the fiberglass liner of the boat. When you look at it you can't tell that it is a shroud for the winch. When I go down in the next day or two, I'll take a picture of it and post it for you. I've just installed two electric winches for the jib sheets. Yes, decadent. I plan to make similar covers for those winches.

Doug4bass · Jul 24, 2017

Damn.....we must be getting old!

JamesG161 · Jul 24, 2017

Lee Hadjiosif said:
Thanks for the reply. I was not referring to the winch cover. I was referring to the motor cover below in the cabin headliner.

Duhhh my bad, since mine is hidden.
But you might look at the Anderson above deck electric winch. No cover needed.
https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Selecting-Sailing-Winches
Jim...

NotCook · Jul 25, 2017

jviss said:
You can, indeed, buy a cordless, electric winch handle, for about $750.

I bought a WinchRite for my wife. It actually works pretty well. You're right about having to apply the same force you would on a winch handle, but it is also bi-directional, so if you have two-speed winches, at least you can vary the direction and wind in the easy direction faster than by hand.

In the recent past I have been negative on the Winchrite, because ours stopped working. In fairness, we bought it several years ago. However, based on my recent experience with Sailology, the makers of the WinchRite, they repaired it and returned it to me even though it was long out of warranty. Their newer models, which you quoted above, are more robust, and have a much stronger lithium battery than the one ours had. I would buy one again. One advantage of it is that it can be used on all of your winches, so with one handle you can turn all your winches electronically. Something to consider.