Hello everyone I have been digging thru some of the threads in finding a alternitive source for keel winch replacement. CD is a little bit pricey and I remember a diccussion about a alternate source possibly amazon maybe. Was not able to retrieve this thread hoping someone might know of a cheaper source for a keel winch...... thank you ,,Don
Keel winch replacement
- Thread starter little breeze
- Start date
Try a Fulton model K1550. You'll have to shorten the handle or use the handle from the old winch. I have one on my cat 22 to raise lower the keel and one on the mast raising crane. Sorry I can't give you a $$ estimate, I bought them both at a garage sale.
The keel winch has to to have a brake in the reverse direction . If allowed to "free wheel" like most trailer winches there's a real possibility of not only breaking your wrist but also damaging the keel trunk (thereby sinking the boat) if the keel free falls.
Aah, good to know. Possibly another shortcut taken by the builder of my boat sometime in the 70's! I will have to look into this a bit closer. Will report back soon.
Unless you have a winch with a worm gear drive. Then you don't need a brake. You may also want to look for something with a removable handle with a hex receptical. For my winch, I cut off an allen wrench and chuck it in my cordless drill. Much easier than turning the crank a million times just to raise the keel.
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mmm... an electric winch! Has anyone ever tried that, with like a control switch in the cockpit somewhere?
Thank you all for your reply. Just for all info I found a brake winch on amazon, Dutton- Lainson 800 lb brake winch DLB800 for 57.00$. Wow what a savings! About half of CD. ILL let you know if it is compatible. thanks again...Don
My winch is a DL and I believe I ordered it from eTrailer.com
It is almost exactly the same as the CD winch, only that you have to drill one more 3/8" mounting hole on center line.
The link is in my hull #10580 resto thread.
It is almost exactly the same as the CD winch, only that you have to drill one more 3/8" mounting hole on center line.
The link is in my hull #10580 resto thread.
For anyone contemplating an electric winch, I did consider just replacing my winch with a unit from Harbor Freight. The reason I did not go that route is because you need a plan B if your battery runs dead or the winch motor fails. There must be a way to manually raise the keel in case the electric winch fails in some way. That is why I like the drill, because I can still use the hand crank when necessary. One other thing to keep in mind, if you are installing an electric winch with remote control, you need sensors to let you know when the keel is all the way down or all the way up. Otherwise the remote control isn't going to do you much good. The drill is fast enough that the time away from the tiller is minimal anyway.
DAveinet made some good points as to why electric winches were not recommended and even the founder of Catalina, Frank Butler, would not recommend that when he was asked that question by another dealer in my prescence due to all the issues that could happen. I then looked at Frank and concurred with his usual response on that.
+ 1, Crazy Dave.
And remember, if you make a mistake in your winch selection, there is a very real possibility of inflicting very severe damage to your hull, and quite possibly sinking your boat on the spot without warning. If you are not absolutely positive that you know what you're doing, just buy the winch from CD and save the $50 somewhere else. The risk/reward ratio is way out of proportion.
And remember, if you make a mistake in your winch selection, there is a very real possibility of inflicting very severe damage to your hull, and quite possibly sinking your boat on the spot without warning. If you are not absolutely positive that you know what you're doing, just buy the winch from CD and save the $50 somewhere else. The risk/reward ratio is way out of proportion.
Looks like Etrailer has several worm gear drive winches. A couple of them have a hex shaft input with the intention that they can be operated with a drill. It takes quite a bit of torque, but probably anything with brushless motor would probably do it.
Ya, till last night. The allen wrench key I was using in the chuck slipped out of the drill, and slid down into the hole. The top of the wrench was nearly flush with the top of the hole. So not only did the drill no longer function, but the wrench prevented me from being able to use the handle. I forgot to bring my trusty Gerber that I use for everything. Fortunately I was able to dig around in a bin left bu the previous owner. Found a set of side cutters. Was able to just barely catch the edge of the wrench and lift it out of the hole. So, I guess I need to weld a washer on the wrench to prevent that from happening again.
At the time of my first comment, I had not used it out on the water. While the drill is certainly better than doing it by hand, it is a little aggressive. It takes a lot of power to raise it. The drill speed is a little fast. Takes two hands to hold the drill, otherwise it will bust your hand. The battery also gets warm. Its an 18 volt 2 ah battery.