Non Locking Winch Handle - how long do they last?

[Scott]

I bought one at the beginning of the season 2 years ago and didn't expect it to last long. I figured it would be a little experiment. I had been frustrated with new crew members who couldn't figure out how to put the handle in. Teenagers! How is it that they can figure out instantaneously how to maneuver through the routines of every new electronic gizmo and gadget and computer game without even looking at a manual, but they can't figure out how to insert a locking winch handle while the captain is barking orders! *o So I wasn't expecting it to stay on the boat for long but I decided to give it a try anyway. It lasted 2 full seasons until last weekend when I had it on the coach roof winch while raising the genny. The bottom hank was binding on the forestay fitting so I leapt forward to clear it. My heel just barely clipped the end just under the handle and over the side it went. It took one bounce off the deck and glanced off the bottom safety line. As I watched it go in, I didn't think fast enough ... if I dived in after it I might have caught it and my wife would have had a good MOB drill on hand!

 

[HukilauMike]

A long time

Is it luck? I don't know, but I've had the same non-locking handle since I bought my boat, and this is my eigth season. I inherited the handle from the PO, and I have no idea how long he had it. Watch, now that I've bragged about it, it will probably go overboard tonight.

 

[NautiDuck]

Ditto

I haven't lost one in six years.

 

[Rick I]

Beat you, 19 years

with the same non locking handle. Hope this doesn't jinx me. Boat came with a locking and a non locking. The non locking has never been used.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Grouping

 

[larry w]

to lock or not...

Had the same two non-locking handles for ten years. I prefer the non-lockers, since they're easier to put in and take out. I had a plastic handled one on a previous boat. It was real light and I liked it, but it was a tad too short for my current boat so I let it go when I sold the previous boat.

 

[j]

Winch handle

I have had one particular Barlow non-locking winch handle since 1983. It has been on 3 different boats, and I have bought newer ones, steel, aluminum, and plastic since then. This old one gets used almost exclusively, however. I just like non-lockers better, especially for racing, when you are quickly putting it in and taking it out when short tacking, for example.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Wish I could find a 10" non-locker

nm

 

[Tsehum Pete]

Lewmar Forever

Have 4 Lewmar handles and have only lost one in the last three years. One is locking from the PO and I do not like it. Just find the non-locking variety simpler to use. Am sailing this summer with some rookies and expect I may lose one to Davy Jones. Guys sure seem to be emotionally connected to their winch handles.

 

[Dave C20469]

About 12 minutes...

Scott,My very first offering to Neptune was the non locking winch handle - on my very first sail of a new-to-me boat. Had the handle in, the sheet around the winch and promptly lost it on the first tack when the sheet grabbed the handle and deftly flipped it overboard. They float for about .3 seconds - just long enough to look overboard and think, "Oh crap!" . That was on my H-26 (where a good winch handle came in handy when rasing the centerboard...) I promptly replaced it with a locking/floating handle, figuring a little redundancy was in order. Dave Crowleys/v Wind Dreamer II

 

[Scott]

Nice touch, Warren!

I like that wooden handle!Dave, was that on your sea trial with the PO on board!

 

[Dave C20469]

Nope, my first sail out with the new crew...

Scott,That was actually the first sail out with my family - you may remember that one - it's where you are totally trying to look like you know what you're doing? Well, I sure showed them (that I didn't have much of a clue! )Dave