I have two speed winches on my boat, and the last few turns to trim the jib are hard, especially when the wind is blowing a bit. A ratcheting handle would help a lot. I meansured the "square opening" in the top of the winch, and it appears a 3/4" square will fit. Does this mean a standard 3/4" socket rachet will work? Sounds too good to be true. Am going to Sears and buy one and try it. Has anybody else tried it, or have a better solution?
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Been there
I thought it was 5/8ths square but Donalex may be right. Look on Ebay; there are two versions of a winch bit for a drill motor. You could buy one and weld it to a longer bar to make a bigger mechanical advantage
I thought it was 5/8ths square but Donalex may be right. Look on Ebay; there are two versions of a winch bit for a drill motor. You could buy one and weld it to a longer bar to make a bigger mechanical advantage
Del - maybe I'm misunderstanding but ...
Del - I'm sorry but I am missing something here - I crew on a 37 ft boat and it has two speed winches- Since I do jib trim I have had many sessions on these over the last few years. If you have two speed winches - and you already have a handle - why do you need a rachet? - The two speed winches I have used have one speed when cranked clockwise and another speed when cranked counterclockwise. A rachetiing winch handle does not make sense to me? I think you have all the equipment you need - perhaps all you need is a longer handle - these can be found on e-bay and also at your local marine consignment/exchange. Next time you are cranking and feeling the pressure on the sail try reversing the direction of the cranking - if it is a two speed winch you should be able to crank and pull the sheet tighter. Hope this helps ... James
Del - I'm sorry but I am missing something here - I crew on a 37 ft boat and it has two speed winches- Since I do jib trim I have had many sessions on these over the last few years. If you have two speed winches - and you already have a handle - why do you need a rachet? - The two speed winches I have used have one speed when cranked clockwise and another speed when cranked counterclockwise. A rachetiing winch handle does not make sense to me? I think you have all the equipment you need - perhaps all you need is a longer handle - these can be found on e-bay and also at your local marine consignment/exchange. Next time you are cranking and feeling the pressure on the sail try reversing the direction of the cranking - if it is a two speed winch you should be able to crank and pull the sheet tighter. Hope this helps ... James
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