You said it was found on the house boat. Did someone leave it there, he cleaned a spot that was never cleaned, he's a new owner? how old is the house boat?
I can't see a reason to crank it if you already have the electricity, but it does look that way. This may be stupid but did they ever make winches with removable keys like that? It still wouldn't explain why the pole is on the top and not the bottom
Disregard the above. I now see that you insert it in to whatever the object would be and press the bottom for power. The pole makes contact with the post that would go up inside the battery pack cavity..... that doesn't help any.
:facepalm:
