Re: Anybody used a winch like this?
As a salt water boater rust is my biggest enemy. The plastic cover will hold moisture (I suspect it's a safety feature to keep body parts out). But with boats up to 20' or so we never dunk out trailers, so we need bigger winches than most would. We also don't launch/retrieve loaded with the heavy gear such as coolers. We prefer rollers but with bunks, either dish soap or teflon pads are the ticket.
I used to have 16' starcrafts, aluminum bowrider 55 hp, and used the basic old hand winch just fine. However, my arms were 35 years younger. I have also hand cranked a failed power winch to haul out larger glas boats. It can be done. If yo are dunking the trailer and only need those last 5' anything shuold work.
