Any tips for electric winches vs hand crank? PROJECT COMPLETE WITH PICS

Home Cookin'

Fleet Admiral
Joined
May 26, 2009
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Re: Any tips for electric winches vs hand crank? PROJECT COMPLETE WITH PICS

obviously the theoretical voltage drop isn't a problem so I wouldn't worry about it. Keep the wire intact. In fact, a bad splice would cause voltage issues, too, and it's all weatherproof as is.

Keep the whole rig; You may decide to hard-wire it in, or need to hook up to another battery if your boxed battery goes soft. Either keep 2 clamps handy, or use the ones on your jumper cables (the ones you always carry in the truck, or the ones you always carry in the boat!)

I think I'd put a small padlock on the battery box--just enough to keep an honest man honest while parked at the ramp.

I assume it has the brass fuses. I also assume you've tested it, it runs, and your ground set up is OK? You'er going direct to the ground post?


Obviously I can't speak precisely to your trailer set up and retrieve, but typically, with a power winch, you avoid going in too deep; the boat usually straightens itself as it comes up. If you can, have your helper on the pier with the boat hook and a line on the stern cleat, so he can adjust the stern left/right as it comes up. I pull the bow line from the bow cleat tight to the winch post to hold the boat firmly in place at the trailer's first roller, tie it off with a clove hitch on the post, then start cranking, pulling (by hand) against the winch so the slack winds on smoothly. You usually have to tighten the clutch wheel down right hard. Never untie the bow line until the safety chain is on.

As I said before, some people loosen the clutch for the ride home so the bouncing won't work against it. But then the boat isn't tight against the stop, since the chain isn't tight. I wouldn't try loosening at first. You have a right heavy boat there.

check back Monday
 

Fed

Commander
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
2,457
Re: Any tips for electric winches vs hand crank? PROJECT COMPLETE WITH PICS

The winch plate should be level to let the level wind work properly.
The winch plate is too high, needs to drop a couple of inches to wedge the bow eye into the bow roller.
The bow roller is too close to the winch.
You won't need the pulley block if your trailer rollers are free & greased.
Make sure you lock up the power plug when you leave the empty trailer at the ramp.

Back in the real world, my setup is much the same as yours and it works just fine but I would lower the winch down to the right position if I were you.

If you keep the rear trailer roller just out of the water on retrieve then the winch will pull the boat around even from right angles to the trailer.
I walk the bow out to the back of the trailer, hook it on, then reach down & pull the string.
The boat will load straight every time because it's pulling over the rear roller.
 
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