Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat winch

[kfa4303]

Hi all. I was about to replace the old rope currently used on by boat wench with a nice, new nylon strap, but I'm not sure how to do so. I notice that the strap has hook sewn in one end a loop in the other. My wench doesn't seem to the usual removable bolt used to insert through the loop. Any ideas on how to affix it to the wench? Thanks.

 

[JB]

Re: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat wench

Re: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat wench

I tried a strap on my old boat wench once and got my face slapped.

I did convert a cable winch to a strap winch by drilling one of the rope holes through the other side and adding a 3/8" X4" SS bolt.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat wench

Re: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat wench

Looks like your winch(Wench is a type of woman) is designed to accept a rope...may have to get creative to attach it....maybe drill holes through spindle to accept a bolt and nut?....couldn't be too difficult. Good Luck!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat winch

I tried a strap on my old boat wench once and got my face slapped.

I did convert a cable winch to a strap winch by drilling one of the rope holes through the other side and adding a 3/8" X4" SS bolt.

I think that may be what I end up doing JB. It already has holes on one side so I would only have to drill one more on the opposite side, then insert the bolt with a washer on either side and a nyloc nut. Thankfully the strap is only about 20' long and very thin, so it shouldn't be too bulky.

(thanks for the spell check Robert (wench-winch). Although, the boat can also be a real "wench" at times

After this weekend, I think I'll be boat project free for quite some time (jinx). I should get the new wench strap, trailer bunks installed and tell-tale added to my old Johnson 20 hp at which point I think I will have rebuilt, or replaced everything on the old wench. Kinda awesome, kinda sad. I'll try to take pics and update my status accordingly. Thanks gain.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Update: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat winch

Re: Update: Attaching a new bow strap to an old boat winch

Hi all. So I finally got a few pesky jobs done over the last few days. Here's the new 2" wide wally world bow strap installed on the old winch. I took JB's device and added a 3/8" bolt near the center of the wench to give the bow strap loop something to attach to. While my old winch didn't have a stock bolt, it did have holes large enough for a bolt on one side, but I had to drill a matching hole opposite from it using a 3/8" bit. I then installed the strap and winched it up. It works well, but I'll need to get the boat to the ramp and crank it up on to the trailer to get rid of some of the slack in the strap. While it wasn't a huge job, I'm glad I replaced my old bow winch rope. It's still in ok shape, but it made me a bit nervous at time cranking the boat up on to the trailer. The new strap is very nice and WAY stronger. It also spools onto the winch nice and flat and much more evenly than the old rope. Thanks again for all the help. Next update, adding a tell tale (pee stream) to the old '66 20 hp Johnson....

Here are some pics of the new bow strap. I know the winch looks, rough, but it's actually in great shape and I gave a good cleaning and lube job while I had it all apart.