Re: Trailer winch jammed.
Once you know the weight of your boat "wet" (fuel, and other equipment included), a rule of thumb I've read on a manufacturer's web site is 50% of that weight - then adjust up or down depending on your expected loading scenarios. Less capacity needed for roller trailers on shallow slope ramps, more capacity needed for bunk trailers and steep ramps, etc.<br /><br />The other consideration is do you want a two speed winch? In general (there are exceptions), you're getting into a 2000 lb. capacity in a two speed winch. Except for mounting size and a truely negligable cost difference, I can't think of any reason not to size your winch heavier than you need. Size is a factor because the footprint of the larger winches might be larger than the space available on your winch post.<br /><br />The Iboats mega mall probably has what you need. dutton-lainson seems to be one of the major manufacturers and their website has a lot of good technical information which you could use to decide. This includes line drawings and dimensions of their winches, which is most likely similar to same-capacity winches of other manufacturers.
