I am thinking of installing an electric winch next to the helm. This will allow me to raise the sail in the busy NYC harbor without leaving the helm. Especially because I sail often with my 5 yr old. Can some of you show your setup? How do you raise sail without leaving the helm. The handheld electric winch is out of consideration as it still requires me to leave the helm.
Siva Surendira
’Inner Peace’ NS26C
Jersey City
I have a Milwaukee right angle drill fitted with a winch bit. With the drill mounted on my halyard winch I can easily sit on the port side of the cockpit with the drill in my left hand and the wheel in my right. When I’m into the wind I pull the trigger and in about 20 seconds my sail is up. I have a 30U.
I can also sheet my sail with it quickly under full load.
Siva,
Most folks add an auto-pilot first. Once you have auto-pilot, you can move to the forward station for raising the halyard.
Our power winch happens to be reachable from the helm, so I’ve included a picture. I don’t know if there is enough room to install a power winch on a 26 in a similar location. I’m not an expert on installing power winches but I can say with certainty they are dangerous. Usually the controls are placed to insure the operator hands ( and other body parts ) are clear from the drum and self tailer. Remote switches are rarely used because there is a risk a passenger may be unaware of the operators intention.
My guess is the cost of a good power winch is pretty close to the cost of a good auto-pilot. I’d definitely prioritize our auto-pilot over our power winch. It opens many more possibilities…. one of which is the ability to single-hand comfortably.
Smooth sailing,
Rob…
I second the autopilot suggestion. The engine and autopilot will hold the boat into the wind while you hoist the sail by hand.
Whoa – there’s a small child in the picture here. That’s really critical in thinking about this.
Electric winches are extremely convenient, but they can also be extremely dangerous. I personally know people whose fingers have been mangled by one.
They’re not so dangerous that an adult might decide to consider it to be a reasonable risk. My injured friend and I both continue to use the winch that injured him.
However, no adult should make the decision on behalf of a child to expose them to that risk.
A swimming pool is legally considered an “attractive nuisance” that requires a fence around it in many jurisdictions. In the same spirit, think of a power winch as a cross between the fan belt on your engine and a gadget that makes noise, spins, and makes things move (i.e., a fun thing that might tempt a kid to come near).
If I had one, I’d want another adult on board to watch the kid whenever I was busy and the thing could be operated. Which begs the question: why not have that adult hold the wheel while raising the halyard?
An autopilot’s the next best thing. Not as easy to install as another adult, but a lot easier to install than a power winch.
– Bob
P.S. Until your child’s old enough to handle the wheel for you while you raise the sail, they’re not old enough to be near an operating – or even operable – power winch.
I agree with all the others about getting an autopilot first. A relative put a CPT on his Newport 30. It’s one of the most inexpensive ones out there. He easily installed it and he is just learning how to be handy. I was also amazed on how quiet it is. My simrad is always clacking. Autopilot’s makes my marriage much better, too. After 25 years, my wife still can’t hold the boat in irons.
Regarding the electric winch, I am also thinking of getting one. Another 30C in my harbor has one and I watch him effortlessly and quickly raising his sail. When I’m manually raising, my heads down, furiously going hand over hand and cranking. I’ve had a few hangups and because my heads is usually down I don’t see that something got caught on a line. But I can at least feel it is getting tighter and that something is wrong
The bad part of an electric winch is that the torque is so great you won’t feel any resistance and you could destroy a sail. Also, the cost. If you do it yourself, you’re still looking at $4-6k. Don’t be fooled by $2-3k. That is usually for a retro kit for the motor only. Not the winch too. I don’t know anything about the safety issues. It seems others have experience in that department.
The good part is your head isn’t down. You can watch the sail from the mast to the clew and tack. So hopefully you can watch for any entanglement. And it’s up quickly. I’ve sailed in NY harbor. You don’t have much time.
I’m at that point in the year where I decide if I want to invest in an electric winch. My original barient just went. So it’s put up or shut up time. So I still don’t know if I’m getting one, or get new N2K compatible instruments and also buy a Milwaukee 90 deg/ winchrite. One last thing: I can’t see how you could install it anywhere other than the coach top. If you added it where your mainsail winch is, I would think the line would burn through the corner of your coachtop.
Cheers
Chris
NS30C Wilson NY lake ontario
