in Toronto?
I have a 26 and I just use the cordless Milwaukee right angle drill method. works great. Approx $300 new.
Mark Nerenhausen
Penguin
26C. #174
Washington Island, WI
Mark,
I am going to get a cordless drill for next season. What model Milwaukee do you use?
Tim in STL
White O’morn NS26U
Harbor Point Yacht Club
West Alton, MO
Actually, using the original old halyard winch with a Swedish rubber tailer in reverse
(2:1 torque multiplying), a much cheaper, lighter and safer Sears 29v drill would get me
5 hoists/charge. Safer, because if something on the sail/halyard/reef line hung up, this
drill would just stall and not tear out cringles, slides or head board.
Dick Lane
NS26c Swoose
Port Townsend.
I have an electric halyard winch. The only time I would use it is when I’m solo. With one person steering and tailing, I simply go to the mast and haul the sail all the way up then tension it afterwards with the manual winch. If you can’t get it up by hand, you may have other problems.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
I’ll second Mark on the drill. Mine is the M28. With 2 artificial shoulders, It’s a lifestyle saver.
Actually, I don’t think you would want to replace a regular winch with an electric. Install the E winch separately. Katmando has both . It is difficult to reef with the E Winch. I prefer to use the self tailing manual winch to just get the right tension.
Brian McCuaig. NS30u
Whitby, Ontario
“Having a yacht is reason for being more cheerful than most."
Pardon my ignorance but what is a “Swedish Rubber Tailer” Dick? Also, where do you purchase the part that goes in the chuck of the drill to fit in the winch? (anyone)
Thanks!
Ken Julian
26C#9 “Idyll ours”
Fredericton, New Brunswick
I too use an electric drill with a Winch Bit. It’s a standard Sears Drill with 400 inch pounds of torque think it cost me around $99. I agree with Dick Lane the drill has plenty of torque to raise the sail but, not enough to rip things should something hang up. Plus I use it for on board projects too.
Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U
biankablog.blogspot.com
Actually, I don’t think you would want to replace a regular winch with an electric. Install the E winch separately. Katmando has both . It is difficult to reef with the E Winch. I prefer to use the self tailing manual winch to just get the right tension.
Brian McCuaig. NS30u
Whitby, Ontario
“Having a yacht is reason for being more cheerful than most."
Actually, using the original old halyard winch with a Swedish rubber tailer in reverse
(2:1 torque multiplying), a much cheaper, lighter and safer Sears 29v drill would get me
5 hoists/charge. Safer, because if something on the sail/halyard/reef line hung up, this
drill would just stall and not tear out cringles, slides or head board.
Dick Lane
NS26c Swoose
Port Townsend.
Ken,
You can order the part that goes in the drill from www.winchbit.com. I think the cost is about $50.
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
I concur with that, Brian. I’ve both on the port side and it does make it easy. I also have 3 line clutches on that side which help considerably.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Granted, my NS22 has a significantly shorter mast but when I replaced the sail 7 years ago, I installed a Tides Marine Sail Track system.
With it, I can almost hand hoist the sail to the top of the mast without the winch which is needed only for the last two feet and to tension the luff.
Also, the main drops like a rock when I’m done sailing.
John Gialanella
Tourmaline NS22 #8
Bolles Harbor, Michigan
Perfect. Thank you.
Ken Julian
“idyll Ours” 26C#9
Fredericton, NB
The rubber ring self tailer is a Barton “wincher”, ~$60. Utube video link
https://youtu.be/LF_c8zuyd4Q . The drill to winch “bit” is The Cranker, $34.95
all US$. I found a couple of winchers at a marine surplus store for $10 US.
Dick Lane
NS26c #35 Swoose
Port Townsend.
I installed a Lewmar 40 ST ELS halyard winch in 2009. The winch is the usual two speed self tailing type with the addition of the electric motor. It’s the best addition I put on boat and makes solo sails a piece of cake! I stand at the wheel and with no fuss or bother raise the sail in about 45 seconds. The winch at Westmarine now sells for $2000 US and the the other bits needed: power cables, remote control, and material for reworking the fiberglass panel in the cabin roof cost about $400 CDN. I didn’t have to change the batteries. I did the installation myself which took very roughly 50 hours. Modifying the panel was about another 20 hours. I also modified the door behind the panel as the protruding motor cover interfered with its opening. Now the door is held in with magnets so can be lifted out. If you are in the Toronto area you could come and see it.
John Barbour
Nature 26U Toronto
I have 2 Barton Winchers, they work very well. One on a reef winch and the other on the topping lift. Compared to a self tailing winch, frankly I see little difference.
The Cranker may be out of business. The web site still exists but I had no success contacting them with a question several months ago. The Cranker replaces the chuck in the Milwaukee drill. The Winchbit, which I believe is still in business, is inserted into the chuck.
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
I also use the Milwaukee 1/2" right angle drive which can raise the main least 3X on a new Lithium battery. However, a friend of mine injured his hand and couldn’t hold the right angle drive, so we investigated power winches. The winner, hands down, was a Harkin where the motor was contained within the winch. This meant that the motor didn’t hang down over the nav table in front of the switch panel . Cost would have been about $5000. Fortunately, he has successful hand surgery and can handle the Milwaukee now!
Sorry, didn’t sign my entry about the Harkin self contained winch.
Bill Prange
Hawkeye NS 26U
Richmond Yacht Club
San Francisco Bay
I’m another Milwaukee 28V right angle drill user. The length of the drill allows me to steer with one hand while raising the sail with the other if I don’t feel like using the pilot. I absolutely love it.
As for wrecking things with the power, I think while that may be a concern with a power winch it’s not an issue with a powerful drill because of the “feel” you get from the foot long lever in your hand. If you run up against a snag you will know it immediately. If you choose to power through, yes you have the power to break something but you have been warned.
Paul M
NS30U #211, Sandpiper
Cowichan Bay, B.C.