Having just injured my 70-year old left shoulder, raising the sail … (might be a rotator cuff tear - dammit), my doctor and my physio will sternly advise me to “mechanise this aspect of the sailing adventure”. My halyard winch is a paltry Lewmar #16 single-speed self-tailer. My sail is brand-new and I REALLY need to crunch it at the last few feet, in order to tighten the luff.
Something will have to give (and it won’t be sailing). I’m in Toronto and, sadly, everything costs 40% more up here (if not more). I don’t want to change winches for a bigger 2-speed as there is no guarantee that I still won’t have to keep wrecking my shoulder. And, I don’t have 2 grand + installation for a motorized winch (and I hate them).
I’m thinking of a WINCHRITE or a Milwaukee Rt. angle 18 0r 24 volt drill with a winch bit. Does anyone own a WINCHRITE (the leading contender - weight, ergonomics, other reasons) ??
I will also modify a winch handle (by extending the handle with a "cheater pipe or ??) ) for the last few feet of grinding.
Hi Ernie,
I use the Milwaukee 28 V drill and it works very well. $300+.
The Winchrite is more expensive but I believe it is lighter than the Milwaukee. Also that may be a good choice to use with the main sheet. The Milwaukee is a little bulky to leave on deck.
I have Nonsuch 26 C with a new stack-pak and sail and it goes right up.
I’ll be 75 come July and it helps to keep me sailing.
Why not just get a forty dollar Winch Bit and a portable electric drill of a 400 inch pound torque spec. Cheaper and smaller than the Milwaukee Drill. That’s what I’ve used for years
Having just injured my 70-year old left shoulder, raising the sail … (might be a rotator cuff tear - dammit), my doctor and my physio will sternly advise me to “mechanise this aspect of the sailing adventure”. My halyard winch is a paltry Lewmar #16 single-speed self-tailer. My sail is brand-new and I REALLY need to crunch it at the last few feet, in order to tighten the luff.
Something will have to give (and it won’t be sailing). I’m in Toronto and, sadly, everything costs 40% more up here (if not more). I don’t want to change winches for a bigger 2-speed as there is no guarantee that I still won’t have to keep wrecking my shoulder. And, I don’t have 2 grand + installation for a motorized winch (and I hate them).
I’m thinking of a WINCHRITE or a Milwaukee Rt. angle 18 0r 24 volt drill with a winch bit. Does anyone own a WINCHRITE (the leading contender - weight, ergonomics, other reasons) ??
I will also modify a winch handle (by extending the handle with a "cheater pipe or ??) ) for the last few feet of grinding.
Ernie,
I have used the Milwaukee 28 and winchbit for several years, mainly to get my full roach sail up with no strain. The M28 is heavy, 10 pounds or so, and I use a support for the drill, which allows it to stay in place until everything is set. Then it goes into a hanging bag down below. With the M 28 there is no need to crank further, it puts the sail up tight. It also is handy in bending the sail on in the spring (my wife inches it up while I put on the slides). There are u tube videos showing the M 28 easily raising people in bosun chairs. I get 3-5 sail ups per charge, and it will charge using an inverter if required. It also raises my pop-up with no problem.
But…the lighter drill would be nice if it will do the job. The M 28 has 1100 in lb of torque, way more than enough.
Carl Linkinhoker
NS26c 146 Break of Day
Great Sacandoga Lake, NY
Mike - this is interesting. I’d love to avoid a 13 lb. drill. Does it really take that main right to the top ? My problem is that i’m not using hi-mechanical advantage winch, probably unlike you. My winch is a one-speed #16, not a #30 or #40.
Check with John Haderly, Nonsuch 22 #12 and Tom Jones Nonsuch 22 #23. They both have Winchrites and love them. Contact info can be found in the directory.
Mine is a stock Sears Electric Drill. It has 400 inch pounds of Torque. Don’t have the model number handy. It is over ten years old so there may be more powerful drills out their now. I did make one upgrade on it by replacing the Nicad battery with a lithium recently. I’m not sure how it would work on your winch but, does a great job on my series 30 Barient.
Mike - this is interesting. I’d love to avoid a 13 lb. drill. Does it really take that main right to the top ? My problem is that i’m not using hi-mechanical advantage winch, probably unlike you. My winch is a one-speed #16, not a #30 or #40.
I have had the Milwaukee 28 for years and it raises sail to top with no problem several times before charging. It’s heavy though. I don’t know the difference in torque between the two. Would be nice to know.
John Iscaro /Commodore
HALLOWEEN YACHT CLUB
SV PHUNSUCH NS26U 200
STAMFORD CT
203-627-2864
I have a winchrite it came with the boat. it is pretty light and I can raise my sail with one hand.
Drop it on top of the winch the bit is in the center so it is pretty well balanced
Hang on to keep it from turning with the load
Press the button.
I do have a #30 winch and a fairly new sail on a tides track.
I get about 4 sail raises to a charge, but I can charge it right on the boat since it has a 12 volt charger. So it stays on the boat all season. I did play around with it using it for the mail sheet as well and it was OK but just easier to work the winch by hand. I have no idea how much it cost or what extras I have. Mine has two bits, a 12 volt charging cradle, a 110volt adapter, a white plastic u shaped wall mount holder and a blue bag to hold it all.
Peter Farley “Knot in a Hurry”
30U #328
Keyport NJ
I,unfortunately have had both an 18 volt Milwaukee right angle drill with a winch bit and now Winchrite. The drill is heavy and awkward while the Winchright seems light and very easy to handle. It carries my sail up 2 or 3 times on a single charge. It comes with both a 110volt charger and 12 volt. I'm extreamly pleased. The Milwaukee inded up at Goodwill and good riddance!
Henry Poole
NS30U #305
Mary Speed
Sea Harbour Yacht Club
Oriental, NC
Hi Everyone:
I had a very interesting experience with my electric winch. Ernie, it won’t solve your problem, but it is worth sharing with the Fleet. I wrote it up, and it appears as an article in the May issue of Points East Magazine. It should give you a few laughs, as it is written somewhat tongue-in-cheek. It might even help the pain in the elbow, after all: laughter is the best medicine (along with Advil, Penicillin, Gin, etc.)!
Cheers,
Larry Smith
N36 Cracker Jack
