Winches

[Geoff_Atkinson]

While winching my boat onto the trailer yesterday, the webbing strap I have nearly parted (about 3/4 of the way through) about 40cm from the end.

When I had a closer look at home, I noticed that the capacity of the winch (a Jarrett) was 700 Kg. I got thinking and come to the conclusion that with the engine (around 200kg), 200 l :exclamationitres of fuel (another 200kg) and the hull itself, my boat would weigh a hell of a lot more than that (you will notice that I didnt include fish in the equation as the fish I come home with normally dont equal the bait I use catching them with [smiley=laugh.gif] [smiley=laugh.gif] [smiley=laugh.gif] [smiley=laugh.gif] [smiley=laugh.gif])

My question is, does a winch have to have the capacity to pull in the entire weight of the boat, or is it not pulling the entire weight as it is pulling it horizontally instead of vertically?

Cheers

Geoff

[Geoff_Atkinson]

And also,

Does anyone else use or have used a strap on their winch and what do you think of them?


Ta

Geoff

[northernblue]

I think you might be right it is not verticaly lifting the load, and I recon straps suck big time.
My boat 5m plate with 90 honda, has a "sailing" style rope [more than 3 strand] on the winch, and my last boat had the Amsteel rope, both are excellent, I doubt I will have cable again and would never have a strap.

[Brumby]

Hi sea raider,

I have a spectra rope (blue - looks a bit like ski rope) on one winch and a strap on the other trailer, both work fine but I find the strap a bit irritating in that it tends to fold over if the boat isn't sitting perfectly on the trailer. I reckon the sun is the big killer, all the soft "cables" eventually let go.

northernblue - agree, still not going back to a cable, I'd rather replace the rope every year or two

[gone_fishing]

the rating on a strap is load capacity
so there are many variables involed to what a particular stap can handle
eg .weight of the load
. the resistance
.the ecknowlagde that all manufactors supply the minimum requirement to save on costs

so a boat wieghing 2 tonnes can be pull be a rated strap of 5kg on flat level ground as a example
but on a steep ramp sucide would be the right guess

im sure their is a furmula that some one can enlight us with
so personally i would use quality and a bit of over kill on the subject

im not a big fan of straps have only used cable though

on a saftey not once damaged it should be repaired or replaced asap once damaged load rating considerably lowered so a safty risk to all

hope this helps in some way all the best

[Kiktz]

The drag weight is certainly going to be different to the vertical lift.
I think that goes with out saying, as for the straps.............

I think this is more of a personal choice, alot of guys seem to use them as
they dont get spiked by frayed bits of wire from cable wire.
using a strap to me is more of a pain to keep it flat on your winch than the benefit of using it. I still use cable wire but it does not have any lil bits to
poe holes in my fingers either.

Aj

[Reef_fisher]

I use the strap type. Will not use the wire, all those little broken wires severly hampers the overall strength. I use to rig cables in aircraft, pain in the butt. I don't have any problems with strap folding over, even when on the odd occassion the boat is not straight. My boat is stored under my house so sun damage is not a problem. Never thought of using rope. Have had the strap for three years and still looks new.

[Geoff_Atkinson]

I had a look at it again last night and unwound the strap all the way and have now discovered that one side of the drum that the strap fits on is nearly rusted through. The winch is a Jarrett (the whole trailer is about 2years old) and definitely gets washed down every time the boat is used.

So I am now in the position of having to replace the winch as well. Looking on a couple of websites at stainless steel but the highest capacity one of those I can find is 1200lb (540kg). It also comes without cable of any sort, so I am thinking maybe either the rope or stainless wire. The winch on my trailer now is rated at 700kg.

Is this winch going to have the capacity to winch my boat onto the trailer?

If not, does anyone know where I might find a higher capacity stainless steel winch?

Does anyone have any thoughts on using stainless cable?


Thanks in advance

Geoff

[steveg1100]

I would stay away from cable and use either rope or strap. Cable is too stiff and gets stuck within itself when winching on a heavy load. Also frays as mentioned above. As was said though personal choice.

[PADDLES]

hmmmmmmmm ................... very interesting, I've got the old school wire cable style winch and was considering going to a strap or a rope but had never considered the corrosion aspect of a wet/damp strap or rope sitting on the drum. at the moment i just give the cable a squirt with some wd40 out of a squirty bottle once it's washed and in the carport and then forget about it. i wonder if wd40 affects ropes or straps? (ie. degrades them)

[Ron173]

Geoff,

what you are referring to is known as a rolling load, as opposed to a lifted load, so it will be less.

I use the spectra rope, mine is rated at 1500kg, boat'd be about half that, it looks very thin. like ski rope and if I didnt have the packaging I'd doubt it would hold 1500!

Great stuff though, doesnt kink or twist, and I'm told if it breaks it wont whiplash, also got lazy (i call it sensible) and went electric, why bust a gut when you dont have to.
I was $350 for 900kg winch fitted and with spectra. Its only a cheapie though, but does the job fine.

Ron

ps your engine only weighs 145kg, unless youve changed it

[Geoff_Atkinson]

Good question Paddles, I would think that WD40 would soak into the strap or rope and also attract any dust and dirt around, making it very messy to the touch.

I have decided that I am definitely not going to replace with another strap, its going to be between the rope or stainless wire, my thinking being that the rope would retain salt water just like the strap and the stainless wire would not to the same extent.

Cheers

Geoff

[Geoff_Atkinson]

Hi Ron,

No, why fix it if its not broken, It's the other end of the boat I'm worried about at the moment.

Cheers

Geoff

[seatime]

this is a pain with my strap, the hook is too large so I need a shackle on the boat. as a result it's always trying to twist and pulls the strap to one side and folds it over.
need a twisted shackle or go to rope or wire, twisted shackle is cheapest.
I drive on most of the way anyway, but not right to the post, and the last half metre is when it twists the most.
I always let the tension off at home, might prolong the strap life?

[Geoff_Atkinson]

Geoff,

what you are referring to is known as a rolling load, as opposed to a lifted load, so it will be less.

I use the spectra rope, mine is rated at 1500kg, boat'd be about half that, it looks very thin. like ski rope and if I didnt have the packaging I'd doubt it would hold 1500!

Ronnie,

Thanks for the info, but its not the breaking strain of the rope or cable, I'll make sure that that is plenty enough, It's the winch I'm concerned about, is 540kg going to be enough?

Oh, also, the Jarrett I currently have has a 5:1 ratio, the stainless one is 3.5:1, does that make a hell of a difference?

Keep the answers comming!!!

Thanks

Geoff