I use a Milwakee Right Angle drill, 18V and the WINCHBIT on a 38' Swan and
it works great. I have a decent size dual speed self-tailing winch and the
drill has no problem lifting the Main in high speed, although I do need to
switch to "first gear" to get the last little bit up--- could do that
manually anyway.

I don't use it all the time, but it's great when we are double-handling
and/or even single handling. Mainly I use it to lift the Main.

Bottom line, it works great--- at least with the Milwakee 18V drill. Only
con is that the drill is a bit combersome and heavy.


"John Cairns" wrote in message
...

"Todd Shuster" wrote in message
news:1DTjc.39012$cF6.1702272@attbi_s04...
I just read a couple posts on using a cordless (24v) electric drill as
an
electric winch handle...Has anybody done this? were you satisfied with
the
performance.

The off the shelf electric winch handle is over $2000 so this could be a
great alternative for those with big mainsails!

--

Captain Todd Shuster

Gato Verde Adventure Sailing School
Not your average sailing charter....

www.gatoverde.com

I'd be real surprised if the thing had enough torque to do the job, but
what
you could do is make up the adapter(shouldn't cost too much if you're
handy)
then go out and see if you could rent one before you wasted money on the
purchase, unless, of course, you were planning on buying one in any event.
The rating for the DeWalt 24v lists it at 550 inch lbs., which is just
under
46 foot pounds, probably inadequate for your intended use.
John Cairns