Never
used the winch on the mast?

No reason to....we have a Francespar boom which is fully rigged with all sorts of little goodies...we have a vang and the
appropriate hardware for it (clutches for reefing line, outhaul, topping lift) Have used it for the downhaul a couple of
times......we have two coach top winches that we use for the halyards....main can be set as tight as we want from the ciach top
winch without having to go up and yark at the mast....If your boat was rigged with any type of equipment at all you wouldn't
have to rely on antiquated methods to sail....
--
katysails
s/v Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein