On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:10:59 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

That reminds me. There was a web journal called "Bumfuzzle" where a
young couple bought a 35' cat in Lauderdale and took off around the
world. They had one class in sailing.
Successful circumnavigation, and an entertaining journal.
Anyway, they were halfway across the Pacific before the Skipper found
out he had 2 speeds on his most often used winch.
No wonder it was so hard to crank.
He was mocked by the armchair guys when he wrote about it, but just
got a kick out of that since he was sailing around the world and they
were ......in their armchairs.
I got the impression 2-speed winches are common.
What little winching I've done was with a 1-speed.

There used to be something called a Fol-boat, that folded up into a
package the size of a large suitcase. One guy crossed the Atlantic,
from England to Panama in one. A buck eighty six to go through the
Canal. They used to charge strictly by the ton, no minimum.

Casady