They're different from a self-tailing winch, better in some respects and worse in
others. I used 'em for many years on the jibsheet winches of a 35' sloop and
might use them again.

They're faster to 'engage', as when tacking. Throw (in my case) three wraps on
the winch, haul by hand 'til the sail is loaded, put in the handle and you're
ready to haul. No need to take the final wrap over the splitter and around the
gripper. I got pretty good at short-tacking.
THey're lower in friction. In light weather, you can hand-trim longer than with
a self-tailer.
When hauling, you need to strip off the tail fairly constantly. You can't just
crank several feet. I'd generally crank with one hand and strip with the other.
If the load was heavy, i'd crank with both hands and stop and strip every 1/3
turn of the drum. For this reason, I wouldn't consider 'em for a halyard.

When easing sheets, it's about the same drill as a self-tailer- remove a wrap or
two, ease the sheet, then replace the wraps. Crank in a few clicks to seat the
sheet.

On rare occasions, they'd release without warning. THis was rare enough to be
only a minor nuisance. Only on rare occasions, like a heavy night offshore,
would I cleat the sheet.

On balance, if i needed to save a few hundred dollars per winch, i'd use 'em.

Incidentally, the Winchers I used were a snug fit on the drum below the top
flange of my winch drums. This is critical. They were a sloppy fit above the
flange. I cleaned them with alcohol and shot then full of silicone. This worked
fine.


Baybyter wrote:

Anyone have any general comments about how well, or not, "The Wincher" works?
Any specific comments about using this product on a Maxwell 18 winch?