On Fri, 21 May 2004 07:44:33 -0500, Courtney Thomas
wrote:

I assume that since winches can be under tremendous pressure, that all
suffer the possibility of exploding if pushed beyond their design.

Given that,.... are there known "dangerous" winches and what is the
source of their danger and how can it be determined that improper use is
not the culprit, rather than inherent inadequacy ?

I don't know of a manufacturer who is more suspect in this regard, but
I have seen once and heard of three instances in just my own 200
member boat club of overloaded winches parting either at the bolts or
tearing completely out of the deck/coamings. All three incidents were
during races. None were on my boat.

Personally, I use substantial backing plates I made custom for every
winch and significant piece of deck gear. I also encourage, if it's
not present, solid glass or encapsulated wood in place of foam or
balsa core in such spots. I discourage the currently popular practice
of embedded tapped metal plates in the fibreglass because if the
threads strip for whatever reason, the plate is the devil to get out.
Better to have the load spread from below, to ensure complete and easy
dissembly for inspection and repair.

To sum up: exploding winches are rare...exploding winch platforms less
so, or at least in my experience. Either scenario, like a crash jibe,
can take your head off.

R.