I could use some help regarding winches.

I have a boat that I keep on a trailer. I can hand winch the boat onto
the trailer, but I need a winch that will pull the trailer out of the
water. I don't have a hitch on my car.

I think that one of the Gorilla brand winches would work (inexpensive,
reliable, etc.), but I have some questions.

Will I be able to permanently mount it to a post without too much
hassle?

Does the switch have to be held the entire time of operation or can I
get the trailer moving and attend to other things while it moves up
the bank? Doesn't it cut off automatically?

Can the winch be wired directly to a battery without some type of
fusing system?

The boat is a 15 ft aluminum Lund w/ a 35 HP outboard. W/ trailer the
pulling weight can't be too much. Is there an advantage to getting a
winch w/ more pulling power?

Any suggestions that you have would be appreciated.

Thanks,
mrmac

wrote in message
ps.com...
I could use some help regarding winches.

I have a boat that I keep on a trailer. I can hand winch the boat onto
the trailer, but I need a winch that will pull the trailer out of the
water. I don't have a hitch on my car.

I think that one of the Gorilla brand winches would work (inexpensive,
reliable, etc.), but I have some questions.

Will I be able to permanently mount it to a post without too much
hassle?

Does the switch have to be held the entire time of operation or can I
get the trailer moving and attend to other things while it moves up
the bank? Doesn't it cut off automatically?

Can the winch be wired directly to a battery without some type of
fusing system?

The boat is a 15 ft aluminum Lund w/ a 35 HP outboard. W/ trailer the
pulling weight can't be too much. Is there an advantage to getting a
winch w/ more pulling power?

Any suggestions that you have would be appreciated.

Thanks,
mrmac


A couple of blocks with 2 pulleys each and 150 feet of 1200 lb line should
do that easily.
On the other hand, why not install a light trailer hitch on your vehicle.
You might want to try different lakes/bays etc.

On Wed, 22 Aug 07, "Don White" wrote:
why not install a light trailer hitch on your vehicle.

*Surely* he has a good reason for rejecting that obvious solution....
I sure would like to know what it is though lol! I suspect he's
launching/retrieving over a steep embankment, across a marsh, or
across a beach though.

But anyhow, an electric trailer winch usually has a switch that shuts
itself off unless someone is holding it down. You could change it out
but it's there for a reason so I wouldn't advise changing. It wouldn't
cut off automatically. But yes, you could mount it to a post on the
bank and drag boat motor and trailer up the bank with it. A trailer
winch usually comes with about 20'-25' of line but you can drag it
from further away by using a chain or rope between the winch hook and
the trailer tongue. You'd have to reattach each time you've pulled it
up 25' though. And yes, a winch usually has a fuse in the line between
it and the battery.
I can't see an advantage of having a winch with more pulling power
than you need. Besides, you can always double the pulling power by
doubling the winch cable.

Rick

Well stated, Rick. Steep bank with a right angle at top - the trailer
is shot - underpowered car - and it's my land so I don't have to move
the boat more than a few feet about high tide.

I read somewhere that all of these winches are waterproof even though
they are not all advertised that way. Anybody know anything about
that?

Do these things generally have a remote so that you don't have to
stand in the line of fire of a recoiling cable?

Don, I like the idea of a pulley system. I will give that a try - at
least as a backup system.

Thanks,
mrmac

wrote in message
oups.com...
Well stated, Rick. Steep bank with a right angle at top - the trailer
is shot - underpowered car - and it's my land so I don't have to move
the boat more than a few feet about high tide.

I read somewhere that all of these winches are waterproof even though
they are not all advertised that way. Anybody know anything about
that?

Do these things generally have a remote so that you don't have to
stand in the line of fire of a recoiling cable?

Don, I like the idea of a pulley system. I will give that a try - at
least as a backup system.

Thanks,
mrmac


Most car winches likes on jeeps have remotes so you can get out of the way.
Also throw a blanket over the cable and it dampens the rebound if breakage
occurs.

If the winch has a steel cable, and most do, it won't have recoil. Steel
cables don't have any give to speak of.

Mount it on a post. They are generally waterproof but keeping it out of the
elements is not a bad idea. Get a plastic kitchen garbage can and put that
over the pole and winch when you are not using it.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Well stated, Rick. Steep bank with a right angle at top - the trailer
is shot - underpowered car - and it's my land so I don't have to move
the boat more than a few feet about high tide.

I read somewhere that all of these winches are waterproof even though
they are not all advertised that way. Anybody know anything about
that?

Do these things generally have a remote so that you don't have to
stand in the line of fire of a recoiling cable?

Don, I like the idea of a pulley system. I will give that a try - at
least as a backup system.

Thanks,
mrmac

On Aug 22, 11:32 pm, wrote:
Well stated, Rick. Steep bank with a right angle at top - the trailer
is shot - underpowered car - and it's my land so I don't have to move
the boat more than a few feet about high tide.

I read somewhere that all of these winches are waterproof even though
they are not all advertised that way. Anybody know anything about
that?

Do these things generally have a remote so that you don't have to
stand in the line of fire of a recoiling cable?

Don, I like the idea of a pulley system. I will give that a try - at
least as a backup system.

Thanks,
mrmac

You say you only have to move it a few feet. Your rig probably weighs
what? 1200-1500 Lbs? I would maybe set up a block and tackle, a couple
of double blocks, and a length of good rope. Hook it up, walk the rope
down the beach a few yards. No pricey single use winch. No battery, no
cable, no problems. Unless you are dragging it up hill, in deep sand,
or have some other to me unknown issue, I think your boat would pull a
lot easier than you might think. And a good block to me is cheaper and
more useful than an electric winch.

On Aug 23, 9:12 pm, wrote:
On Aug 22, 11:32 pm, wrote:





Well stated, Rick. Steep bank with a right angle at top - the trailer
is shot - underpowered car - and it's my land so I don't have to move
the boat more than a few feet about high tide.

I read somewhere that all of these winches are waterproof even though
they are not all advertised that way. Anybody know anything about
that?

Do these things generally have a remote so that you don't have to
stand in the line of fire of a recoiling cable?

Don, I like the idea of a pulley system. I will give that a try - at
least as a backup system.

Thanks,
mrmac

You say you only have to move it a few feet. Your rig probably weighs
what? 1200-1500 Lbs? I would maybe set up a block and tackle, a couple
of double blocks, and a length of good rope. Hook it up, walk the rope
down the beach a few yards. No pricey single use winch. No battery, no
cable, no problems. Unless you are dragging it up hill, in deep sand,
or have some other to me unknown issue, I think your boat would pull a
lot easier than you might think. And a good block to me is cheaper and
more useful than an electric winch.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

OOOPs, should have read better, you did say steep bank, I missed that.