Need help from my US friends

[Giulietta]

OK,

My son says he wants to start hoisting the main, and I agree. My mast is 63' tall, it takes forever for him to hoist with the handle Sometimes my wife, too.

A friend of mine spoke about this winch buddy motor handle.

http://www.winchbuddy.com/

Does any one in the US know if this is good or plain BS?? and if so how much it would cost for a 50 size winch, please. They only quote if you call.

Can you guys help, please? If its not worth it let me know.

Thank you.

[PBzeer]

I think if I was going to do it, I'd just spring for an electric winch. What the Winch Buddy is is a cordless electric drill adapted to spin a winch. I would think how well it works would depend on how easily the sail goes up.

[Jotun]

I clicked "contact us" and it brought up an e-mail form for you to input some info and send to their sales department. Have you tried that? If so and you have still not gotten a quote I can call them for you tomorrow.

[Cruisingdad]

Hey Giu,

Ever thought about a Batt Carr system?

[Giulietta]

PB, I don't want the weight of the electric motor for the winch (altough my Lewmars are convertible), and besides, I just want it on the cabin top winches where the main can be hoisted, and that would not be possible because it would steal space from the cabins bellow.

It tough of it just to help the kid hoist the sail on his own.

Jotun, I got no answer form them

CD what's a Batt CArr?? i

[Cruisingdad]

Giu,

It is a track installed up your mast with ball bearing cars to raise the main. Really cool (though I have never owned one). I was going to put this on my next boat but it came with inmast, so did not. From what I hear (hear being the operative word), it makes raising and lowering the main a snap.

http://www.harken.com/mainsail/mainsail.php

[camaraderie]

Giu...the winch buddy is really just a powerful right angle wireless drill with a special drill bit that fits the top of your winch. There are guys that just sell the bit and you probably can buy a Euro power drill that would work. I will look for it and post what I find.

Update...Found it!!
http://www.thecranker.com/

What is The Cranker?

The Cranker is a solid one-piece stainless steel bit that you chuck into your drill. It will fit into the socket of any standard sailboat winch allowing you to power the winch with your drill instead of a winch handle. Made in the USA and guaranteed for life.
Back to top

Note...the drill itself costs around $375 here.

What size drill do I need?

The shank size of The Cranker is 3/8” so you need at least a 3/8” drill. More important is the torque rating of the drill and the size of your winches. Most winches are rated by their mechanical advantage, so a #25 winch has a 25 to 1 power ratio. A drill with a 600 inch pound torque rating in a #25 winch will produce 1250 pounds of pull (600/12x25=1250). The recommended drill is the Milwaukee 18 volt variable speed reversing angle drill (catalog #3109-24). It produces 600 inch pounds of torque, is a very heavy duty drill and will run a long time on a charge. Accessories like extra batteries or a 12 volt charger are readily available. The Dewalt DW960 18 volt angle drill is also recommended. It is lighter and more compact than the Milwaukee and produces 300 inch pounds of torque. The advantage of using an angle drill over a regular drill or winch handle is that the length of the lever arm is increased so you have less strain. The typical length of a winch handle is 8 or 10 inches. Most angle drills are 15 to 17 inches. This cuts the force that you need to apply nearly in half to archive the same pull from your winch.

[GeorgeB]

The Winch Buddy is actually a bit that fits into a drill. They will sell you a drill or you can purchase a drill locally. We use a big Milwaukee cordless right angled drill. Although we still grind up our main by hand, my wife uses the winch buddy to send me (200 pounds) aloft. We get 2-3 round trips to the mast head (46’) on one charge.

[Giulietta]

CD

Ahh those, ok. Yes of course I know.

I decided not to install, for several reasons.

The sail is not hard to hoist, I do it all the time. Its for the kid, for him its really hard, he's only 9!

[btrayfors]

For heaven's sake, Guilietta isn't a 60-footer. Your son, or you, should be able to hoist the main easily by hand most of the way. Use the winch only for the last couple of feet.

I'm well into my 60's and I can hoist the main of just about any sloop under 50' with ease.

Forget the electric winch, and the stupid drill-like attachment. Buy a membership in the local gym instead :-)

Bill