Electric boat trailer winch

[jmoneilthe2]

I am looking to purchase an electric winch on my 1992 GW Seafarer 22’s Venture trailer and hoping for some suggestions. Hopefully one that won’t break the bank.
Thanks

 

[DennisG01]

Powerwinch is pretty much the most popular - Dutton, Reese are other good brands.

There's nothing too special here - just make sure it's rated for your boat weight, or more.

You can go cheaper if you want, but you know how that can go.

 

[DennisG01]

Oh, the good thing you have going for you is it's not a heavy boat - so that will help keep the price down.

Can you power load (engine under power) at your ramp? If so, at least keep some engine power on - which will make hand winching easier. And that's free!

 

[Ekea]

unless you are physically unable to hand winch, i would stick with that. the simplicity and reliability of a hand winch makes it the clear winner in my book

 

[family affair]

unless you are physically unable to hand winch, i would stick with that. the simplicity and reliability of a hand winch makes it the clear winner in my book

I'll second this. Had a trailer with a power winch. Total PIA.
If only someone made one where a battery drill could attach.

 

[DennisG01]

I'll second this. Had a trailer with a power winch. Total PIA.
If only someone made one where a battery drill could attach.

Could probably easily make an adapter to fit where the manual handle normally attaches. Never tried it - not sure how much torque would be needed

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Electric winches are rather common here in Italy as most boat ramps are steep and Italians don't want the wheel hub in the water so the pull the mostly RIB's on the trailer in a suboptimal angle what needs a lot of power. Most of the used electric winches are cheaper ones from the big online distributors.
I have a Rhino Winch from Amazon (now X-Bull 4500lbs) to pull my heavy motorbike on the truck bed and she works well, my friend had a SuperWinch on the trailer he uses to pull clients boats and she was considerable more expensive but does the same job.
I saw more hand winches failing and boats rush backwards in the water than with electric winches as they are usually much more sturdy than hand winches.

• However, the key for successful use is maintenance is the key to avoid accidents
• to choose enough powerful and quality winch
• perfect installation to distribute the power to the winch holder
• reduce load on the winch by floating boat on the trailer and use winch just for the last inches when boat sit on the rollers

Chris

 

[Ekea]

I saw more hand winches failing and boats rush backwards in the water than with electric winches as they are usually much more sturdy than hand winches.

thats odd. in 35 years of boating, i have never seen a hand winch fail



perhaps a good option would be an electric winch that can accept a handle for manual operation

 

[family affair]

Could probably easily make an adapter to fit where the manual handle normally attaches. Never tried it - not sure how much torque would be needed

Unfortunately not enough torque is available from a battery drill. The gearing on the winch would need to be lower.
In a perfect world the electric winch would take a battery from a readily available tool platform. Unfortunately no tool manufacturer is in that business.

 

[family affair]

perhaps a good option would be an electric winch that can accept a handle for manual operation

It exists. I had one. If I remember correctly, the hand crank was at the same gear ratio as the electric motor. So unless you can turn the crank at 500 rpm+, you weren't getting anywhere any time soon.

 

[DennisG01]

It exists. I had one. If I remember correctly, the hand crank was at the same gear ratio as the electric motor. So unless you can turn the crank at 500 rpm+, you weren't getting anywhere any time soon.

Oh, gosh, yes. Whether using the han dcrank or letting the motor do the work... painfully slow.. especially if you have a heavier duty model and are using the pulley to double the pulling power..... and halving the pulling speed

I made a up a simple extension cord with a winch plug at one end and alligator clips at the other end to clip onto a battery that I toss in the bed of the truck. For some reason, I didn't make it long enough to go to the truck's battery? Maybe I didn't want to spend the money on the larger gauge wire