Winch rope

[BogMonster]

The winch on my trailer is fitted with thin wire rope, about 5-6mm I guess, which is "not in factory condition"....

I am thinking about trying to get hold of some "plasma" type synthetic winch rope, as often found on competition 4x4 winches these days, I use "Dyneema" (one of the variations available) on the winch on my Defender and it is magic stuff, really strong for its size, very light to use, doesn't whip if it breaks, dead easy to splice, and you can mangle it up on the drum as much as you like criss crossing the layers and it doesn't mind at all

The stuff I use on the 90 is 10mm which is something like 22,000lb breaking strain, but for this role I guess 6mm would be ample, if I can find anybody selling it in that size.

Is anybody using this? I believe the stuff was originally developed for racing yachts or something, so I can't see any drawbacks to using it - it shouldn't be bothered by salt water?

Edited to add I've just found one of the suppliers selling 6mm - 3220kg breaking strain

Long mooring lines - where required - might be another use for it - though the price would be offputting for that.... (even the 6mm is £2.90 a metre!)

[codprawn]

yes it's great stuff - and a lot safer when it breaks. As you know it isn't as resistant to abrasion as wire so watch it on sharp edges. It is used on climbing ropes and yacht rigging as you say - maybe some uses will have cheaper suppliers than others???

One thing to be aware of is possible UV degredation - maybe a cover or something would be useful.

Some trailer winches have a webbing strap which is great because it goes on much neater - a lot cheaper than Dyneema as well.......

[havener]

I'd go for webbing every time. Much longer life, easier to spot abrasions and weak spots, and virtually no risk of it shearing and taking your head off!

[BogMonster]

The 10mm on my 90 has lifted the back wheels (well one of them anyway) off the ground while pulling DOWN on the front, so I have no worries about shearing

UV could be an issue but it is easy to cover up, it is supposed to be UV resistant anyway but I'm not sure if that extends to living under the hole in the ozone layer, as I do! I only need about 6m at most anyway, as that is how long the trailer is, so the cost isn't really an issue, far less so than with 100ft 10mm winch rope!

In practice I could probably get away with about 2m since I have yet to do anything other than drive the boat right up the trailer and I've never had to use the winch to pull it more than about a foot, but I suppose I should get enough to reach the other end of the trailer otherwise one day I might end up looking silly!

Driving on is much quicker and easier and it's quite cool when recovering solo to be able to drive it up the trailer, hop off the bow, stroll along the drawbar and jump onto dry land I wish getting it off the damn thing was as easy, most times all you end up with is a bilge full of minced kelp....

[Andy_Rs600]

From your description of what you do with it i'd go for webbing. As it sits flat it's better for applications where your are leaving it on the drum for large amounts of time. If you normally drive the boat up the trailer most of the rope/webbing stays on the drum, and over time that will flatten rope.

[Simon B]

Agreed webbing, probably cheaper than Dyneema or other 4x4 type winch ropes. Dont go for KERF! Kinectic Energy Recovery fibre You'll end up with the Rib on top of the car!

[Limey Linda]

I agree. Go webbing every time; using low stretch polyester based material. We do a fair amount of winching of heavy loads ( 2 ton trucks out of 2 foot deep holes in sand) and PLEASE trust me: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "NO WHIP" If you are winching a heavy load then drape a couple of jackets or even better a blanket over the the wire/rope/strap just as a precaution. I will never forget the story my father told me on his return home after a 1 year commision on the Ark Royal. Towing a broken down freighter the line parted and cut a sailor cleanly in two at the waist. Regards

[BogMonster]

I'm not sure if the winch mechanism was originally designed for a boat trailer (I use a home made trailer remember) so fixing webbing to the winch drum might be difficult as the way it works at the moment is that the wire exits a hole in the side of the drum.

As for risk - yes I know about that - I do a fair bit of winching with LR's and have personally had about 80' of wire winch cable snap at the hook end under several tonnes of strain and the deadly flailing mass arrive at X hundred mph onto the front end of my 90 in the blink of an eye, it made a lasting impression and is one reason I now only use Dyneema!! The safety point is that compared to wire, the fact that plasma winch rope is "dead", has a very low mass (15% of the mass of wire rope the same size) and very low elongation to breaking means that if it does let go it pretty much goes "ping" and falls to the ground instead of removing nearby legs. Hopefully not something that I will need to worry about recovering a RIB though

I'll have a look on the weekend and see if webbing is practical to fix to the winch drum otherwise I think it will have to be a short bit of blue string on order from Mr Bowyer's off road emporium.

Thanks for the input everybody

[codprawn]

I always do that when I use my Tirfors - awesome power but scary the tension that builds in the wire rope!!!

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I always do that when I use my Tirfors - awesome power but scary the tension that builds in the wire rope!!!

Not to mention the fact that it is about 6 inches from your leg when it breaks which focuses the attention

Tirfors and other hand winches nearly always have a shear pin in the mechanism so unless the wire rope is damaged, or the load suddenly moves and puts a shock loading on the cable, the cable should never actually break, hence the fact they they are rated for lifting as well as pulling.

Hard work though - got one of those too (well a copy, not a genuine Tirfor), just in case the Milemarker lets me down!