Winches

[Chris]

Would this winch be any good for pulling a 5.5metre rib ad trailer up a slipway?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-VOLT-ELECTR...QQcmdZViewItem

I am thinking of ways to avoid dipping my car in the water everytime I take the boat out.

[JABS]

Hi,

I have fitted a winch onto a standard tow bar step. It is slightly less capacity than this one and pulls our Ribcraft 585 just fine.

I douse the cable in wd40 after each use.

Also, I didn't want to have a winch that went over the ball. How are you going to attach the trailer once it is up to the car? IMHO the triler brakes can't be relied on! well, at least mine can't.

PM me if you want a picture of what I have done. It certainly works well. We use a very shallow slipway and it saves the car from the salt.

[MarkM]

A friend bought a relatively cheap electric winch as this one and it did not work.
I got a Powerwinch ST712 with a strap instead of a cable and it's fantastic, but it's different money.

[MikeCC]

Chris,

Just one more thing to go wrong!

That eBay one says 6ft / min with 30ft strap - that's 5 minutes to move it a few feet.

Get it as close to the water as you are comfortable with and use a rope round the tow ball / bar to lower the trailer down. Not so easy if you're single-handed admittedly.

[codprawn]

You could always try the abseil method. A figure of 8 descender attached to the vehicle would give you plenty of control.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by MikeCC

Chris,
Not so easy if you're single-handed admittedly.

Exactly!

I would need this for when I am on my own.

Chris

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Chris1573

Exactly!

I would need this for when I am on my own.

Chris

Not if you use the abseil method!!!

[fred bolton]

I've got one of those winches, and they do work however they are cheap and it doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence. Why not use your trailer winch?

[Chris]

Good Idea Fred, just connect the boat to the safety chain, disconnect the winch strap and run it to the car.

Chris

[Biggles]

I just do a straight pull with rope to get the trailer out of the water. Chock the tyres to stop it rolling back then reverse the car up to the trailer. Can be done on your own that way. Not easy but nothing is with a boat when your on your own.