Electric winches - sobering reading

jlavery

jlavery

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 Oct 2020
Messages
732
Visit site
MAIB report on the fatality on board 'Mollie' this August.

BBC news story summarises it.

MAIB report here.

In summary - electric winch continued to operate after sailor got entangled in the associated rope. He got dragged into the winch and suffered fatal injuries. Winch had a known intermittent defect.

Learning points?
  • Even relatively small electric winches can be fatal
  • If fitted, make sure there's a known and readily accessible mechanism for cutting power
I'd appreciated the risks of electric winches regarding injury, but this incident highlights the need for careful thought regarding safety mechanism, and servicing.
 
Last edited:
Leaving aside the risk of injury, a winch which periodically won't stop is going to break something sooner or later, unless you're very quick lifting the line off.

Somehow my attention keeps drifting to that shiney orphaned Tohatsu 3.5 2T in the photo background.
 
jlavery said:
MAIB report on the fatality on board 'Mollie' this August.

BBC news story summarises it.

MAIB report here.

In summary - electric winch continued to operate after sailor got entangled in the associated rope. He got dragged into the winch and suffered fatal injuries. Winch had a known intermittent defect.

Learning points?
  • Even relatively small electric winches can be fatal
  • If fitted, make sure there's a known and readily accessible mechanism for cutting power
I'd appreciated the risks of electric winches regarding injury, but this incident highlights the need for careful thought regarding safety mechanism, and servicing.
Click to expand...

Your BBC link is missing the h and a colon at the start?

"ttps//www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp3dr42k8o" instead of https: etc

New Zealand sailor died after being 'entangled' in winch drum
 
ashtead said:
Why 2 winches though ? Both look rather tired but maybe it’s just the photo ?
Click to expand...
Needed on boats with "german" main sheet rigs unless you want to lock off the main whilst you tack then set it up again on the lazy side.

All a bit of a hassle and putting yourself at risk for the few minutes the mainsheet is locked off but it's very commonly done.
 
Koeketiene said:
The PBO story: Skipper dies after being wound round his boat's faulty electric winch - Practical Boat Owner

Am I the only one to think that a sharp knife could have been useful?

I ALWAYS carry a sharp knife on me when sailing and I can for the life of me not understand why this is not common practice.
Click to expand...
When I used to race, I always had a sharp knife on my belt. Never used it. However I do remember being in the Royal Temple Yacht Club in Ramsgate where I was introduced to Ted Heath (who was Prime Minister at the time) and I still had my knife with me. I doubt in our security conscious days that would ever happen today.
 
Koeketiene said:
The PBO story: Skipper dies after being wound round his boat's faulty electric winch - Practical Boat Owner

Am I the only one to think that a sharp knife could have been useful?

I ALWAYS carry a sharp knife on me when sailing and I can for the life of me not understand why this is not common practice.
Click to expand...

Once his hand was trapped several turns would need to be cut. Plus the painter which seems to have been tangled in as well. Not sure you'd get through that lot in time, and that assumes he could get it out and open it while his hand and arm were being agonisingly pulverised. Edit to strike out mindless nonsense. Yes, a knife would have fixed it fast, sorry.

Perhaps the other people on the boat could have run down and got a knife but they were probably more focused on turning the electric off which sounds non trivial.

Horrific.
 
Last edited:
Mark-1 said:
Perhaps the other people on the boat could have run down and got a knife but they were probably more focused on turning the electric off which sounds non trivial.
Click to expand...
It’s easy to be wise after the event when you haven’t just witnessed someone get mashed by a winch. But there were three crew - two of them who were probably not familiar with the intricacies of the boat. It seems that in the 21 minutes between the entrapment and the lifeboat crew arriving nobody had managed to turn off the main power supply, nor find a knife.

Are emergency stop / isolators normal near electric winches when they are professionally installed? They would be on any such work equipment in a factory but I note that my windlass doesn’t have a local master switch/isolator.
 

"Actions taken​

No further actions have been taken."


Will be interesting to see the final report - was a brief given? did it include isolation location / process? was the crew aware of the known faulty switch etc?

But eek!
 
ylop said:
Are emergency stop / isolators normal near electric winches when they are professionally installed? They would be on any such work equipment in a factory but I note that my windlass doesn’t have a local master switch/isolator.
Click to expand...
The problem is that electric winches are low voltage, high current. The Harken 40s on my boat draw 170A. Difficult to find a simple push button emergency stop rated for that current.

After this event, I'm going to include location of winch breakers in my future crew briefings.
 
wonkywinch said:
The problem is that electric winches are low voltage, high current. The Harken 40s on my boat draw 170A. Difficult to find a simple push button emergency stop rated for that current.

After this event, I'm going to include location of winch breakers in my future crew briefings.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's my immediate thought - we've only got an electric windlass (no electric winches), but the windlass breaker location is going to be part of my briefing too. Luckily it's easily accessible by the chart table.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top