Enkes winches

[Sy-Revolution]

Hi,
I have 4 Enkes winches on my 36'. None are self tailing but the the maunfacturer makes self tailing conversion kits. They are however expencive, £200 to fit an AR22 (2 speed, power ratios: 16.1 : 1 & 45.5 : 1) which are the smaller of the two sizes I have. To buy new ones that are already self tailing would be £500 each.

These are not big winches, It may be better to change them for Lewmar or Harken. That said I'd hate to throw away the Enkes if they're decent winches (they're in pretty good nick).

So here's the question...... Are they worth keeping? As I've never heard of them I don't have a clue........

C.

 

[thalassa]

Enkes winches are Dutch made, and quite popular on racing yachts there, which explains their price.
Mine are twelve years old, and excellent, but I wouldn't buy them new. Best winches I ever had were Andersen; beats everything in quality and speed.
I believe the largest ENKES distributor is this firm in Holland:
De Boer
or:
Nautic shop
(look for "lieren" )

alternatively:
Andersen

Cheers, Will