floating winch handles - any good

[RobBrown]

We've got a Barton floating winch handle which has been swimming a no of times. After a frustrating 20mins trying to fish it out with a boat hook and then a boat hook wiith a plastic collander lashed to it, having got back to it readily with a crash gybe MOB manoeuvre, eventually rescued by a mobo with a bathing platform who kindly chucked it back to us. (We have a high freeboard & a straight up transom!). I subsequently invested a fiver in a small Lidl collapsible (fishing) landing net, which has since proved its worth a number of times in retrieving unintentional jetsam.

 

[Searush]

Doesn't any one swig up the halliards in the old-fshioned Square rigger style then? A couple or three good sideways heaves on the halliard & ratchet up the slack by pulling the dead end round the winch body.

Handles? They're for the poncey racing types.

 

[William_H]

Yes floating plastic winch handles are great. As said they are lighter and less inclined to damage anything when you drop them in the boat. But as said they are not easy to pick up from the water unless you have a net. Or in our case can con a crew man into jumping into the water. I always remove locking mechanism from winch handles. I don't like the lock at all.
With 6 winches on the little boat I reckon winches are the greatest help ever so use winch handles a fair bit. I have one metal winch handle that is original to the boat 32 years old but have lost a few others through the years. olewill

 

[Rossynant]

Doesn't any one swig up the halliards in the old-fshioned Square rigger style then?

Handles? They're for the poncey racing types.

Imagine - some do! No fussing with handles then; no mention of bottom action one sticking out there...

 

[davidaprice]

Another vote for keeping a kiddies' fishing net aboard, if you have high freeboard. Last year we used ours to rescue a beer-can dropped overboard by our neighbour at the jetty: much appreciated!

And we have plastic floating winch handles on our 33' Maxi 999: our toughest winch monkeys haven't stressed them yet, and they're much more comfortable to handle than the old metal one which we nowadays leave ashore.

 

[Seajet]

I have never lost a winch handle over the side, probably due to my penny-pinching Scottish upringing !

I do have a floating winch handle amongst the collection, I've always thought it would make good person overboard practice.