Winch-to-drill fitting as budget electic winch

[ylop]

Mrs Y has an injured shoulder. By the time the boat goes back in the water physio should be complete but I assume it will be preferable to give it some rest before doing much winching (that motion definitely aggravates it). Now obviously if I really loved her I would spend £2K on a eWincher or similar, but as the shoulder seems to be improving I'm reluctant to splash that sort of cash. But for £40 I can get a star-winch to battery drill adaptor. I have a small battery drill I keep on board, but could upgrade that too if needed.

So whats people's experience? How well does it work, does it need a beefy drill, is charge an issue, does the drill kick back when it reaches the limit etc?

 

[dunedin]

Mrs Y has an injured shoulder. By the time the boat goes back in the water physio should be complete but I assume it will be preferable to give it some rest before doing much winching (that motion definitely aggravates it). Now obviously if I really loved her I would spend £2K on a eWincher or similar, but as the shoulder seems to be improving I'm reluctant to splash that sort of cash. But for £40 I can get a star-winch to battery drill adaptor. I have a small battery drill I keep on board, but could upgrade that too if needed.

So whats people's experience? How well does it work, does it need a beefy drill, is charge an issue, does the drill kick back when it reaches the limit etc?

Or her ladyship steers (or relaxes) and Mr Y does the winching

 

[Tzu]

I have exactly that and I'm well pleased with it. However my DeWalt Brushless Cordless gets maybe 1.5 raises of the main out of a 4Ah battery (albeit with a 17m mast with some mild friction) and it will need a carefull bracing to avoid a wrist breakage or throwing itself overboard. Well worth ago though as i usually have to stop a couple of times on the way up otherwise

 

[Bodach na mara]

For halyards it may work but not for foresail sheets. On my own boat, the sheet winches are size 40 which means that there is a mechanical advantage of 40. That means that every kilogram force (kgf) applied at the end of the standard handle generates 40 kgf in the sheet lead to the sail. I can just about muster 20 kgf when cranking. That is enough to handle my Genoa in most conditions and if I can't get it in far enough I have to either luff up or reduce sail. Now what is really important is that turning effect of that force:- the moment. The handle being 0.2 metres long, the moment is 4 kilogram metres. With a drill, you still need to generate the same moment which your wrist must oppose that moment in the hand grip which is a lot shorter than a winch handle. I suppose that you could arrange for an extension piece to give better leverage to stop the drill going round instead of turning the winch.

 

[fredrussell]

With the above ^^ in mind, perhaps a right-angled drill would be more suited to the task. They have longer body so more leverage.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

With the above ^^ in mind, perhaps a right-angled drill would be more suited to the task. They have longer body so more leverage.

I have Makita’s most powerful right angle 18v drill and a 5 amp hour battery. It will raise our battened laminate main 13 metres on a 2:1 halyard 5 or 6 times. Far too clumsy to do sheet winching though.

 

[DownWest]

With the above ^^ in mind, perhaps a right-angled drill would be more suited to the task. They have longer body so more leverage.

Right, but there still remains the problem of holding against the torque if a bit 'week & feeble', so an extra bit on the back of the drill to hang onto?

 

[ylop]

Or her ladyship steers (or relaxes) and Mr Y does the winching

That’s a likely outcome. But she really likes sailing and I suspect will try to winch anyway.

 

[ylop]

For halyards it may work but not for foresail sheets. On my own boat, the sheet winches are size 40 which means that there is a mechanical advantage of 40. That means that every kilogram force (kgf) applied at the end of the standard handle generates 40 kgf in the sheet lead to the sail. I can just about muster 20 kgf when cranking. That is enough to handle my Genoa in most conditions and if I can't get it in far enough I have to either luff up or reduce sail. Now what is really important is that turning effect of that force:- the moment. The handle being 0.2 metres long, the moment is 4 kilogram metres. With a drill, you still need to generate the same moment which your wrist must oppose that moment in the hand grip which is a lot shorter than a winch handle. I suppose that you could arrange for an extension piece to give better leverage to stop the drill going round instead of turning the winch.

Ok, I guess fighting that moment was what I was seeing as tricky.

 

[DJE]

Or her ladyship steers (or relaxes) and Mr Y does the winching

That's how my marriage works.

 

[KevinV]

That’s a likely outcome. But she really likes sailing and I suspect will try to winch anyway.

You could start with luffing up every time, then just for the hardest bits, etc until she's recovered? If she doesn't winch gently now she'll find it hard to start doing it again later. I'd also be concerned about the jarring from a drill not doing the shoulder any good.
Have you got a spare old winch you could set up at home so she gets the movement back without the load?

 

[OCuea]

That moment of force and breaking a wrist would be my worry. Didn’t there used to be a device that was triple geared and was tethered to push pit, fitted into a winch and made things a lot easier? I’ve searched but can’t remember it’s name.

 

[wonkywinch]

That moment of force and breaking a wrist would be my worry. Didn’t there used to be a device that was triple geared and was tethered to push pit, fitted into a winch and made things a lot easier? I’ve searched but can’t remember it’s name.

I bought one of these adaptors to wind up my lifting keel that has a winch handle and needs just over 100 rotations from up to down.

Despite being very familiar with the system, there is no position indicator and I have severely twisted my wrist a couple of times when the keel reaches the up position and the turning stops and immediately tries to rotate me about my wrist.

Now, I only use it for a few seconds to move it part way before finishing the job by hand. It took weeks for the soreness to subside.

 

[fredrussell]

Ok, I guess fighting that moment was what I was seeing as tricky.

The DeWalt right-angled drill has an electric clutch which kicks in if torque increases past a certain level. This because they’re designed for using with diamond tipped hole saws so have VERY high torque levels and quite often jam - especially when drilling large diameter holes in concrete. They run on a 54v battery, hence their increased torque compared to 18v ones.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...ess-right-angle-diamond-core-drill-bare/980hp

 

[DJE]

Review of electric options here.

Or is there room for a 10" handle?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

The DeWalt right-angled drill has an electric clutch which kicks in if torque increases past a certain level. This because they’re designed for using with diamond tipped hole saws so have VERY high torque levels and quite often jam - especially when drilling large diameter holes in concrete. They run on a 54v battery, hence their increased torque compared to 18v ones.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...ess-right-angle-diamond-core-drill-bare/980hp

That thing is hilariously and stupidly over the top for an electric winch handle. You are really asking for trouble, of any imaginable sort with that. Breakages, marine and human as almost sure to happen. Our 18v one can give you quite a jolt if used incorrectly. That thing is gonna break your arm. Sooner rather than later, clutch or no clutch.

 

[fredrussell]

That thing is hilariously and stupidly over the top for an electric winch handle. You are really asking for trouble, of any imaginable sort with that. Breakages, marine and human as almost sure to happen. Our 18v one can give you quite a jolt if used incorrectly. That thing is gonna break your arm. Sooner rather than later, clutch or no clutch.

Do you understand how a clutch works? Before it ‘breaks your arm’ the clutch kicks in and cuts motor. If you’ve ever drilled a large hole in concrete using a core drill you’ll be aware of, and thankful for, an electric clutch on drill. You said yourself that you 18v drill will hoist a sail but not a sheet. This dewalt one will.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Do you understand how a clutch works? Before it ‘breaks your arm’ the clutch kicks in and cuts motor. If you’ve ever drilled a large hole in concrete using a core drill you’ll be aware of, and thankful for, an electric clutch on drill. You said yourself that you 18v drill will hoist a sail but not a sheet. This dewalt one will.

Er, yes. You clearly don’t understand the limitations. My 18v one will rip the clew out of my jib if I ask it to. Power is not the issue, it’s usability.

 

[awol]

Smaller sails?

 

[ylop]

Review of electric options here.

Or is there room for a 10" handle?

Ah thanks, that’s helpful. We do have a 10” winch handle - but if the sprayhood is up the halyard winches can’t use it. I’m not sure but I think the 10” might actually be worse for her shoulder - she’s quite short and consequently short armed so reaching over might be worse…. But I’ve only just considered that. In fact it may be that ensuring she has good position/posture is more important than the load for the winch!