Winchrite...are they any good?

Paul_S123

Paul_S123

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Toying with the idea of buying one of these.

Have any of you had any/much experience of them?

I will be single handing most of the time...and honestly, the thought of sitting in the cockpit furling and unfurling the genoa with the push of a button, standing up and furling and unfurling the in mast reefing, all while controlling the tension of the furl with the other line with my free hand...does sound appealing.

I know it has been discussed in other threads, but there was not a definitive consensus one way or the other. Also most fof the posts were a few years old....hopefully the item is a little more updated now.

http://www.winchrite.co.uk/
 
Not necessary on the boat you have if your gear works properly. Better to invest any money in good quality blocks and selftailing winches. I have just fitted Harken blocks and furling line leads and the difference is amazing.
 
Tranona said:
Not necessary on the boat you have if your gear works properly. Better to invest any money in good quality blocks and selftailing winches. I have just fitted Harken blocks and furling line leads and the difference is amazing.
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Agree totally - though new self-tailers are a small fortune, you may be able to get what you want from the Barge @ Bursledon. They usually have some old, serviceable self-tailers in stock.
 
They are a great piece of kit, I bought one this year having graduated to a 36-footer at an age where not long ago I'd be spending all day in an armchair.
I use it for genoa sheets when it's blowing a bit, and for hauling up the mainsail. I do not use it on the genoa furler as I agree with a previous remark, that if the furler needs a winch there's something not right.
 
pvb said:
With properly-serviced furling gear, it shouldn't be necessary to use winches at all.
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Clearly you're right about this. But with these sealed (and not upmarket) furling units, once you've removed friction from the furling fairleads and a block or two along the line, what can you do to reduce friction in the system? I do have the same problem as the OP in a blow.
 
Different posts in the thread seem to have talked about in-mast furling, foresail furling and furling in general. My experience is with genoa furling only so might not be generally applicable but the single most important way to ease furling in my experience in all conditions is getting the boat alignment to the wind correct before furling.

Richard
 
BelleSerene said:
Clearly you're right about this. But with these sealed (and not upmarket) furling units, once you've removed friction from the furling fairleads and a block or two along the line, what can you do to reduce friction in the system? I do have the same problem as the OP in a blow.
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Maintain as the manufacturer suggests, often involved rinsing out bearings, applying grease, etc.
 
RichardS said:
Different posts in the thread seem to have talked about in-mast furling, foresail furling and furling in general. My experience is with genoa furling only so might not be generally applicable but the single most important way to ease furling in my experience in all conditions is getting the boat alignment to the wind correct before furling.

Richard
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Yes, after decades of sailing charter/flotilla yachts mostly with furling genoas, I was startled to be told it was best to furl while going downwind (after generally just going enough off the wind to stop the clew clouting parts of the boat or crew!). Partly for the obvious reason that the apparent wind is least. But also so that the wind drag on the sail can be taken on the sheets rather than resisting the furling process.

Mike.
 
Back to the original query.
SWMBO injured her shoulder some years ago and she was having difficulty in using the winch. I bought a Winchrite and it was excellent ,made a great difference on the occasions when she was doing the winching instead of me.
 
I've had my Winchrite for 5 seasons and has given me no problems. I have a 38' yacht with roller reefing and inmast reefing with self tailing winches and I'm a fit 69 year old. I find that I still have to hand wind to get the final settings of the sails and I tend not to use it when tacking - I can do it a lot faster myself. Where I find it most useful is when furling the sails coming in to harbour. There's a lot of rope to pull in in a short time and it does this easily. What I don't like about it is the lack of "feel" you have when using it so you have to watch carefully what's happenning whilst winching. There is a lot of torque when using it so you have to be aware of the danger to your wrists especially when changing speeds - I have 2 speed winches. Having said all that most of my friends who sail with me are into their 70s and they love it. As does my wife. And anything that keeps wife and crew happy and still want to sail with me has to be encouraged.
With great care, I have also used it once to haul someone up the mast which it did with ease. Needless to say, it's not recommended by the manufacturers.
Mike
 
I have had mine since June 2011. I saw it in a video about Miami Boat Show and it was one of the earliest in the country. The service from Watkins yachting was excellent.
Mine developed a fault in that it would only wind one way. I returned it and it was upgraded FOC with the new gearbox which all the WinchRites have now. A few of the very early ones had a fault and the current model has has improved torque.
It is a boon to the older sailor with a bad back and some of my friends having seen it in action have bought one.
I am just a satisfied customer and would recommend the WinchRite without reservation.
 
ditchcrawler said:
I have had mine since June 2011. I saw it in a video about Miami Boat Show and it was one of the earliest in the country. The service from Watkins yachting was excellent.
Mine developed a fault in that it would only wind one way. I returned it and it was upgraded FOC with the new gearbox which all the WinchRites have now. A few of the very early ones had a fault and the current model has has improved torque.
It is a boon to the older sailor with a bad back and some of my friends having seen it in action have bought one.
I am just a satisfied customer and would recommend the WinchRite without reservation.
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We had the same experience. They replaced the earlier one with the latest,FOC. Very reliable,used for pulling someone up the mast,(not recommended by Manufactures) but did a great job. Good battery life.
 
Our new boat has a Lewmar electric winch. It is the only cockpit winch and does everything when sailing-in mast furling, roller furling self tacking jib, both setting and furling. I expected to furl by hand, only using the powered winch for pulling the outhauls, but its so simple I set and furl with the winch, as well as hardening the sheets. Slipping the sheets is done manually.

For a small, retired, physically challenged crew its bloody marvellous!
 
WinchRite is a great replacement of an electric winch and also could save you a lot of hassle long run. I've been looking for them around the internet for a while and found out that there is a limited stock available for 2018 from the supplier so didn't think twice and bought one. I heard there is an upgraded version also of the old one which the battery last for longer but you can always recharge. I bought mine from Fox's chandlery online for £599.99 and received it the very next day. A friend of mine also wanted to buy one but they were no longer available. Simon from the chandlery told me that are getting some more in stock but they are a very hard piece of kit to get you hands on so assuming they will be in stock soon I hope you can find them on their website.
https://www.foxschandlery.com/winchrite-cordless-winch-handle
 
sor1n3l said:
WinchRite is a great replacement of an electric winch and also could save you a lot of hassle long run. I've been looking for them around the internet for a while and found out that there is a limited stock available for 2018 from the supplier so didn't think twice and bought one. I heard there is an upgraded version also of the old one which the battery last for longer but you can always recharge. I bought mine from Fox's chandlery online for £599.99 and received it the very next day. A friend of mine also wanted to buy one but they were no longer available. Simon from the chandlery told me that are getting some more in stock but they are a very hard piece of kit to get you hands on so assuming they will be in stock soon I hope you can find them on their website.
https://www.foxschandlery.com/winchrite-cordless-winch-handle
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SVB have them in stock at the same sort of price.
 
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