Help Needed! Do I Have A Problem? I'm Not Sure.

[Highlander]

Ah Thee Artiiiist has struck again

Very Nice Work Ray
So when are you going to paint some nice art work on the Bow of the boat
something racey
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee20 ... 010108.jpg
or perhaps something of beauty
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee20 ... 010022.jpg

J

[NiceAft]

When I owned a trucking company, I went by the rule that when I needed a piece of equipment that would be under stress, I should not purchase something that could meet my needs, but instead, exceed those needs. My needing a new winch is not different. I am going to try to get a winch which will not be working at, or near its limit.

And John, if I want something racy, I think my imagination and artistic skills could come up with something better. Maybe something with a Nice Aft

Ray

[Nautek]

Be mindful that the same thing doesn't happen to the new winch
Bolt or weld the new winch to a 5/16" plate and then bolt the more robust plate to the trailer
Allan

[NiceAft]

Allan,

I have not yet looked into the intricacies of the attachment of a winch to the trailer, but the old adage of "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" seems appropriate. From just looking at my own pictures of the MacGregor winch, it seems that bolting it to a heavy platewould not have made a difference. It would have given way at the same point. A good weld would have prevented it, although then it would be difficult for someone to replace if the need arose. A conundrum

Ray

[Boblee]

Mine did the same but it's easy to bend back and reinforce the mounting surface so it doesn't bend again so it's back on and have had no more problems even though I do winch the boat on all the way now but did alter the pull angle a bit as well as the rolling resistance.

[The Mutt]

Ray, if you like you can unbolt the winch from the trailer, pound the bent winch base plate flat with a large hammer, add a long flat bar or cut the bar to large square washers as big as you can to make the base plate stronger, welding is stronger but makes it harder to replace the winch. Then add an electric winch to the side of the trailer post keeping the original winch as a backup.

As with leaving the winch permanently connected to the boat while the boat is stored or being towed on the trailer, my preference is to have a length of chain and shackle just long enough to hold everything tight and release the winch hook, a chain is much stronger than the internal mechanism of a trailer winch.

Glenn

[C Striker]

Ray,
I had the same problem with my winch. I got a replacement from the factory. I flipped it over so the angle would pull the whole way up, not down the last few inches. Well, the strap broke while trailering. I'm awful glad i had a chain backup. The slack disappeared too, so yes the boat moved back while towing.

I'll be looking into a monster sized winch too. I am not too timid to do the bump, I just think it's ludicrous to have to do it. It can't be good for the front support either.

Whoever mentioned changing the angle so it pulls up the whole way to the stop..... I'd love to see/hear how you did it. Sorry I can't seem to locate it to grab the quote.

Erik

[C Striker]

Mine did the same but it's easy to bend back and reinforce the mounting surface so it doesn't bend again so it's back on and have had no more problems even though I do winch the boat on all the way now but did alter the pull angle a bit as well as the rolling resistance.

there it is...

[seahouse]

Hi Nice Aft -- You wrote...

From just looking at my own pictures of the MacGregor winch, it seems that bolting it to a heavy plate would not have made a difference. It would have given way at the same point.

That is only true if you place the plate on the WRONG side of the winch mounting face. Place it INSIDE the winch, to replace the skinny washer shown in your picture, and it will not fail at that point again. (Size the plate properly, and you can read that as CANNOT fail at that point again). You will have essentially made the weakest link in the chain the strongest link, and made the next weakest link, wherever that is, the point of future failure.

Metal fatigue should not be at issue here because it's likely the winch was formed from a lower-grade, (not high-carbon, not work-hardenable and not heat-treated) steel, and the radius of the bend is large, especially compared to the radii of the other bends made at the time of manufacture. (And unless the winch has been straightened more than once before). If cracks are present at the time of rebending, they will be visible upon inspection.

Since you're going to get a new, heavier winch, I'm posting this more for the benefit of those who might want a simple, easy way to strengthen their winch BEFORE this possibly happens to them. In fact, simply replacing the existing washer with a larger, heavier washer (and maybe a longer bolt if need be) will increase the force the winch will withstand before deformation occurrs.

Regards.

[NiceAft]

Seahouse,

Good post! Clear, and well explained. This is one that should be read.


Ray

[beene]

Hi Ray......... as John said......



The way I see it, this boat and trailer should come from the factory with a winch that meets the spec. The manual for the boat says to take the boat out of the water with the ballast tank full once in a while to check for leaks. So by the book, you have an M, full ballast, with motor, + gear, on the trailer, and you pull the whole thing up a launch ramp and out of the water to check for leaks. The only thing holding the boat in the trailer when you do this, that the factory gives you, is the winch on the trailer. The rating on the winch included with the trailer does not even cover an empty M with no ballast, motor, or gear.

I have never pulled out my M full of ballast yet, and still my winch looks the same as yours.

Imagine if it were full of ballast when winch was being bent back like that........

I will be getting a much stronger winch this season.

Ciao

G

[C Striker]

Ray,

I got a 2,000 lb winch from harbor frieght tools for 18 bucks. It has a dual gears and has the same footprint as the old winch, so it bolts on easy. The crank is a bit too long, so I used the 1 from the old winch. I had to use a step bit to drill out the holes to accomodate a 3/8 bolt to attach the strap. I used a #8 strength bolt for the strap so that sucker will not bend. Had to cut it down to about 2 3/8 inch length. That is all the tweaking necessary.

I used it yesterday with good results. The ramp looked like a swarm of bees with all the boats circling to get their turn at the 5 ramps. I winched it to the front stop and headed straight to a parking space to de-rig. Seems I had the trailer in the water too far and I had a huge gap. The winch got rid of all but 2 inches of the gap. I loosened the winch and did the Mac bump in my parking space ( about 15 feet of room ). The Striker moved, but just a hair. That was all I needed tho. From there I was able to winch the bow the whole way to the stopper. I probably cold have winched it the whole way without doin da bump, but I played it safe using the winch the first time. I think next time I'll have the admiral pull the boat out extra slow while I am along side cranking as her stern settles in.

Also, if you're reading this Opie nice to meetcha!

Hope this helps Ray,
Erik

[opie]

Erik,
I'll pm you today.
As for winches, you show me yours and I'll show you mine.
Great to see another Mac out and active. There are others in the Wilmington area, but hard to find on the water.

[C Striker]

Opie,
I got the PM and replied to your G-mail. I tried to PM you back in case my mail got snagged by your spam filter. Seems it may be stuck in my outbox. I haven't had a problem using PM before. I use yahoo mail and the address is basicially my initials followed by my first name. Hopefully that is just enough info for you to check your spam and not too much info to stop this from posting.

Who's on first???? I dunno... third base!!! Weeeooooo ... (slams hat to the floor)

[NiceAft]

I decided that a two thousand pound winch is enough. I purchased this one because I liked the idea of a one piece, fully enclosed, aluminum housing. Because it is held with three bolts, I had to drill two holes to make it fit . The factory winch was held with two.


Ray