Turning marathon in narrow fairways or setting the mainsail - many cruising crews find it difficult to operate the winches, some simply lack strength and stamina. Or both got lost on board in old age. Is it for this reason that you buy a smaller boat with less sheet pull? But apart from the hard work on the winches, everything fits. Electric winches would be an option, but an enormous investment - the power packs cost from 2000 euros per unit. If pods are also to be fetched, two to four of them are necessary for most cockpit divisions. In addition, there are power supplies as thick as a finger, perhaps a separate battery bank with charging technology and, on top of that, the costly assembly.
Battery or cable, crank or screwdriver: There are various solutions to make work on the winch easier
Electric winch handles, on the other hand, require almost no installation. Your big advantage: One of these devices is usually sufficient for all winches on board, i.e. sheets, halyards and even the anchor winch. And charterers are not restricted in their choice of ship. A market survey revealed eight test candidates. There are three real e-cranks: the wired fashion from the manufacturer Morea, the Winchrite model from the USA that has been on the market for around ten years and has recently also been available in Europe, and the Ewincher crank from France, first presented five years ago. We also came across three winch adapters that can be used to expand cordless screwdrivers into electric crank aids.
Turning marathon with the concrete genoa: The test stand for the e-cranks