Recommended Winch for 6,000 Pound Boat on Trailer with Wooden Bunks

Question:

From what I am reading this winch appears to be acceptable to use for my boat trailer. My boat is a 26foot Carver Monterey Cruiser that weighs approximately 6000 lbs. and more if the 100 gallon fuel tank is full plus the trailer has four carpeted wooden bunks. Is my assumption correct to use this winch?

asked by: Douglas R

Expert Reply:

Generally speaking, boat-size-to-winch capacity is 2 to 1, meaning the capacity of the winch you are using should at least be 50 percent of your boat's weight. However, this ratio will be reduced if you are winching a longer distance or if the trailer, like yours, has carpeted wooden bunks. In your particular case, the ratio will be closer to 1 to 1.

With this in mind, the Fulton XLT Fully Enclosed 2 Speed Trailer Winch # F142425 referenced in your question, which has a capacity of 3,200 pounds, might be a bit under-rated. If you stay with the carpeted wooden bunks on your trailer, you will likely need a winch that has closer to a 1 to 1 ratio. We do not currently have a standard boat winch available with this type of load capacity.

For this reason, I actually recommend adding roller bunks like the Dutton-Lainson # DL21741 to your trailer. These can attach directly to your existing bunks and will make loading and unloading much easier. You will just want to make sure you get rollers for all the bunks that your boat touches. Each set is rated at 3,000 pounds so you will need to double up the rollers on each side to give you a combined capacity of 6,000 pounds.

Once installed, the above-mentioned Fulton XLt Winch will work great using the standard 2 to 1 ratio.

I have attached a couple video demonstrations on the products mentioned and an article on hand winches that you might find helpful.

expert reply by: Chris R