Which Winch Should I Use to Pull a Small Sailboat out of the Water and Across Sandy Beach
Question:
I keep a small sailboat on a dolly on a beach by my house. I've also attached a picture of the boat on the dolly snugged into the rack. The boat plus dolly probably weights 400-450 lbs, and the dolly rolls well over the sand. For storage, the whole thing sits on a wooden rack about 50foot from the water theres a slight incline from the water up to the wooden rack. What kind of winch would you recommend to haul the dolly across the sand to the wooden rack? Would it be better to attach the winch to the wooden rack or the dolly? The wooden rack is on the ground so I was wondering if I would need a worm gear so the handle would have enough clearance from the ground, but it also seems like that would be very slow. Maybe mount the winch on its side? Will a winch work in that position, or does the axle of the drum need to be parallel to the ground? Any suggestions welcome!
asked by: Peter E
Expert Reply:
As much as I'd love to recommend using something cool like an electric ATV winch similar to the Bulldog Utility Winch # BDW15008 , I think you'd be well served going with the Dutton-Lainson Hand Winch # DL10974 . This is a worm gear hand winch that has a 2000-lb capacity. One of the things I love about this winch is that the loop drive lets you crank the winch with a power drill if you've got a cordless drill or an electrical outlet down by where you're storing it.
To mount this winch, I recommend mounting it to the wooden platform you dock the boat on so that you won't have to be concerned with the wooden planks breaking if you were to mount it on the dolly and latch up to the platform. Since this winch doesn't come with a cable, you'll need 7/32" wire rope at least 50' long similar to the Hand Winch Cable # DL24045 to use in the spool.
Products Referenced in This Question
Bulldog Winch Utility Winch - Wire Rope - 2,000 lbs
- Electric Winch
- Trailer Winch
- 1-Stage Planetary Gear
- 1.0 HP
- 1001 - 2000 lbs
- 21 - 30 lbs
- Slow - 0 to 4 fpm
- Plug-In Remote
- Wire Rope
- Bulldog Winch
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Dutton-Lainson Hand Winch - Worm Gear - Loop Drive - 2,000 lbs
- Trailer Winch
- Brake Hand Winch
- Utility Winch
- Heavy Duty
- Loop Drive Crank
- Worm Gear Winch
- Wire Rope
- Dutton-Lainson
more information >
Hand Winch Cable with Safety Hook 7/32" Diameter x 50' Long - 2,500 lbs.
- Accessories and Parts
- Trailer Winch
- Cables and Straps
- 7/32 Inch Diameter
- 2500 lbs
- Wire Rope
- 50 Feet Long
- Dutton-Lainson
more information >
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Dutton-Lainson Hand Winch - Worm Gear - Loop Drive - 2,000 lbs
- Trailer Winch
- Brake Hand Winch
- Utility Winch
- Heavy Duty
- Loop Drive Crank
- Worm Gear Winch
- Wire Rope
- Dutton-Lainson
more information >
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Peter E.
6/23/2020
A Follow up question: it may be difficult to mount the winch to the wood. I am thinking it would be great to attach the winch to a metal square tube (i.e., square cross section) that I could brace under the side rails. I'm thinking the direction of pull woudl be perpindicular to the square tube. Is there a good way to secure the winch to a square tube? It doesn't seem like the hole pattern woudl be a good fit for running a square tube perpindicular to the pull direction.