Worm Gear Winch Recommendation for RIB Inflatable Dingy on a Yacht

Question:

Looking to tilt up a 10foot RIB inflatable dinghy on the swim grid of old trawler yacht. Dinghy, motor, and contents weighs around 200 lbs. Floating with one side attached to swim grid just pulling other side vertical by a rope is more than one person can do, struggle with two. First third of haul the crux, then easier. Total hoist-point travel about 4. Favoring the DL 11001 winch because of versatility of using either horizontal only area available hand crank about 300 revolutions 3-4 minutes or a cordless drill less than a minute. Have a new Bosch 18v Lithium Ion 3/8foot cordless drill/driver that claims 400 inch lb of torque. Will this get the job done? How many cycles on a charge? Or will I maybe need to buy a dedicated 1/2inch impact driver with more than 1000 inch pound of torque? I think Id prefer using a 2inch strap, can this model be modified to do that? I fear cable is ignorant early and will get mean over time, how do you feel about high-strength low-stretch rope. maybe even 3/8? Presume mechanical advantage preserved by installing only bit more than needed, say 6? If this model with hex head not available in Canada, do you think possible to remove standard handle on another model, screw original nut upside down far as possible, apply Locktite, seize a second nut tight against it to satisfactorily/safely serve same function as hex head with drill use but then less readily exchanged for handle? How corrosion resistant would you say this model will be living 4foot from hostile ocean 6 months a year? Thanks for awesome website and any additional help you provide. Im trying to order what I want/need sight unseen. Havent ruled out using a small 12v ATV winch, but hoped to avoid the wiring and spare the burden on my start and house batteries.

asked by: Greg S

Helpful Expert Reply:

For a worm gear winch that you can use with a strap instead of a cable I recommend # DL11002. You could then use strap # DL24242. You will need to add the hex shaft, # DL406102, in place of the standard shaft to use a variable speed drill with the winch.

Worm gear winches are slow and you are bound to get tired moving the load even a few feet so a drill is the way to go. Your 18 volt drill should be more than enough to lift the load. I do not recommend an impact driver because it is likely to rattle the winch too much and could damage it.

How many cycles you will get depends on how long the drill has to run and how much charge it has. A full charge should last you several times up and down but I do recommend keeping an extra charged battery with you just in case.

This winch is meant to be used with the strap so you would not use any type of rope unless it is wire rope on a winch that accepts wire rope.

You can add the hex shaft to any Dutton-Lainson worm gear winch so you will not have to modify the winch to be able to use a drill. Modifying the winch will void the warranty and could result in failure of the winch.

The winch itself is black powder coated steel so it has some protection but you will want to make sure to keep it clean and re-painted or touched up if it gets scratched. I think a hand winch like DL11002 is your best bet more so than an electric winch for the same reasons that you mentioned.

Remember that winches are meant to move and hoist but not hold a load indefinitely. To suspend the load lift it into place first and then use chain, rope, or straps to secure the load then release the winch connection.