I want to mount a 12 volt winch on my trailer to help raise/lower the mast, and pull the cat up onto the trailer out of the water.
1. How (weld or u-bolt) and where did you mount the winch to the trailer?
2. What winch do you recommend?
3. Do you use a snatch block up high on the mast support to get a better pull angle? Is it permanent or removable?
4. Did you permanently wire it to your tow vehicle (with disconnects) Or use battery clips?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Bob
Edited by klozhald on Oct 01, 2016 - 06:54 PM.
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
I don't have an electric winch but I think mounting a manual is about the same.
1) About waist high on the mast support. If you bolt it on you can get it off in the field if you need to replace it.
2) The best you can afford with a manual backup handle. Because if it fails your screwed.
3) Yes. My mast support telescopes up to about 10'-0". I have a keel roller up there that I put the strap from the winch through. It's permanent but a temporary snatch block for a wire or rope winch would serve.
4) If I had an electric winch I would use Anderson connectors so I could connect it to the truck or a separate battery.
The thing about an electric winch is you won't be able to feel the rig if an undue strain occurs. On my rig I can feel if something is binding within one turn of the crank. Not that I haven't considered an electric winch but I have a 15' SC an electric winch would be overkill.
been using electric winches for years to raise/lower the mast and pull the cat onto the trailer.
i bought a 2500lb winch with wireless remote control from harbor freight and it's made hauling my cat onto the trailer a piece of cake! i mounted it on the forward mast support and power it with a Superwinch wiring kit that i wired back to my engine. it comes with plenty of wire length. i only connect it to the battery when i'm using it.
I would be very hesitant to use a stock trailer mast support / winch to step or drop the mast
A gin pole uses a lever to reduce the forces needed to step a mast - (we just stepped a 45' f31R mast with a 8' jin pole and hand trailer winch - try doing that witout a jin pole ....)
the main goal of the pole is to reduce the "weight" of the mast by means of a fulcrum and lever to "increase the applied force in order to lift a heavy load"
You can use a lever to increase the applied force in order to lift a heavy load. Class 1 or Class 2 levers are used to increase the output force.
Lever force equation
Assuming the resistive friction force at the fulcrum is negligible, the relationship between the input or effort and force on the load is dependent on the ratio of the arms of the lever, according to the equation:
FO/FI = dI/dO
where
FO is the output force or the load (can also be the weight lifted)
FI is the effort or input force
dI is the length of the effort or input arm
dO is the length of the load or output arm
Note: FO/FI is also the force mechanical advantage of the lever.
(See Force Mechanical Advantage for more information.)
Derivation
The derivation of this equation starts with the fact that work is a product of the force times the distance moved or displacement:
WI = FIDI
WO = FODO
where
WI is the work done by the effort or input work
FI is the effort or input force
DI is the input distance the effort moves
and
FO is the output force or the load (can also be the weight lifted)
DO is the output distance the load is moved
WO is the work done by the load or output work
According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, the output energy or work equals the input work:
WO = WI
Thus:
FODO = FIDI
DO/DI = FO/FI
Applying this relationship to the distance equation (DO/DI = dO/dI) for levers, you get:
FO/FI = dI/dO
(See Increasing Distance Moved with a Lever for more information.)
Application
How much effort is required to lift a load of 20 kilograms when the effort arm is 10 meters and the load arm is 1 meter?
Start by solving FOdO= FIdI for FI:
FI = FOdO/dI
Substitute in values:
FO = 20 kg
dO = 0.5 m
dI = 2 m
FI = 20*(0.5)/2 = 5 kg push required to lift the 20 kg weight.
Summary
You can use a Class 1 or Class 2 lever to increase the force pushing on the load, according to where the fulcrum is located. To increase the force on the load, the length of the effort arm of the lever must be greater than the length of the load arm.
The equation for the forces relates to the force mechanical advantage of the lever. The force equation is:
FO/FI = dI/dO
From the equation, you can determine an unknown force or length.
Love it, this is the kind of crazily detailed answers we got on the hobielist back in the '90's when most of the members were engineers and pilots.
My version: The gin pole is a lever that makes it easier to raise the mast.
I agree about not attaching a power winch directly to the mast support where the hand winch is attached on most catamaran trailers. Most stock trailers have a pretty weak mast support, they are only designed to be something to support the weight of the mast (downward) and don't have much strength when pulled back towards the boat.
I've only seen a couple of successful power winch installs and they had a custom very strong mast support and the power winch was mounted to the main frame of the trailer and not to the support.
That's all very impressive. The gin pole picks up the lift line so instead of pulling straight down the mast you have a usable angle to lift or lower the mast. I do the same thing with a tall mast support. How many people do you imagine can or will go through all the above calculations before they come up with a mast raising rig? From an engineering standpoint it's the right thing to do. Instead of all that calculation show us what the load is at the mast attachment, the turn at the gin pole, the turning block and winch for the 45' mast you raised.
-- '82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T --
I have an EZ-LOADER trailer and the mast support has bracing on it going from the mast support to the tongue of the trailer, I assume it came this way from the factory as it looks original. I would like to add a small hand crank winch just for help in loading the boat, for now, I raise the mast by hand.
-- Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin --
I had a gusset welded on my mast support down at the base. The mast support leans forward on my trailer. I had allowed for a cable from the top of the support to the tongue but found I didn't need it. Two of the guys I sail with trail turned around. One uses a gin pole with the lift line secured to whatever fixed point is handy at the ramp. The other goes Iwo Jima style with a person on belay with the jib halyard out front. Once he gets the mast to shoulder height the belay line has a usable angle and the guy out front can help pull up.
The thing is every powerboat trailer I have ever seen has a winch on a winch post at waist height. They winch on some heavy boats. If you led your lift line down to the tongue, through a snatch block and up to the gin pole you wouldn't be putting on more strain than you would for recovering the boat. All the mast supports I've encountered are just a taller winch post.
-- '82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T --
I like the idea of the harbor freight ATV winch. They sell two model numbers of the same unit, and one has a lag in the wireless controller that lets it run for a second or two after you release the button. Not good if you have snagged something while raising the mast. Also, to use this winch with the four roller fairlead included, you have to also purchase the mounting plate from Harbor Freight. I like the bolt (vs weld) idea.
Wireless power control lets you be one of the people controlling the swing of the mast from the side or back of the boat as it goes up. You can also look for potential snags.
I envision mounting the winch at the base of the mast support facing up, and using a removable snatch block at the top of the support to send the cable back to the boat. The mast support will be strengthened with a support that leads from pretty high on the mast support to the front of the trailer tongue. This may be standing rigging cable and u-bolts. This will work well for loading the cat on the trailer, but raising and lowering the mast will clearly require a gin pole.
If feels dumb writing this, but I have a problem paying more for the wiring kit than the winch. I found a 20 foot set of 6 ga copper wire jumper cables online, with which I could make a permanent 2-wire harness, using the proper connectors and a circuit breaker. If left connected, the winches continue to draw a bit of power, so disconnects are a must.
To leave the winch on the trailer, it will need a waterproof, trailerable cover. This I can fashion from Top Gun material or something similar.
Thanks everyone for your advice and photos.
If you haven't jumped in here and have something to add, please do.
If you disagree, let 'er rip!
I have no ego about asking for advice.
All of it valuable.
Bob
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
My objection to this would be the possibility of immersing the winch when launching or recovering. Having the winch facing up would allow the most debris and water to fall into the winch.
Doesn't the straight aft pull exert the most leverage on the base of the winch post?
-- '82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T --
i am not an engineer (nor trying to be argumentative) i would hypothesize the higher the winch is up the post changes the location of the effort / strain
I.E. ceteris paribus...
if you have a 6' post and place the winch (or block) at the very top the post will fail (bend) in the middle
if you have a 6' post and place the winch (or block) at the base of post the post will fail at the base (or attachment point)
assuming 3' is "straight aft"it will fail in the middle (1.5')
you stated that "heavy boats are pulled up the trailer via a winch on a post"... That's a floating boat... doesn't matter how much the boat weighs (to a point) if it is floating...
no one is pulling a powerboat up a beach or onto a trailer using a hand winch
I own a HF BadLands 2500 lb. ATV winch - it has the WORST duty cycle rate (5%) I have ever heard of and due to this , it works for about 45 seconds of use (pulling my 5.5 on a trailer in my yard (with a trailer dolly/wheels attached to the tongue) before going into thermal shutdown for 15 - 20 minutes
"This Winch with a 5% duty cycle at its
maximum load must be allowed to rest for at least
14 minutes, 15 seconds after every 45 seconds of
continuous operation. Failure to carefully observe
duty cycle limitations can easily over-stress a
Winch contributing to premature Winch failure."
Holy crap.
Thanks for the heads up.
45 seconds at about 10 feet per second (with 500 lb load rating implied in their chart) is 7.5 feet of travel.
I could neither raise the mast nor pull the boat up on trailer in 7.5 feet, then have to wait 14 minutes to continue.
Even at no load and 13.5 feet per second, the task may not be done when it cuts out. Hopefully the load lock works during shutdown.
Even with this short operating cycle, it may be enough to get the mast mostly upright, and the cat on the four rollers, just not a completed job in either case. Finishing the job manually after the help through the hard part is better than what I am doing now, but that is too many maybes. I will investigate a better duty cycle if I am going to put the money out for this project.
Thanks MN3!
Bob
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
I know a few people on this forum use this (or similar model) winch to pull their cats out of the water, or up a bank and seem to have little or no "duty cycle" issues
The 1 time i tried to use the winch ...
I was goofing around with it for a little bit prior to use with no load but was running it to "cleanly" reeve the cable
when i did hook it up to the trailer just a few min later (not giving it much time to rest..) it was not a "clean" (straight) pull, and the fairlead was not in place, and i was having issues so the loads were not constant..
I would guesstimate i was able to move the boat/trailer about 50' before it shut down
This was in the middle of summer here in fla (aka the sun) and it was hot and muggy ... i am sure that all added to the ridiculously poor results i had
Agreed.
A gin pole can be mounted on the mast itself, or anywhere between the mast and winch, adding favorable leverage to the situation.
So gin poles come in a myriad of lengths, configurations, and applications.
Some have pulleys for the lifting line, some have yolks that simply lift the mast into a more favorable position.
I have found a marine winch that has a favorable run cycle and speed. Doing further research now, will update in a bit.
Edited by klozhald on Oct 08, 2016 - 08:29 PM.
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
I was just trying to figure out what I was missing there. I'm glad you pointed that duty cycle issue. I'm not planning to go electric but it's good info to have
What am I missing? Isn't 10 feet per second for 45 seconds equal to 450 feet?
Ah, I looked at the chart. It's ft per minute, not second
Yeah, my bad.
Thank you for the correction. :)
-- Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold --
I mounted a version of a gin pole that's commercially available on my P16 last year. It works fine but in the end I found it's easier for me to raise the mast single handed. With a little practice it works no problem.
On my P19 (and possibly also on the P18-2) there's a new problem b/c of the 90degree mast rotation on this specific model so the forestay when connected to the winch line runs at an angle to the mast in the horizontal plane which induces a strong pull to the side. My initial trial with the e-winch failed for this reason and the mast went sideways over my head. I learned a couple of things though: A) it's quite a hazardous procedure..... B) as a few mentioned there's a lot of stress on material, wires and load BUT the cheap HF e-winch should work if I pick up a good fraction of the lifting load when supporting the vertical mast movement.
I am not sure whether the pull to the side can be successfully countered when the mast goes up further next time. I made the mistake not to mount the tramp with a ladder set up by the rear beam to get to that part. I doubt bungee cords will do the trick. Maybe a gin pole would help. I am not quite done with testing my initial set up. More after my shoulder has recovered from the tweaking...
Maybe a better solution is just to get a newer style boat with a carbon mast...and avoid any possible accidents at the trailer parking lot?
Marek, are you stabilizing the mast by tying the trapeze wires to the corners of the front beam? I would think that forming a triangle using 2 trap wires to the front beam, then raising using another trap wire or the forestay might allow for the mast to start upward on its side and rotate to the straight position as the mast is raised. Not sure if the Prindle mast has a pin to capture the mast ball.
Tom, that's the way I have it on the P16, there's a bungee on each forward trap wire tied to the forward beam. I have not tested this yet on the P19 but may consider it next time I get around to testing the set up more. It's probably worth adding anyway, there's really no downside.
The mast won't rotate while raising since it's secured via a pin to a bracket at the mast base.
Marek, are you stabilizing the mast by tying the trapeze wires to the corners of the front beam? I would think that forming a triangle using 2 trap wires to the front beam, then raising using another trap wire or the forestay might allow for the mast to start upward on its side and rotate to the straight position as the mast is raised. Not sure if the Prindle mast has a pin to capture the mast ball.
I can get a pic of my setup, I use the trap wires to to pull the mast up.The winch has a remote.I set the mast on the base ball with the other end on a 6 to 8 ft ladder.The mast support on the trailer has a telescoping inner piece to get the angle right. I get on the tramp and use the remote to lift the mast helped by me keeping it centered.I can do the p19 and B-lion mast solo this way.Cat has to face into the wind.
-- Carl
Dart 18x2
Nacra 5.8
Acat
Windrider Rave x2 for sale --
be great if you could post a video pulling up the mast on the P19 for us...
I can get a pic of my setup, I use the trap wires to to pull the mast up.The winch has a remote.I set the mast on the base ball with the other end on a 6 to 8 ft ladder.The mast support on the trailer has a telescoping inner piece to get the angle right. I get on the tramp and use the remote to lift the mast helped by me keeping it centered.I can do the p19 and B-lion mast solo this way.Cat has to face into the wind.
I'm in need of a system as well ..I've got a 1986 P19 & am following this thread. Im vertically challenged at 5"4 & have a bad back. I've got an EZ up gin pole but haven't tried it yet.
had our first sail with it last Wed but had plenty of help to get the mast up.
Like Marekli , the P19 mast is rotated 90 degrees & pinned at the mast base but pulling from the fore stay or trap wire seems like it would put on a side load.
I've thought about using two trap wires & wrapping one around the back side so it comes around the mast so it would be pulled from both sides but I'm afraid it would slide down the mast a bit & scratch it up
Can't wait to see Carl's video.. thanks for doing this!
My name's Carl as well
1986 Prindle 19
Nacra 450
O'Day Javelin
I agree, the rotated mast on the Prindle 19 throws quite a wrench in the mix.... when I initially tested it, it didn't seem a huge problem when the mast was further down. I wonder how that goes though when the mast is further up since the support person loses leverage as he walks it up on the tramp to the forward beam. It may all come down to following a simple, safe and sound protocol with checks and balances...maybe it takes a few practice runs with a helper before doing it at a busy parking lot.
I'm in need of a system as well ..I've got a 1986 P19 & am following this thread. Im vertically challenged at 5"4 & have a bad back. I've got an EZ up gin pole but haven't tried it yet.
had our first sail with it last Wed but had plenty of help to get the mast up.
Like Marekli , the P19 mast is rotated 90 degrees & pinned at the mast base but pulling from the fore stay or trap wire seems like it would put on a side load.
I've thought about using two trap wires & wrapping one around the back side so it comes around the mast so it would be pulled from both sides but I'm afraid it would slide down the mast a bit & scratch it up
Can't wait to see Carl's video.. thanks for doing this!
My name's Carl as well
1986 Prindle 19
Nacra 450
O'Day Javelin
OK here we go first time video.I have used this setup on the P19 also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HCa_zn3BB8Edited by onekiwi on Oct 29, 2016 - 01:10 PM.
Looks like you got it figured out, do you think that winch will be ok exposed to the elements all the time?
What is your boat? The video says "B-Line" is it the B-Class B-Lion in your sig? Does it fold like this? Always thought that was a good solution to wide boats, but how hard is it to do?
I got around the hassel of attaching the forstay bridle by making the connections at the bow chain plates. Granted it's two connections but their right at waist level and you're not trying to hold anything up while making the shackle. I dig the rig.
-- '82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T --
Hey Damon yes it is the b-lion, actually the folding thing is a pain in the butt, way too much work!.We have it on a trailer assembled at the moment and tow it a half mile to the lake to sail it. Works out good as once you get it to the beach all you have to do is throw the mast up and go sailing.Will get a pic of it on the beach.The winch is held on a plate i welded to the trailer upright so i can take it off and fit it to any boat I have.
-- Carl
Dart 18x2
Nacra 5.8
Acat
Windrider Rave x2 for sale --
I got around the hassel of attaching the forstay bridle by making the connections at the bow chain plates. Granted it's two connections but their right at waist level and you're not trying to hold anything up while making the shackle. I dig the rig
Yup it can be a problem getting the pins in sometimes,your idea sounds good, maybe next time around I will get three hands haha
-- Carl
Dart 18x2
Nacra 5.8
Acat
Windrider Rave x2 for sale --