For many years there was little development in new winches, but that has changed recently with several brands announcing new and improved ranges.
Spar and deck hardware manufacturer Seldén has a new line of both manual and electric winches that offer a number of advantages over existing products.
One important advance, for instance, is that the self tailer and feeder are designed to make it possible to pull in slack with a sheet already in the self tailer jaws and the winch handle in place. This speeds up tacking and makes it safer when sailing with inexperienced crew. It will be a game changer for many.
Asymmetric grip pattern
The drums have also been redesigned with vertical ribs in an asymmetric pattern. These are excellent for grip, without creating the damage to a rope that can be caused by a rough pattern on the drum. The asymmetric positioning is also important, as any line under load will become slightly dented where it rests over a rib.
If ribs are evenly spaced all the dents will simultaneously jump to the next rib and it won’t be possible to ease the line smoothly. However, even if it initially looks odd to the eye, the asymmetric ribs provide an equally good grip and a smooth ease of the line.
Afrustration with many electric winches is they are slow at hauling in a line that’s not under tension.
Seldén’s E-series electric range therefore has three speeds, with one geared to rapidly haul in slack, before switching to the regular two speeds. It’s a neat idea with obvious benefits, including quicker mainsail hoisting, faster tacking of headsails and more rapid sheeting of a Code 0 or asymmetric spinnaker.
The whole range has 42V motors, which may seem strange given even large yachts rarely run at more than 24V. However, it means the motor assembly is more compact, saving space below dec
