COMMENT
E-BIKES HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD OF CYCLING, SO COULD A NEW WINCH DO THE SAME FOR SAILING?
I don’t see it as cheating and I’ve been surprised at just how openly disappointed some of my friends have been with my recent change in behaviour.
But frankly, I don’t care. The ability to go out and ride 20-30 miles around green lanes and off-road without having to worry about steep inclines or soft, difficult terrain has opened up some superb local areas that I never knew were there. In addition, my wife and I now cycle at the same pace which has brought an end to decades of frustration on both sides. So, it’s simple, I’m an e-bike convert.
Aside from the practical advantages of pedal power on two wheels I’ve also been impressed by the technical aspects that provide assistance rather than straightforward power. As I keep explaining to my non-believer friends, the smart thing is that you can choose how much effort you want to put in by the level of assistance you set the motor at. If you want to raise a sweat and keep your heart rate up just set it on ‘eco’ mode. If you’re just trying to get home the lazy way after a night out, choose ‘turbo’. Whichever you go for you simply ride the bike as normal keeping within a range of speed and pedal pressure as you shift through the gears. And just as with a conventional bike, trying to cycle up a steep hill in too high a gear will see you come to a grinding halt as your legs and the motor say no.
Plenty of you will already be well aware of these benefits, but the reason for mentioning it is that this is precisely how a fascinating new innovative powered winch system works.
The Norwegian Proxdrive Power System is a retrofit electric motor mounted under the deck just like a normal motor for any manually operated winch with a central shaft that is accessible. But, unlike a conventional system this is a 48V DC motor that can power four primary winches all day from a single lithium battery.
The prototype system was fitted to the ClubSwan 50 that belongs to Proxdrive owner and inventor Petter Muren. Since being installed last year Proxflyer and her amateur crew have done plenty of racing and cruising and so they have the numbers to back up their claims. The really clever part is that this is a power-assisted winch system where the winch handle tells the motor how much it should help based on the amount of effort you’re putting in. In other words, it works just like the pedals on an e-bike.
The communication is achieved with an intelligent winch handle with an ‘NFC’ (near field communication) tag that provides automatic
