Electric winch for hoisting dinghy

I currently hoist my 9ft Caribe RIB aboard using the mast and boom for the steadying sail. I have a small 12 volt ATV winch purchased some years ago from HF, and I'm exploring the possibilities of using it to do the "heavy lifting". My plan so far is to locate the winch in the engine room almost directly below the mast with the hoist cable running in a conduit to deck level. Launching and recovering the dinghy requires the use of two halyards: boom up/down and hook up/down. The electric winch has power-up and power-down but only one drum. The remote control has a convenient plug/receptacle arrangement so it can be removed and stowed away when not in use.

If any forum menbers have done or considered doing something similar, what did you come up with?

Currently using weaver davits...will use same setup to hoist to regular stationary davits...have used it to swing dingy up on dock. Use 4 purchase tackle to hoist boom...

Now it's a lot easier with remote hand switch and winch to do things. Use winch to lower 80 pound 4 stroke onto dingy transom...now a snap.

Good info. What size cable did you guys use to get power to the winch.

The 12V car wire winches work fine for an amazing long time .

No repair , just toss it when it finally dies.

OP, the only drawback to your idea is the cable will bunch up on one side or the other of the spool unless you are in the engine room helping it wind in correctly. I've got the winch pictured on my atv and it works great. It gets wet, muddy and abused and keeps working. Good luck

Do the winches you are looking at have brakes to stop them "unwinding" under load? We have 2 winches mounted on our boom. We use this set up to adjust boom height and raise/lower dinghy. estimated weight is about 650lb, using 2,000lb winches.

healhustler said:

Good info. What size cable did you guys use to get power to the winch.

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I use a separate deep cycle battery. Why run cable for some thing you are use on occation. It most used a couple of minutes. I think the wires for the remote is 10.

healhustler said:

Good info. What size cable did you guys use to get power to the winch.

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For our davit, we have #4 wire from the batteries/solenoid (engine room) to the winch. The winch is a Warn DC1200-CF with a 1.3 hp motor that draws about 50-60 amps. The hoist capacity is rated for 1200 lbs. We lift the dinghy every night and the hoist/motor has never failed us.

I suspect there is a difference between a winch designed to pull an ATV and one designed for overhead lifting.

Before you take this plan too far, check the owners manual for the winch to see what it says about overhead lifting. Without a brake or safety device a stripped gear or such could let the load crash to the floor.

swampu said:

OP, the only drawback to your idea is the cable will bunch up on one side or the other of the spool unless you are in the engine room helping it wind in correctly.

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Sounds like that could be a problem. Does it bunch to one side when there is a steady load on the cable or only when it is slack?

BTW: Thanks to all who have responded so far; I'm taking it all in!

...Before you take this plan too far, check the owners manual for the winch to see what it says about overhead lifting. Without a brake or safety device a stripped gear or such could let the load crash to the floor.

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The Warn DC1200 has an automatic mechanical brake that holds full rated load according to the manufacturer. It is designed as a hoist and is very specific about how it is be mounted.

http://www.warn.com/industrial/hoists/images/793/987356-Product Datasheet-64254-DC1200-12V.pdf

2000 Lb. Electric ATV/UTV Winch with Automatic Load-Holding Brake
BADLAND WINCHES - item#68146
.......
11. Do not use vehicle to pull on the Wire Rope and "assist" the winch.
12. Use as intended only. Do not lift items vertically or use for aircraft purposes.
13. Prevent entanglement. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry, as they can be caught in moving parts. Non-skid footwear is recommended. Wear restrictive hair covering to contain long hair.

Larry M said:

For our davit, we have #4 wire from the batteries/solenoid (engine room) to the winch. The winch is a Warn DC1200-CF with a 1.3 hp motor that draws about 50-60 amps. The hoist capacity is rated for 1200 lbs. We lift the dinghy every night and the hoist/motor has never failed us.

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Larry: Taking into consideration the amp draw of the unit, according to the performance chart you give us the link for, and the length of the cable from engine room to winch, do you have a breaker/on-off or battery switch in the line? Where?

healhustler said:

Larry: Taking into consideration the amp draw of the unit, according to the performance chart you give us the link for, and the length of the cable from engine room to winch, do you have a breaker/on-off or battery switch in the line? Where?

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There's an 80 amp breaker between the batteries and the 80 amp continuous duty solenoid and a 10 amp fuse at the winch control solenoids (up/down). There is also a 10 amp breaker at the main panel for the master on/off.

I use a similar winch but a little larger (4000 lb) on a small s/s davit crane.
To save running wires to the Eng room I installed a seperate battery at the base of the crane and mounted a small solar panel over the winch so that the whole kabang is self sufficient.

Darned if that's not the spiffiest solution I've heard of yet. I have a swinging davit that I'm mounting right now, and I sure like the idea of an independent system like yours. My solar panels are only five feet away, and I've got room for a small one just to charge a separate battery. Short wire run....great idea.

Hey Ben
Howz abouts some pics of your skiff? I like the fendering. Looks like a custom alum tender?

Sailor,
Tinnys are mostly the favoured tender down here in Aus. Mine is an Edge Tracker Lite, bare hull weighs 75 kg and it is 3.7 mts ( 12 ft) long and pretty beamy. Goes like stink with a 15 HP on the back.
They can take a battering and not leak, easy to repair with a bit of epoxy in an emergency, don't come apart in the sun and crocodiles find them harder than inflatables to chew. (Inflatables , teething rings for crocs)
The inflatable tubes around the side are on sail trac and are made by a local co called Air O Float.
They make the boat bloody stable and easier to get in and out of when free diving or just snorkeling around.

Shoalwaters,
I think that's the same motor w planetary gears that is my anchor winch/capstan. Very noisy and not recommended for long periods of operation due to heat buildup. Mine seems to have plenty of power though.

Tidahapah said:

Sailor,
Tinnys are mostly the favoured tender down here in Aus. Mine is an Edge Tracker Lite, bare hull weighs 75 kg and it is 3.7 mts ( 12 ft) long and pretty beamy. Goes like stink with a 15 HP on the back.
They can take a battering and not leak, easy to repair with a bit of epoxy in an emergency, don't come apart in the sun and crocodiles find them harder than inflatables to chew. (Inflatables , teething rings for crocs)
The inflatable tubes around the side are on sail trac and are made by a local co called Air O Float.
They make the boat bloody stable and easier to get in and out of when free diving or just snorkeling around.

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Hey Beno? Do you run a dry stack exhaust mate?

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

Hendo,
Yeah mate dry stack, up thru my cool s/s funnel via a s/s truck muffler that is now over 17 years old and in good condition when I inspected it recently.
Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

Hendo,
Yeah mate dry stack, up thru my cool s/s funnel via a s/s truck muffler that is now over 17 years old and in good condition when I inspected it recently.
Cheers
Benn

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PM sent mate

Ora

Shoalwaters said:

I currently hoist my 9ft Caribe RIB aboard using the mast and boom for the steadying sail. I have a small 12 volt ATV winch purchased some years ago from HF, and I'm exploring the possibilities of using it to do the "heavy lifting". My plan so far is to locate the winch in the engine room almost directly below the mast with the hoist cable running in a conduit to deck level. Launching and recovering the dinghy requires the use of two halyards: boom up/down and hook up/down. The electric winch has power-up and power-down but only one drum. The remote control has a convenient plug/receptacle arrangement so it can be removed and stowed away when not in use.

If any forum menbers have done or considered doing something similar, what did you come up with?

Click to expand...

I would like to know where you bought your hoist and how much do they run?
Thank you very much,

Ora Graham

I am sorry this is the first time to us the forum, I need a hoist to lift my dingy , with the motor it weighs 400 lbs.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard! http://www.harborfreight.com/2500-l...winch-with-wireless-remote-control-61840.html

Seems to be on sale now with a wireless remote no less.
I have a mast and boom lift for the dink BUT two winches (boom/hook). Came with the vessel, no idea the source. The mast is in a tabernacle but has never been down as of yet. I'm planning on building a cradle for it to sit in when lowered. The problem I have is one of the winches is above the boom and interferes with the boom nesting against the mast so I'll have to relocate it somewhere. Your idea of conduit is excellent. Thanks.

bought the same $49 HF ATV winch...bolted it to the underside of the boom, added a group 24, 12V battery at the base of the boom...plan on wiring that battery someday as an emergency battery for electronics...also adding solar charger as of now just throw a car charger on when I use the hoist several time.

I knew that using a block& tackle to raise and lower the boom wasn't the issue...it was moving the boom, steadying the load and keeping the load a given distance from the boom that was important...so the one winch/one drum works for me...

For awhile I thought of using 2 lines with loops and stopper blocks like they have on sailboats and just one winch....I would use the winch where needed (mounted near the base of the mast....stopper the one line, disconnect from the loop and attach to the other line...going back and forth as needed. But I wound up just using a nice 4 part block and tackle with new line on the boom lift so it works well enough.

Just a reminder...the warning on the winch says "not for overhead lifting"...it doesn't have a drum brake/positive engagement....so be careful.

I installed this one. Its 304 stainless. Endurance Marine Stainless Steel Cable Winch — 1.5 HP, 2,000 Lb. Capacity, Model# EMD2000SS | 1,000 - 2,900 Lb. Capacity Winches| Northern Tool + Equipment

Yup, Harbor Freight has a good selection, so does NorthernTool.com.

I was lucky...the galvanized winch cable rusted pretty bad in only a year...the first 20 feet or so that was on the outside of the spool.

Luckily I had been dragging around a really nice piece of stainless hoist cable off an old USCG Helo hoist. One of the guys had already crimped a regular hook onto the cable so now my winch is better than new.