No matter which brand of winch, it will have a number.

My question is, do these numbers relate to a generic statement of mechanical advantage or are the numbers just model numbers within a brand??

Specifically, is an Andersen 28 two speed ST a more powerful winch than a Barient/Barlow 23 even though the Andersen is somewhat smaller around the base?? They have about the same size drum diameter.

My understanding is that it is an expression of the ratio between no of revs of the handle per unit of line pull. Mechanical advantage will depend on winch handle length as well.

I my memory serves me correctly, Harken use a standard 10" winch handle and calculate their model number as the ratio derived from that. So with a 40ST with:
- a 10" handle will provide a 40:1.
- a 12" handle will generate a 48:1.
I could be wrong, I read this a few years ago.

Go all out and get some of these Cisco! Pontos 4 speed winches, where the 1st two gears are overdrive compared to a traditional winch.
Gears 3 and 4 are your traditional winch gears. Or you can go the other way and gear 3 and 4 are really underdrive.
Awesome line speed in 1st gear, you're fully sheeted after tack in abut 2-3 turns of the winch. This is comparing 70cm of line per rotation, to a more normal 14 cm of line per rotation.
This might give you an idea of line speed for the winch drum diameter at least. Use gear 3 and 4 line speeds of the Grinder winch for a traditional winch comparison.

They would be a blessing for shorthanded as much as racing.

There is a wee problem of them going bankrupt last year before getting picked up by the opposition, but the winches seem to work very well.

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shaggybaxter said..
I my memory serves me correctly, Harken use a standard 10" winch handle and calculate their model number as the ratio derived from that. So with a 40ST with:
- a 10" handle will provide a 40:1.
- a 12" handle will generate a 48:1.
I could be wrong, I read this a few years ago.

Yes, i think 10 inches is the standard to determine power ratio.

So Cisco could work out the gear ratio of his Anderson 28 by the formula

Handle / drum radius x gear ratio = 28

Or 28 / (handle / drum radius) = gear ratio

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FreeRadical said..

shaggybaxter said..
I my memory serves me correctly, Harken use a standard 10" winch handle and calculate their model number as the ratio derived from that. So with a 40ST with:
- a 10" handle will provide a 40:1.
- a 12" handle will generate a 48:1.
I could be wrong, I read this a few years ago.

Yes, i think 10 inches is the standard to determine power ratio.

So Cisco could work out the gear ratio of his Anderson 28 by the formula

Handle / drum radius x gear ratio = 28

Or 28 / (handle / drum radius) = gear ratio

That's a better way to describe it FR.
Its worth noting it appears its always the lowest gear the ratio refers to. Ie: 2nd gear is 40:1 on a 2 speed, not first gear. I really should say the lowest I suppose.

There is an inherent mechanical advantage given by the winch handle, so for a snubber type winch (i.e. just a ratchet) the mechanical advantage is the ratio of the winch handle length to the drum diameter, eg. a drum diameter of 3.33" with a 10" handle applied to it gives a 3:1 power advantage.

Forgetting about winch handle length, for a geared winch it would logically follow that the number of turns of the input spindle required to effect one turn of the drum would be the mechanical advantage of the winch.

I guess I am answering my own question here.

It also logically follows that larger yachts require larger diameter winch drums due to needing to haul in greater lengths of line.

However my original question was regarding the numbering of winches and does it refer to it's mechanical advantage.

Is there a definitive answer to that??

Those Pontos winches look mighty sexy and no doubt come with an equally sexy price tag.

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cisco said..
There is an inherent mechanical advantage given by the winch handle, so for a snubber type winch (i.e. just a ratchet) the mechanical advantage is the ratio of the winch handle length to the drum diameter, eg. a drum diameter of 3.33" with a 10" handle applied to it gives a 3:1 power advantage.

Forgetting about winch handle length, for a geared winch it would logically follow that the number of turns of the input spindle required to effect one turn of the drum would be the mechanical advantage of the winch.

I guess I am answering my own question here.

It also logically follows that larger yachts require larger diameter winch drums due to needing to haul in greater lengths of line.

However my original question was regarding the numbering of winches and does it refer to it's mechanical advantage.

Is there a definitive answer to that??

Those Pontos winches look mighty sexy and no doubt come with an equally sexy price tag.

No Cisco. The number/ mechanical advantage is the line pull per revolution. The bigger winches are more highly geared so that a single handle revolution has a smaller line pull than the smaller winch. The larger dia drum is not to pull line in faster but to provide more length of line per wrap to increase holding power. The larger winches are usually 3 speed. eg my primaries are 64=3 Harkens while Halyard winches are 48=2 Harkens. The 3rd speed is really an overdrive used to get the sheet in quickly, Engage overdrive and rotate clockwise for 2 revs of handle per winch revolution. Anticlockwise automatically disengages overdrive for gear 2, then rotate clockwise again for gear 1 which takes about 17 revs of handle per drum revolution.
On the electric winch topic I intend to manufacture my own electric winch conversion kit owing to as Shaggy said "the price tag" about $6k for 48-2,S.