Choosing a Trailer Winch: Beginner’s Guide

Manual or electric? Single speed or two speed? This post covers these options and more.

Choosing a Trailer Winch: Beginner’s Guide

Trailer winches allow you to pull your boat onto the trailer while it is on an inclined launch ramp. Winches mount to a custom winch mount on the trailer tongue, bow stop bracket, or trailer hitch ball using an adapter plate. The reel or pulley holds a cable, rope, or strap 20-50 feet long, and has a clip at the bitter end. By attaching the clamp to the bow eye of the boat, the winch operator can either slide the boat onto the trailer or allow the boat to slide backwards into the water at a controlled rate. We'll walk you through common considerations to find the one that suits you best.

  •         Manual winches for trailer
  •        The environment of your boat
  •         Winch weight capabilities
  •         Single-speed or two-speed levers
  •         Winch straps
  •         Tips on trailer safety

Manual Winches for Trailer

Manual winches double your strength, allowing you to pull a relatively heavy boat against gravity and friction. They also have a ratchet to secure the boat at any point on the trailer so it doesn't slide back into the water, allowing the average person to retrieve a boat that weighs more than a ton using a crank about a foot long and simple gears. Larger models feature a lower gear ratio for greater power acceleration and two speeds for more power.

Your Boat Environment

Do you use your boat in a freshwater or saltwater lake? Is the winch galvanized, zinc-coated, powder-coated, or aluminum? Look at how many hours of salt water exposure the crane is rated to survive.

Winch Weight Capabilities

Winches are rated by their weight capacity, not by boat length. Choose a trailer winch to suit the weight of your boat, motor, and equipment. Heavier and longer boats require stronger winches and longer cables.

The general rule is to choose a winch with a capacity that is at least 3/4 of the total weight of the boat, motor, fuel and gear. This rule varies depending on a number of factors regarding your boat and where you launch.

Do you usually set off on steep inclines? Is your trailer equipped with wood beds covered with carpet instead of rollers? If this is the case, the load on the winch will be higher, and you should choose a winch with a capacity closer to the actual weight of the fully rigged boat. Launching slopes with gentle slopes, or trailers equipped with rollers results in less drag, so you may choose a smaller winch. However, since the difference in price between winch sizes is so small, you can choose a larger winch for about the same cost. We also recommend using Glyde Sliks, EZ Slides, or similar anti-friction pads on your trailer beds, which help with boat sliding.

Most trailers have a standard winch assembly bolt style, so upgrading to a stronger trailer winch is easy if your current winch isn't suitable.

Single Speed Winch or Double Speed Winch

How much rolling resistance is there when your boat is towed? For light boats such as inflatable dinghies and pontoons, a hand winch with a 3:1, 4:1 or 5:1 gear ratio may be all you need. For heavy-duty work, we recommend two-speed levers. Fulton's higher-capacity model of the F2 manual winch gives you fast speed, with a 5:1 gear ratio for quick pulling, and a lower second speed, with a 16.2:1 ratio, for increased mechanical advantage. A 5-to-1 ratio means you turn the handle five times to make the drum turn once.

Winch Straps

Small hand winches designed for lighter boats generally use polypropylene rope or nylon crampons. Polyester straps are also a great choice for their high weight carrying and the fact that they won't scratch the front of your boat.

                                 Winch Straps

Trailer Winch Safety Tips

Trailer winches are not hitching devices. To prevent mishaps, use a bow, fence, and custom tie-downs to secure your boat to the trailer. For bigger boats, add a safety chain to the bow eye.

Make sure you have a secure base and proper leverage when using hand winches. Slips and falls by winch operators and injuries caused by winch handles snapping back are common accidents at a boat ramp.

To avoid chafing the winch line, make sure it does not rub against any sharp edges on the winch rack or trailer. If any spots appear frayed or frayed, replace the winch line immediately with a new rope, harness or cable of the appropriate type, size and strength. Cable life can be extended by lubricating it frequently with a wire rope lubricant so that the cable strands slide against each other with less friction. Lubricating your winch cable will also reduce the number of snags and wear and tear on the cable.

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