How not to get towed.

[ksuderman]

I've always considered the genoa winches to be one of the strongest attachment points on the boat. But after reading this thread I will definitely consider the direction of force and shock loads when attaching anything other than a sheet.

Originally Posted by Jammer

Some marine service personnel are not in the habit of allowing the skipper of a boat they serve to be in charge. I run into it at fuel docks mainly, having never had a commercial tow (no doubt my day will come).

I was under the impression that once the towing company had a line on the boat that they were responsible, ie. their insurance kicks in. That may vary (likely varies?) by jurisdiction. I've been hip-towed a few times and never touched a line; although they always tied off to the cleats (they can't reach the winches without boarding).

Originally Posted by Jammer

Thinking out loud here, I wonder whether part of the problem with towing insurance is that it encourages towing operators to work quickly and wrap up jobs rather than take extra time for which they may not get paid. Perhaps the skipper paying $300 an hour to the towboat is taken more seriously when he says to slow down and be careful.

A TowBoatUS Captain told me he gets paid by the hour and bills from the moment he leaves his dock to the moment he returns, so there is no motivation for them to rush. I had a good chance to chat with him while waiting four hours for a malfunctioning lift bridge to be fixed. He was more than happy to sit and chat on the clock. Especially since the sun was setting and his billable rate doubled!

My gold unlimited towing paid for itself that day.

[Bluechart]

However, they are designed to pull from one direction, certainly not sideways.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Bluechart

However, they are designed to pull from one direction, certainly not sideways.

This applies to some boats, but cockpit winches more normally experience loads from different directions both straight head and sideways. The sheets for different sails will have different leads and the same winches may also be used for halyards, reefing lines, runners etc.

[Bluechart]

When installing winches, it’s important to install per manufacturer recommendations, and face the winch mounting base in the proper direction of the load.

[lo2jones]

Tying up beam to beam was a bad sign…a good lesson for all of us. Often we don’t catch all the red flags until it’s too late. Like the first mate on the tow boat tying up to something questionable…More experienced help would have seen that, or at least not tied it up so tight which might have reduced the stress on the winch.

Good luck with the claim.

Larry

[Montanan]

Recommend that you go for a swim and recover your winch, then all you will need to do is have it properly mounted to your project boat.

Bon voyages.

[hugosalt]

Many (more recent) sheet winches are installed to handle heavy loads from many directions.
Should have been readily apparent that this 50 plus year old set up was not, however
to an inexperienced hand a winch is a winch.
Short of recovering your winch, depth/location? try giving Marine Consignment of Long Island a call 631 647 3628 (I say a call as thinking their website is minimal) however
there is a huge amount of old marine gear in inventory including winches.

[off-piste]

Originally Posted by coldfish

Off came my winch, torn right out of the deck and combing, flew through the air and dropped into the bay.

Yikes. I have some Barlow winches available soon if you're interested. I live in the city. You can have them for free.

[CFS Klopas]

I think that when you accept a tow, the tow skipper is in overall command.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by lo2jones

Tying up beam to beam was a bad sign…

Not sure about that. There's a place and time for everything. I've hip towed disabled vessels before so as to be able to better control them in the marina. I don't see a reason not to do it in favorable conditions.


I more commonly tow from a cleat, or from two cleats using a bridle.

[off-piste]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Not sure about that. There's a place and time for everything. I've hip towed disabled vessels before so as to be able to better control them in the marina. I don't see a reason not to do it in favorable conditions.


I more commonly tow from a cleat, or from two cleats using a bridle.

Agree but in this case that marina is known to be exposed to a significant amount of surge pretty regularly.

[Rightbrainer]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Here's a marine recycler in Portland Maine that has lots and lots of vintage sailboat stuff. Happy hunting.



URL not coming through...Maine Marine Salvage

[nonav]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Perhaps better yet...,Blue Pelican in Alameda has tons of that stuff and if not, shoot a picture to Minney's in Newport Beach.

Funny, I was just thinking Minney’s would be a good place to source the replacement.

Love that place…

You could build a boat with supplies from there, and a good lumber yard!

[nonav]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Recommend that you go for a swim and recover your winch, then all you will need to do is have it properly mounted to your project boat.

Bon voyages.

That would be quite a feat, and likely requires a dive tender, a search grid, and several tanks to accomplish.

I’m trained in search and recovery, have been lucky enough to nearly step on the prize, but that’s rare.

[skipperpete]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties, the winch platform was doomed no matter how carefully you treated it, this is a zoom of your photo of the fracture and that area actually looks like a weld or a brazed joint ( I’m thinking a weld). It’s reasonable to assume the other platform is in similar condition and to make a pair of those out of stainless steel is a fairly easy task for a metal fabricator.... they don’t have to be shiny, go for the brushed or matte look to maintain the character.
I’m still a bit fuzzy about the initial propulsion problem, I would have been inclined to put a bit of time into regaining power. Do you now have a new engine or have you converted her to electric propulsion. [ATTACH]