Folding winch handle?

[Connemara]

Anybody have any experience wth these?

https://easysea.org/

They are pricy but a very neat idea, if they live up to their billing.

Connemara

[Adelie]

The Uma folks have them.

Not clear if they really like them or are being nice to a supplier that gave them free stuff.

[pcmm]

for $300 per handle...no thank you.

[christianbarner]

I bought one at the beginning of this past season -- although I think the price was just under $200 at the time. Very happy with it. It came with a winch cover though the cover is a bit cheesy. The handle itself is extremely well made and I've never had any problems. If I bought a second one, I'd never remove them from the winches as the only time I move this one is from one side of the boat to the other.

[dfelsent]

Ok I’ll bite.
Looks like a great idea. And well executed.
But.
For me not what I want.
For the a bit more than same price I get two handles and two pockets. I can put the handle in and out with one hand easily and teach my crew to do the same.
Plus I have six winches in the cockpit that get used regularly.
And I often stand on the main jib winches to reach the main cover.
If I had a straight up modern day sailor ala a Morris, Hood, Alerion or other it could be a really nice simplifying concept.
I’m Just not sure I am the target market.

[Muaddib1116]

Originally Posted by christianbarner

If I bought a second one, I'd never remove them from the winches as the only time I move this one is from one side of the boat to the other.

I think this is basically how Dan and Kika on Uma use theirs. They've had them for a couple years now, but I'm not sure they've ever really discussed them.

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Plus I have six winches in the cockpit that get used regularly.
And I often stand on the main jib winches to reach the main cover.
If I had a straight up modern day sailor ala a Morris, Hood, Alerion or other it could be a really nice simplifying concept.

I agree, these sound like a great idea for a boat that sails mostly on a single set of winches.

[psk125]

Even folded up it still looks quite capable of snagging lines and tripping people stepping over it - it sticks up a good ways, from the pictures. You also need to unfold it before the winch can be used. A standard winch handle can also snag lines and trip people stepping over it. If you leave a standard handle in the winch though, you don't have to do anything but grab it to start using it. And the standard handles are a lot cheaper.

[Orion Jim]

Another product purported to solve a problem which doesn’t really exist....brilliant marketing.

[Tillsbury]

They seem very small to me, claim to be 8" effective length.

Don't get one without trying a onetouch winch handle first
https://www.harken.co.nz/productdeta...789&taxid=7748

These are just fabulous, so easy to put on and off one handed and really light, but also full sized. I never use the other winch handles on the boat at all.

[Flcapt]

The harken one touch is really nice, but I have found the locking mechanism doesn't play well with every brand of winch. So make sure they lock securely on your winches before you invest. The star drive that we all think of as a standard seems to very a little by brand. So it's not a Harken thing. Every once in awhile I come across winch and handle combinations that acquire right together. Hard to insert or remove, or to easy to remove. It's worse on boats that have been upgraded with different brands of winches, so one handle is not perfect everywhere. Electric winches are even more finnikey.

[gonesail]

big mass on top of the winch. solves one problem and creates another.

[The Yacht Rigger]

So far we've been really happy with the Flipper handle. Some clients are actually using them for racing. The ability to uncoil line from the winch without having to remove the handle is huge, and it really does fold up almost instantaneously once you're used to it.

Zero failures, and we've put them through their paces. Most people are buying them in pairs so they can just leave them in their primary winches.

[Drinky Crow]

+ this guy uses them....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOjhyR1zhio

[bergius]

We’ve had them for a bit over a year now, and they’re nice. Saw them in use by our dock neighbour at our winter berth. Previously there wasn’t really any good place to keep loose winch handles in the cockpit in a way that was easily accessible.

Our boat only has two cockpit winches, which we make work with some creative rope clutch placement. For example, here is the starboard boom preventer line (which doubles as the Parasailor tack line):



The handles only come off for the annual winch maintenance.

Only slight downside is a bit of a learning curve for guest sailors. Oh, and we need to turn the handles sideways for the cockpit enclosure to fit over them.

[tmcdonagh]

I second @Bergius' experience. I have a number on key winches throughout the boat. for general trimming of sails, they work quite nicely. In high torque, speed related events, the unit can sometime inadvertently fold causing delays in furling. Overall, I feel they beat high priced handles that jump out of your hands like a deep sea diver!