chrysler 26 electric winch for swing keel

caz · Post by **caz** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:12 pm

I'm new to this site and I apologize if this subject has been covered, but, have any of you considered, or know of anyone that replaced the keel winch with an electric winch?
Caz

hp18carr · Post by **hp18carr** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:40 pm

Can't say I've heard this point brought up before and being one of the lesser stars in this universe of Chrysler knowledge... I'll leave the discussion on the matter to those who actually know what they are talking about. However this being your first post welcome to the forum and as always... photos please.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

John Stahl · Post by **John Stahl** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:18 pm

I have never thought about using an electric wench. You may have a size problem, what would you do if you had no power or it broke down? Could you hand crank it if you need to? It would be nice to get rid of the handle in the cabin the control could be in the cockpit. I like the idea.

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:14 pm

I love the idea however am a firm believer in "keep it simple" concept.
It will be interesting to see if anyone has done it and how they did it!

Scott

Windward · Post by **Windward** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:20 am

I'm pretty sure that most PHRF racing rules prohibit them, but that's not likely the concern. The Seaward 32, and I think the newest model 25, use an electric winch to lift the keel vertically. It certainly would be convenient to be able to adjust draft, or helm balance, from the cockpit. One critical issue is how to know when the keel's all the way up, or down. You'd not want the winch to keep cranking when the keel's all the way up, or unspool the cable. While hand cranking the winch it's easy to tell when it's all up or fully unloaded.

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:17 am

Also I think the South Coast 26 had an electric winch that raised and lowered a fin keel with a bulb.

Rigging a limit switch would be the trick, you might could use a current sensing device to stop the raising of the keel, once the winch strains a bit after the keel is up the limiter would cut off. Not sure what would work when lowering the keel to full extention.

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:25 am

Hello, and welcome. I too have given some thought to an electric winch in my c22. She has a great mounting location pretty much built in. A good qualty 2000lb winch can be had for not much more than around $50.00. I think the run time/ travel issue could be overcome by use of a couple of limit swithces or as simple as a marking the cable. Either way, watching the action I think would be a must. As stated before, the real concern would be a practical manual back up system.

caz · Post by **caz** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:56 am

I also believe in the "kiss" school of thought, especially on a sailboat. Do they make an electric winch with a manual crank that can be put on if needed and removed? I use my keel alot to feel my way through some of the skinny water on the ICW, especially in Georgia where the ditch is not very well marked.
Caz

hp18carr · Post by **hp18carr** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:30 am

Caz

As a side note if feeling your way through skinny water on the ICW is getting to be a bother, check around your neck of the woods for a good size lake. A change up for a time want hurt. If your plans bring you close to Wilmington on the ICW at any time let me know.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

Capt. Bondo · Post by **Capt. Bondo** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:42 am

The PO installed a electric winch on Happy Place, and I like it.
I have wondered about what to do if I had power or winch issues, and I figured I would need to handle it the same as if the cable broke.
I have the cable marked every foot so I know the position of the keel.

Lowering the keel is easy because the sound of winch will change when it's unloaded.
Rasing you need to pay attention to the markers on the cable, or you could cause some real damage to the keel pocket, floor when the winch is mounted.

caz · Post by **caz** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:15 am

Terrence
No bother, all part of the big trip. My wife and I have cruised our c26 for 6 summers from Georgetown SC, to Ft. Pierce Fl. which is where she is currently. We've explored lots of rivers and Sea-Islands, met many good people and visited some great ports. While on the outside, we had some fantastic sleigh-rides and also spent time in the doldrums. We've done some beautiful cruising in the ditch. We never had a strict itinerary; we just cruised. When summer ended it was time to go home, and back to work. We stored the boat where ever we were, and continued our cruise the folowing June. The ICW is a wonderous and awsome waterway, but, some parts are better than others. At the time we passed throuth Georgia, we found lots of markers missing, big wide sounds with depths much less than chart depths. I've found that if you ground with keel down it's a simple matter, but with keel up, on a falling tide, now that can be real adventure.
Caz

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:17 am

EmergencyExit wrote:Also I think the South Coast 26 had an electric winch that raised and lowered a fin keel with a bulb.

We looked at one of those before buying Copacetic. It seemed like a really good setup, and the boat could be nice. However the one we looked at sounded like bubble wrap when walking on deck or the cockpit sole.

astrorad · Post by **astrorad** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:03 pm

I am considering installing an electric winch on my C22...here is a link to a company that makes what appears to be a good quality design that should work...12 VDC...back up manual winch handle in case of power failure... wired remote control available...http://www.dutton-lainson.com/index.php

sauerleigh · Post by **sauerleigh** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:31 pm

A fairly cheap alternative might be something like this from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive ... 96455.html. I don't know how large the unit is and you would need to replace the cable with SS one. For safety sake, a tripping device of some type should be used.

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:22 am

Captbondo, Glad to see that pic. That's about what I had in mind.

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chrysler 26 electric winch for swing keel

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