Winches & Accessories

Brands in this category

Logo LEWMAR
Lewmar has been developing innovative and reliable marine products since 1946, allowing you to enjoy a stress-free time on the water. With its extensive range of anchors and windlasses, hatches & portlights, winches and hardware, Lewmar offers complete solutions for small charter boats and mega yachts alike. Production takes place in their own production facilities in the UK, forming the basis for the high quality standard of all Lewmar products.
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Logo ANDERSEN
Simply perfect inside and out. Andersen sailboat winches are the epitome of exceptional functionality and quality. For over 60 years, Andersen has been constantly striving to meet its customers' demands, while continuing to develop new technological standards. To date, Andersen stands for design, reliability, durability and perfection.
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Logo ANTAL
Antal - Made in Italy. Since 1977, Antal has been developing and producing high quality deck hardware products, such as: self-tailing winches, halyard winches, blocks and traveller systems. The complete design and manufacturing processes of Antal products takes place in Padova, Italy. This is done in order to maintain full control over the brand's high quality standards, as well as to ensure a high degree of safety on board. Antal is the ideal brand for your sailboat! The Italian fascination with sailing and water sports can be found in every piece of Antal technology.  
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Logo HARKEN
HARKEN - high quality materials for top equipment. Fifty years ago in a backyard garage: two brothers opened a shop selling ball bearing blocks, which only really took off when a friendly distributor included their in-house manufactured blocks in his mail order catalog and sold these under the brand Harken. Today, HARKEN, with offices in 48 countries, is one of the leading manufacturers of boat hardware and accessories.
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Logo G-NAUTICS
G-Nautics is part of the Dutch company Nautics Europe BV and started for the first time in the summer of 2004 with a collection of practical accessories for watersports enthusiasts. From the beginning, G-Nautics has relied on attractive design and durable, seaworthy materials. Depending on the product, acrylic canvas is processed with a water-repellent, UV-resistant surface or waterproof tarpaulin PVC. Stow your halyards and sheets, winch cranks and your personal belongings with the help of G-Nautics and everything is in order.
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Winches are essential on sailing ships. Because larger sails cannot be hauled in without assistance, a winch is the perfect tool. With a winch, much greater force can be applied and a gearbox allows for winching at different speeds or ratios. Learn more about Winches & Accessories...
Winches & Accessories

Winches for Sailboats

- Small but powerful - 

Which winch is the right one for my boat?

When choosing the right winch there are several things to consider. In addition to size and power transmission, the number of gears, material, grip and space on board all play a role when it comes to making a smart choice.

There are also electric winches, which can be used on larger yachts. Price is also key when deciding which winch to buy. Choose the right one and you'll have a winch you can use for many years to come.

What size winch do I need?

Choosing the right winch size depends primarily on how big your boat is, the type and size of your sail and the way the winch is used. Winch manufacturers provide tables for their own winches, to help choose. You can find these tables on the individual product pages in our online shop.

There are, however, some things to know when looking at the tables and many factors must be considered when choosing a winch size. It's virtually impossible to standardise these and create a table that is always correct. For example, your boat's displacement and type of rigging also play a role when choosing a winch. These factors are not usually included in the tables. There are, of course, other things that are difficult to include in standardised winch selection tables, such as your sailing style and ability, as well as that of the crew. It's also difficult to compare selection tables with each other, as each winch manufacturer has different requirements for yachts and sailors. As a result, Harken recommends winches to be used more for racing, i.e. a larger winch for a smaller sail surface area, while Andersen is more geared towards cruising.

How many gears for my winch?

An essential aspect of winches is the number of gears. Most winches have one or two gears, sometimes manufacturers also offer versions with three gears for larger winches.

1-gear (speed) winches

Single-speed winches provide power when turned in one direction and idle when turned in the opposite direction. These types of winches are more common on smaller boats.

2-speed winches

Two-speed winches have different speed ratios, depending on which direction you turn the handle. This allows you to have much greater power, especially with the second gear. For example, a 40 winch has a power transmission ratio of about 40:1, which means that you get 40 times more output power than what you put in. However, the recovery speed, i.e the length of the line recovered with one 360-degree turn of the winch handle, is also lower. Winch manufacturers indicate the power transmission of the second gear in the model name, calculated with a 254 mm (10") winch handle. If you use a 200 mm (8") handle, power transmission is lower, but recovery and speed is higher. Two-speed winches are used on larger yachts because of the different gears and resulting higher pulling forces.

Standard winch or self-tailing winch?

There are two different types of winches. Standard winches and self-tailing winches. Self-tailing winches have an extra line clutch that is mounted on the drum. This makes it no longer necessary to hold the line by hand, and you can crank the winch with both hands. A disadvantage with self-tailing winches is that there are limitations in terms of possible rope diameters. The winch attachment adjusts automatically to the sheet diameter used, but if the rope diameter is too small, the winch will not have sufficient grip, while the sheet can be damaged if the diameter is too large. Standard winches are often used on smaller racing boats, where the sheet has to be released from the winch quickly.

What material should my winch be made of?

All manufacturers provide winches that are good quality in terms of durability, regardless of whether the drum is made of stainless steel, aluminium or chrome. Winches will last for years if used and maintained correctly. While aluminium winches are on average slightly lighter than the other materials, stainless steel winches offer better durability. In addition, stainless steel winches can look like new even after years of use, while chrome-plated or anodised winches can show signs of wear more easily. On the inside, winches feature high quality components that won't cause any problems for years to come, provided they are regularly maintained.

How often should my winch be serviced?

You should clean and re-grease your winches every year or every other year. We supply special winch grease for this purpose. Only a few tools are needed for cleaning and with some preparation, maintaining a winch is no problem.

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Customer ratings & reviews

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User profile icon

Gregor H. on 18.03.2024

D

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CRISTIAN DAN P. on 18.03.2024

Perfect !

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Bostjan K. on 18.03.2024

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