Trailer Mounted Electric Winch for lowering trailer down slipway

[Orwell boy]

Hi All , my regular slipway is Levington Marina ,which is fine in summer when dry ,but in Autumn /winter it gets very slippery in the lower section and to give an idea I have backed down and with all breaks on the discovery the boat is still pulling it down the slip until the boat floats itself removing the weight ,a bit scary , ....there is an option of a cable but the car has to be 50metrs from the slip to allow for tidal variation making it a 2 man job talking on mobiles
As for me I need a single handed launch so my idea is to mount a electric winch and 12v battery on the a frame ,then I can park at the top of the slipway ,transfer the trailer to the winch then push over the edge and go with a wired remote to lower the rig down the slip while walking (or skating) down beside it
Has anybody got this set up or used similar ????.. any help ,ideas, opinions would be very interesting , there maybe a huge oversight on my part here but please tell me what you think as there is some money to be spent to get to test stage

[Xk59D]

i've had a towball mounted winch which is i assume what you are maybe looking for and i used it for the same reasons you mentioned.

the problem you will have is the 50m, a winch with that capability is going to be really expensive. most winches only hold 15-20m of cable so you may need to find a compromise there.

if your plan is a towball mounted winch then you will be stuck with 15m of cable on them due to size constraints so far as i'm aware, happy to be wrong.

if you plan to put the winch on the trailer then you will need decent power for it on the trailer too.

quick google, this is most rope i can see on winch at 30m, this is waaay overkill for your boat but it has the most rope from a quick look.

Goodwinch TDS 9.5c, 12v, 10mm x 30m Green Rope

i would consider other options for this scenario like getting the rig closer to the wet stuff then unhook it with chalks, get a rope round towbar just in case!!! then use a normal electric winch towball mount if you can get away with only going the last 10m or so (you need to keep wire on the drum)

http://www.electricwinchshop.co.uk/b...bar-mount.html

http://www.electricwinchshop.co.uk/w...a12-steel.html

if it is a proper marina then surely they should be cleaning it? i assume they charge for launching so if they know it is dangerous then they probably are duty bound to clean it. i know the marinas round here are pretty good with keeping them clean if you tell them.

[Orwell boy]

Thanks Xk59D , good looking towbar mount bracket link thank you , I am not so sure I hav,nt exaderated that 50m a bit but their cable poss is that long but I need to get down there and check actual worst case scenario at low water and measure more precise as your quite right that's probhably the deciding factor , (I did post some pics (well Gerry did as I failed) on a june post re Levington marina ,if you know anything about the width of sheet piling you can poss see from picture the length
I,m not sure I am up for decoupling trailer on that steep slope

[Gobuchul]

Could you try using an extension piece?

A length of rope, with 2 eyes in the end at the winch?
Secure one to the towing eye on the Disco, then pay out on your winch wire until the weight is taken on the rope, recover your winch wire and shackle it in to the 2nd eye, take the weight and then disconnect from the towing eye.

You can pay out on your winch again.

Sounds more complicated than it actually is!

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Gobuchul

Could you try using an extension piece?

A length of rope, with 2 eyes in the end at the winch?
Secure one to the towing eye on the Disco, then pay out on your winch wire until the weight is taken on the rope, recover your winch wire and shackle it in to the 2nd eye, take the weight and then disconnect from the towing eye.

You can pay out on your winch again.

Sounds more complicated than it actually is!

Yes ,I think I see what you mean ,have the rope slightly shorter tan the winches max ,then when held on the rope let the winch out a bit more to enable decoupling and then wind the winch in and hook it to the rope ,only thing I see is a problem is decoupling the rope but I think like you say a second loop a foot from the towbar would solve this ,,, am I on the right track ??

[Gobuchul]

That's it.

You could do it with an eye spliced in each of the rope, amek sure the eye is big enough for 2 shackles, then shackle a short strop into the car end. Attach the strop to the Disco chassis. Once the weight is fully on the rope and strop, simply use the winch wire and take the weight. The strop attached to the car will go slack and you can disconnect.

This method also keeps all the electrical stuff away from the water.

[A1an]

you could use an electric capstan winch. this wont limit your cable length.

[breezeblock]

Originally Posted by A1an

you could use an electric capstan winch. this wont limit your cable length.

capstans aren't that great for holding a load unless theres a cleat next to it I am looking for a hydraulic capstan if you know anyplace

[A1an]

Originally Posted by breezeblock

capstans aren't that great for holding a load unless theres a cleat next to it I am looking for a hydraulic capstan if you know anyplace

I actually might.

[paintman]

Rope tied to the trailer hitch & a couple of turns round the ball neck on the car to control the descent.

Recover either by rope from ball to trailer & drive away with someone to watch & monitor or if you can't do it in a straight line use a strop & pulley to change the direction of pull and get the trailer to the top of the slip before applying its brakes/chocking its wheels & then connecting to the car.

Saves a lot of messing about.

[simonl]

Mount a winch to the front of the Discovery with dyneema rope & a wireless remote. That way the trailer stays attached & you only need the winch on the slippery bit; once back on the grippy stuff just stop, spool out a little slack & disconnect. Assumes there's somewhere to hitch onto uphill of you. Whatever winch you use, bear in mind that many (especially the cheaper ones) have a centrifugal brake inside the hub which regulates the speed when lowering a load. This creates a lot of heat & can melt synthetics.

I've done all sorts of hillbilly stuff on slipways.

This kid would be 18 this year were it not for a local slipway tragedy. I remind others of it frequently & object strongly when I seek kids allowed to play near a slip.

[gpsguru]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

but in Autumn /winter it gets very slippery in the lower section and to give an idea I have backed down and with all breaks on the discovery the boat is still pulling it down the slip until the boat floats itself removing the weight ,a bit scary , ....

In a disco .......... use 4wd low range with the centre diff locked and reverse down the slip using engine braking ............ you will be surprised at the difference !

[simonl]

Originally Posted by gpsguru

In a disco .......... use 4wd low range with the centre diff locked and reverse down the slip using engine braking ............ you will be surprised at the difference !

Ultimately though, you've still got to lock all the wheels up on the slime

[davej]

It's just extremely steep and I certainly won't ever use it whatever system is used.

Dave

[paintman]

Originally Posted by gpsguru

In a disco .......... use 4wd low range with the centre diff locked and reverse down the slip using engine braking ............ you will be surprised at the difference !

Won't stop the whole lot sliding backwards on a slimy slope once the tyres lose grip - or in my case a wet and very steep slip.

Much the same as on a wet offroad course.
1986 RRC.

[gpsguru]

Originally Posted by paintman

Won't stop the whole lot sliding backwards on a slimy slope once the tyres lose grip - or in my case a wet and very steep slip.

Much the same as on a wet offroad course.
1986 RRC.

No, but it will help a lot as you dont touch the brakes, just turn the ignition off to stop............ to pull away again just start the engine in low range and off you go ..............

Challenge spec 90 now sold & a shelf full of gongs !

[simonl]

How does the slime know whether you stopped the wheels using the transmission or the brakes?
Ultimately, if the coefficient of friction isn't high enough to hold in place for that weight on that slope, you're going to slide.

[Starovich]

Originally Posted by simonl

How does the slime know whether you stopped the wheels using the transmission or the brakes?
Ultimately, if the coefficient of friction isn't high enough to hold in place for that weight on that slope, you're going to slide.

Agreed, in addition, I had similar issues when retrieving a boat, the disco was stationary holding the empty trailer. As i winched the boat up, the whole lot started sliding - not rolling, ending up stopping when the boat and trailer went off the side of the slip and the weight was taken by the water again.

[gpsguru]

Originally Posted by simonl

How does the slime know whether you stopped the wheels using the transmission or the brakes?
Ultimately, if the coefficient of friction isn't high enough to hold in place for that weight on that slope, you're going to slide.

That is the preferred method and the method that is taught by Land Rover, BORDA and other off road driving organisations. A rolling stop produces very little interia and virtually no weigh shift (even a hint of brake is a totally different ball game) ........... I was LR trained and certificated in both the mid 80's (when the 90 was first released) and products right up to the early 2000's and I am also a BORDA instructor. When I used to teach a lot ........... when going down a 40% muddy slope I would tell the pupil that if they touched the brakes then I would kick thier leg from the pedals !

However, I need to qualify that without looking at the slipway in question its very difficult quantify from a distance !

During the winter months the slip we use gets very, very icy ........ I will often drop a 3T boat in using the same method with my JEEP.

[beamishken]

Recovering a boat is a whole different ball game to an off road event where there is usually a load of other mud pluggers just itching to to rev up their winches to drag out whoever gets stuck.
A little more concerning when your pride and joy is being consumed by the incoming tide
Any doubt an it's a long rope onto the hard stuff for me