7 Jul
2011
7 Jul
'11
9:41 p.m.
You're probably not giving up much, Howard, if anything (you don't have as much complexity--one turn vs three--in the setup you have vs using the winch, but of course the winch gives you good mechanical advantage). You could be giving up a little convenience because with the winch you don't have to secure all that head sail halyard at the mast base (just coil it and hang it on the winch), and I have a clam cleat to lead the halyard to, so I don't have to fool with cleating with a horn cleat. Neither are big deals, obviously. I don't suppose you run as big a risk of losing the halyard up the mast with the blocks/winch combination, but there are ways around that too. It sounds cool to use the winch? t