T&T: Stern winch

[Rich Gano]

A year ago I put a 6-inch manual warping capstan (or sheet winch, if you're
a raghanger) on the fantail.  Last night, while catching hell from the storm
that smacked Enterprise, AL, I had occasion to be thankful for it.

I had been monitoring the boat in its slip out behind the house taking 15-20
knot wind and waves on the beam all day long when things got really nasty at
about midnight.  With an 18-foot side-to-side clearance for my 13'8" beam,
there's not a lot of clearance, and really strong winds can start to stretch
the windward lines to the point where the boat starts making contact with
the some of the leeward pilings (I have six wooden pilings per side to
support a vinyl cover).

When I looked out about midnight as a really big blow commenced, I saw
contact between the rub rail and the lee pilings.  Pulling the bow off with
the electric windlass would not have helped much with the aft end (as it
later turned out, the anchor windlass would not pull against that strain),
and there was no possibility of me doing anything short of starting the main
engines and attempting a twist into the wind to get the stern over.

The manual capstan sorted this minor emergency out in a few seconds.

Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42-295)
Southport, FL