SAILING TIPS
Steve Colgate Shows You How to Properly Use a Winch for Trimming Sails and Raising Halyards
Winches aboard a sailboat are a great aid in giving you purchase power. In this sailing tip you learn how to load a winch and use it properly with safety always in mind. Take a look at this video and keep these helpful hints in mind:
- Place the line around the winch drum clockwise
- Load it with one hand in a circular motion
- Put about three turns around the winch
- Then (if you have a self-tailing winch), run around the self-tailing groove and jam it into the cleat on the top of the drum
- Put the winch handle in and use it to trim (pull in) your sail
- Always take the handle out when finished (to easily add extra turns and release the line when necessary)
Want to learn more?
Take sailing lessons with Offshore Sailing School. In the Learn to Sail course you learn the proper way to use winches on a daysailer, then how to handle lines with a winch on big cruising boats in our Bareboat Cruising and Live Aboard Cruising courses. There's a lot of power and stress on lines when you get into heavier winds. Best to learn the right way to trim sails and raise halyards using winches from expert sailing instructors.
Learn to Sail or Learn to Cruise at Offshore Sailing School!