Scottish sailors Anne and Stuart Letton bought an Ewincher for their Outremer 51 catamaran TIME BANDIT before leaving South Africa on their way to the Caribbean. While they were on the way from Luderitz, Namibia, to the remote south Atlantic island of St. Helena, UK Sailmakers got the following rave review via email:
OK. We’re halfway to St Helena from Luderitz and I’m loving the Ewincher.
Early concerns assuaged and it’s in use all the time: reefing, trimming and hoisting. It’s making our lives a lot easier.
We only have one electric winch on the boat, an Outremer 51 cat, and it’s on “my” side. When we reef, usually in the middle of the night, my wife previously had to wind and wind to get the reef in.
Now, she presses the button and it’s done. The unit has a lot of torque to control but that takes a little practice.
Great product!
This simple device is a true game-changer for cruising and daysailing. The Lettons are a cruising couple on a 51-footer and the Ewincher is giving them the power to handle the boat’s sails. This electric winch handle will even pull a crewmember up the mast — many times on a single battery charge. More importantly, a crewmember can use this powerful tool to rescue a heavier crewmember by winching the MOB out of the water.
Unlike electric drills, the Ewincher works like a standard locking winch handle. It locks in the top of your winch and you hold it like a normal winch handle. The Ewincher is ergonomic and comfortable to use, much more so than other electric winching options. And, as the Ewincher can be used to drive all the winches on your boat, it is much less expensive than a single electric winch.
Now is the perfect time to purchase an Ewincher as a holiday present. The waterproof, rugged winch handle is like adding a strapping young crewmember…but this one does not place any demands on your crew. It does not snore, listen to loud music, eat or drink too much, etc. You can recharge it from fully discharged to fully charged in 1.5 hours using 110-, 220- or 12-volt power.
The Ewincher will make handling your boat easier for you and your sailing partner. The Ewincher can be purchased at the UK Sailmakers online store for $1,999.
You can follow the Letton’s progress on their blog, watch them on Youtube, or track them on Predict Wind. Stuart does the voiceovers on their videos, and he has a great sense of humor.
Follow the blog: www.TimeBandit.Co.uk
YouTube: SV Time Bandit
https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/TimeBandit/
