Yup, locking handles stay put. Saturday during a short fun race with some inexperienced crew a sheet wrapped around one of Calypso's classic Barient winch handles. I was grinding in the light #1 and facing aft (standing over the Barient #36 primary). The load seemed higher than usual but I attributed that to the poor performance of the tailer and the less than stellar leeward sheet release.
When something went BANG in that way that says big $$$ will be needed I turned around to look for the source. The sheet wrapped around the winch handle pulled up with enough force to pull the main shaft 1/2 way out of the Barient #32 secondary winch. I still don't know why the non-racer crew that was looking right at it did not speak up but that's what you get when racing with newbies. The good news is the shaft and handle stayed in the winch (not overboard) and I was able to make repairs after the race without donor parts. Martin Calypso 1970 C&C 43 Seattle -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of OldSteveH Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 9:49 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Stus-List Winch Handles Winch handles without locking cams should be labelled - "Caution, this handle is headed for the bottom of the bay - It's only a matter of time". Saturday it went into 400 ft of water. When a loop from a reef line plucked it off the cabintop main winch and gracefully flipped it into the water was almost like slow motion - nothing you can do about it, but watch. Oh well, it was destined for the bottom on the day it was made, now I get to buy one with a locking cam. Have a great day. Steve Hood S/V Diamond Girl C&C 34 Lions Head ON _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
