Mike
I don't think I am nuts, but I only have experience with the red Titan floating handle. Mine is labeled as follows "TITAN Made in Australia, pat pend". It came to me with the boat along with about 8 other winch handles, some the old heavy Barient ones, a few of which were lockers so I had never used it in 9 years until last week.3 handles are more than enough on my boat and one like the red Titan floater that I had definitely classifies as junk on any boat. It had no reinforcing fibers of any sort inside the foam in the handle; in fact the foam looked very much like polyurethane insulation foam like the kind sold in a spray can which is used around doors and windows to stop drafts.but it's not just the foam filled handle that is the issue, it's also the locking mechanism which appears to be a plastic covered piece of thin brass or bronze sheet metal and the plastic appears to extend as a tube or bar all the way up to the locking release lever.this twists under loading when the handle flexes and accidentally goes out of plane placing some vertical loading on the locking mechanism which easily releases from the winch and then when you're not expecting that too happen if you are not holding the handle tightly enough the handle can launch right out of your hand and go flying on its own. Quite seriously I can not and would not recommend using this type of Titan floating handle for any purpose on any boat period. I will always be careful about using any Titan handle on any boat I ever sail on. This product did a serious disservice to the reputation of other Titan products for me. Mike Hoyt if you have been satisfied with your 8 inch unit good for you.I guess the name of your boat says it all!!! I just do not see the sense of a winch handle which is purposefully made so weak as to be useless under load and a possible hazard just so that it floats and sells at a cheaper price.IMHO this is not a good application of plastic and foam. Again everyone, please be careful about using such Titan winch handles, regardless of what colour they are Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, Alianna Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS _____ From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Hoyt, Mike Sent: July 8, 2013 1:34 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Titan winch handles you guys are nuts. The floating ones are not all red - they come in several colours including blue _____ From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Rick Brass Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 12:16 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Titan winch handles My understanding is that the red ones are resin filled with glass fibers, the blue ones are cast aluminum (see Dwight's post), and the gray ones are resin and carbon fiber. I have had gray Titan handles on my 38 - a single handle grip for the cabin top winches and a single handle in a pocket on the mast for reefing and outhaul, and two of the double grip 10" handles in the cockpit for the sheet winches - for almost 10 years now. I have to say I'm quite happy with the strength and durability of the gray handles. That said, a crew member dropped on overboard during an event in Oriental, NC some years ago; it floated but we didn't go back for it. I suppose that is benefit the benefit and the disappointment of having a floating winch handle that only costs about $50. Rick Brass Washington, NC
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