self tailers

[dennfri]

Does anyone have any experience with the blue rubber attachments that supposedly convert a standard winch into a self tailing winch? West sells them for about $40 a pair, rather reasonable if they work well.

Dennis

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hi Dennis,

We have them. They're certainly not as nice as real self-tailing winches but they make our standard winches much easier to use. They are difficult to install though since you have to pretty much stretch them over the tops of the winches. We soaked them in hot water to soften'em up a bit then spread dishwashing liquid around the edge to help get them on. Anyway, they do work.

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[Angela and Tom]

Last summer we bought a pair and put one on the jib halyard winch that's on the mast and one on the club-footed jib sheet winch on the coach roof. For what they are, I was surprised by how well they actually work. They also seem to be holding up under the UV, salt and weather--although the one on the coach roof is protected by the dodger.

Don't know how they'd fare on larger, more heavily used and heavily loaded applications like the genny winches. We'll try that next.

[Zeida]

I also have them on my big Lewmar genoa winches on Bandolera II. They work surprisingly well. Maybe they are not a perfect substitute for the real self-tailers, but on my boat, they do the work just fine. Makes tacking and securing the sheet around the winch a lot easier, especially after you get the hang of using them.

Mine have been on since I bought the boat 8 years ago, and have not been damaged by salt, sun, etc. I would not spend one cent on any other type of self-tailers because for the type of sailing / coastal cruising I do these blue rings work just right.

[Ron M.]

Yeah, I've used them on 2 CD's and they are fine. I didn't think they would be effective.......but they are.
________
LEXUS RX HYBRID HISTORY

[Cathy Monaghan]

Last summer we bought a pair and put one on the jib halyard winch that's on the mast and one on the club-footed jib sheet winch on the coach roof. For what they are, I was surprised by how well they actually work. They also seem to be holding up under the UV, salt and weather--although the one on the coach roof is protected by the dodger.

Don't know how they'd fare on larger, more heavily used and heavily loaded applications like the genny winches. We'll try that next.

Hi Angela,

We us them on all 4 of our cockpit winches -- all sheets (yankee/genoa sheets, mainsail and staysail sheet winches).


Cathy

[Dave Jeffery]

I've just put two Winchers on my CD25 sheet winches. My experience with them years and years ago on a Catalina 22 leads me to think that they'll be valuable additions at a reasonable cost.
They're not truly self-tailers, but their cleating function alone makes them worthwhile in moderate air. With them in place you don't have to hold the sheet constantly, and you don't want to belay it to a horn type hard cleat, where release may be difficult and perhaps dangerous.

[dennfri]

I appreciate the quick and helpful responses! Cape Dorians are alway's quick to share their experiences. I'll probably give these a shot, as true self tailing winches are beyond my budget and these seem to work reasonably well.

Dennis