Winch Strap, Cable or Dyneema Braid

[Rodb73]

Hi all,

I'm looking to either revamp the boat winch with a new cable, strap or dyneema braid. Could anyone please offer there advice (pros/cons) to the 3 choices?

It currently has cable which is very tired and needs to be replaced and the boat weighs 1.3t.

Thanks

Rodb.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Rodb

[Fab1]

Personally I'd avoid replacing with cable again.

Either choose the webbing strap or the dyneema rope, it's up to you.

I've only ever used cable or webbing on a winch so I can't comment in the rope.

I use webbing strap on my winch and find leaving the strap on the winch drum with a cover over the lot when parked in the sun at the ramp helps prolong its life.

So does loosening the tension on strap when parked up at home.

I also pull the strap all the way off the drum when I get home and give it a good rinse to get the saltwater out of the webbing and the drum and let dry overnight followed by some lube the following day.

This sort of maintenance has never let me down yet in 25years of boating off and on.

Having said that I do carry a spare winch strap just in case with the tools necessary to replace it on site if need be.

Cover/Clean/maintain/lube your winch and it should serve you well.

From the state of some of the winches I've seen out there, im convinced not many people do the above.

Cheers.

Sent from my GT-I8730T using Tapatalk

[Blood Knot]

Have not used the dyneema rope, but would recommend the webbing strap over the wire rope. Wire rope will eventually brake strands and these loose strands love to embed themselves in your hand, also the wire rope tends to scrape off the gal plating on the winch drum side plates causing corrosion to start. I undo my strap and give it a wash when cleaning up the boat after use (same as Fab1)

Cheers

BloodKnot

[stevefish]

The dyneema rope,

I cannot think of one advantage of the others over the rope.

[Rodb73]

Thanks to all for the replies,

It's definitely an interesting one. I've used/had both the cable and strap before and still have an inclination to try the rope. It may need a little more thought before I commit.

Thanks again

Rodb.

[rey]

rope for mine...... ive haad it on comp truck winches and it is so light, easy to maintain, and has zero recoil in the event it does break.....and if it does, you can splice it again to get you out of trouble

[Paikea]

My boat weighs over two ton. I use the dyneema rope and apart for packing down hard on the drum (which can make it a little harder to pull the rope off the drum by hand than pulling off a cable) it works fine. On my little 3.6M boat I use a webbing strap and that is great but would not use it on a very heavy boat.

Cheers

Paikea

[macman]

Very happy with the rope which has been used for the last 10 years on the same trailer, only a 3.75 metre tinny with a floor and electric and battery etc. No more wire rope issues.

[Rodb73]

Thanks to all for your replies. I think I'm going to try out the rope.

At the very least, next time there's a post like this, I can confidently answer having used all 3 options.

Thanks again

Rodb.

[antonywardle]

Just been looking them up

doesn't even seem to be that much of a difference in price

let us know how you get on with it

[Rodb73]

Will do mate.