The Best Boat Trailer Winches of 2021

Best Boat Trailer Winches Buying Guide & Reviews of 2020

A boat trailer winch is the machine that is used to load a boat onto or off of a boat trailer. Although often underrated, it is a machine whose importance cannot be overlooked. Without it, loading the boat would be a nearly if not entirely impossible task. Choosing a trailer winch for your boat may not be the easiest task. From electrical to manual to single and double speed winches, knowing the right winch can be a little confusing. Here are a few tips to guide you through the selection process.

1. Electric or Manual?

There are typically two types of marine trailer winches; manual and electric. The manual winch uses your physical strength to load the boat onto an off the trailer. Needless to say, using the manual winch is a laborious and time-consuming task.

Most manual winches come with single speed gears. This means that they have single ratios, such as 10: 1. Therefore, you have to crank the shaft ten times to turn the drum once. Some are a tad more advanced, especially those used to load and unload heavy boats. These typically have double speeds for maximum efficiency.

Manual winches tend to be a lot cheaper than the electric ones. However, manual winches are harder to operate, but they are also more likely to damage your boat or cause injury to the operator. They also leave very little room for you to control the loading and unloading of your boat. With a manual boat trailer winch, gravity determines how the whole process will go.

On the whole, manual winches are best suited for smaller and lighter boats. With a light boat, there is little likelihood of an accident occurring, and loading them won’t be dreadfully hard.

Electric winches, on the other hand, are extremely easy to use. They use the battery from your car to load the boat onto the trailer. Not only will they do all the work for you, but you can also control them using a wired or wireless remote.

Electric winches tend to be much more powerful than the manual ones. You can also control the loading process, which is not the case for manual ones. A power- out option, which saves your time, is also available in most winches. In addition, it prevents accidents or other unwanted occurrences.

4 gear boat trailer winches are also much more efficient than ordinary manual winches as they make use of mechanical advantage. They are safer to operate and cause minimal damage to your boat during loading and off- loading.

2. Trailer Capacity

The gross weight of your boat is another factor that you should consider before buying a boat trailer winch. The gross weight includes the weight of the motor as well as any equipment you may have in your boat. As a general rule, your winch should be rated to load at least ¾ of the gross weight of your boat.

Other than weight, another pertinent factor is the type of ramp you intend to use. If your ramp is very steep, it is best to go with a larger, more- powerful trailer winch. However, if you have a gentle lamp, a smaller, less- powerful winch is likely to get the job done well.

Whether you will use rollers or wood bunks also matters. If you opt to use rollers, you can get away with a smaller winch since there will be less friction. Whereas if you intend to use wood bunks, choose a more powerful winch since friction will be a serious hindrance.

3. Salt Water Exposure

Whether you will be using your boat in salty or fresh water will also have a bearing on the kind of winch you choose. Most winches often come with indicators of how many hours they can withstand in salty water. This will guide you in choosing either a galvanized, aluminium or powder- coated winch.

Conclusion

Choosing a winch for your boat trailer requires that you make an informed decision. Do you choose electric flatbed trailer inches or go with the manual ones? What are the best electric trailer winches for pontoons? Which is the best replacement for redundant boat trailer winches? In a nutshell, it is better to use electric winches for heavier boats, and manual ones for the smaller boats. Also, make sure to pick the right winch for your boat’s weight. If you follow the tips above, you shouldn’t have a hard time picking the right boat trailer winch.