What is the item of equipment you handle most when sailing your yacht? If you're not the one holding the wheel or the tiller, the answer is almost certainly “winch handle.”
You can spend anything from £20 to £100 on this vital piece of kit. Is it worth investing in the best? Or, bearing in mind that sooner or later they may go over the side, flipped over by a wayward spinnaker sheet, or dropped by a fumble-fingered crewman, is it more sensible to go for the cheaper end of the market, and regard them as semi-disposable?
There are floating winch handles, intended to prevent this all-too common loss, but in practice they are hardly suitable for any but the smallest craft: the plastic handles tend to bend under load, absorbing the user's energy rather than transferring it to the winch. And some have been known to break.
In any case, just how practicable would it be to retrieve a floating handle? It would be impossible to snare with a boat hook, so unless your boat has very low freeboard, so that you could grab it with your hand, it would be as good as lost anyway.
Price
When we were doing a lot of racing, we used cheap handles, so that it wasn't a disaster if crew lost them over the side. But we had better ones we used ourselves when cruising. There really is a difference.
For one thing, the cheaper handles tend to wear more quickly. (This isn't a problem if they are going to go over the side before long!) They are less robust, with less durable bearings, and the locking plates tend to wear and distort under heavy use, so that eventually they become wobbly and therefore less efficient in use.
Weight
How heavy do you like your handles? It's a matter of personal preference, probably related to the size of your boat and winches. Some people prefer the lighter aluminium ones, like the Antal, which has weight-reducing slots in the arm.
Others prefer the heavier chrome or bronze models because they feel more powerful when working with heavier loads - they seem to develop their own momentum. It's a question of experimenting to find which works best for you.
Locking mechanism
Handles are available with or without catches. Plain handles may be preferred for speed, but locking mechanisms help to reduce the likelihood of loss overboard.
Last year Lewmar won the Dame award, the marine trade Oscar, for the One-touch locking system, hailed as “an extremely clever rethinking of a piece of equipment whose formulaic design most people take for granted."
Instead of the familiar thumb catch at the winch end, the One-touch has a lever pivoted at the grip end, which disengages the handle wherever it is pressed along its length. This makes it truly one-handed in operation, although it is heavier than the "formulaic" system.
But the “formulaic” locking mechanisms are by no means identical. On some, the catch flips one way only to lock and unlock. It pays to look for two-way catches, which are easier to use, whether right ot left handed.
Also check how substantial the square locking plate on the bottom of the handle is, and how well it is fixed. It can cause problems if it becomes distorted or out of true - possibly jamming the handle in the winch at an inconvenient moment.
Handle style
How comfortable the hand grip feels will have quite a bearing on the efficiency of the handle in use, so it is worth finding the style that suits you best. Most handles have simple, one-handed grips, but they differ in size, shape and feel. Antal's rubber-covered grip is particularly comfortable.
On bigger boats, two-handed grips are useful, enabling users to put more power into their grinding. There are two main styles, the traditional double-hander, which has two vertical grips, one above the other, and the Speed or Power grip (depending on manufacturer) - which has a horizontal knob above the standard vertical grip.
This design is less cumbersome than the traditional double-hander, and more versatile in that the horizontal knob works well one-handed as well as double-handed. This is my handle of choice, especially for winding the skipper up the mast.
Length
The law of the lever says you get more power with a longer handle, but at the same time, you have to push a longer handle further for each revolution. Theoretically, a shorter handle should therefore mean quicker trimming. In practice, the user will probably struggle with the load and wind more slowly, so a longer handle will be more efficient.
Most people will therefore opt for the 250mm (10 in) winch handle as standard. But it often pays to have at least one smaller (200mm, or 8 in) handle, for use in confined spaces (for example where winches on the coachroof are impeded by the sprayhood) or where winding the reefing winch on the mast results in rapping your knuckles on the underside of the boom. It can also be used for speedy trimming when conditions are very light.
Spares
As with all boat gear, there's an element of “you get what you pay for.” But since you'll be handling the winch handle a great deal, it will pay to find the one that's right for you. It will make your sailing more enjoyable. It won't necessarily be the most expensive. But it probably won't be the cheapest, either.
If you like a lightweight handle, the Antal model at about £40 is highly thought of. If you prefer something heavier, the Harken Speed grip in chrome at about £70 might be the right choice. If you want to keep up with the latest design, take a look at Lewmar's One-touch range, from about £50.
Whatever handle you choose, you should always carry spares. Two on deck and two stowed below is a minimum. Even if it's years since you last lost one over the side - or it's never happened to you - it's something that can never be ruled out. And a winch handle is something you really can't do without.
Pictures from Mailspeed Marine
