Why do you guys run a 280 when the only wight penalty is 25 grams? I would think with this size sail and boat, too much power is not a bad thing. The drain difference on the battery is minimal. Why?

"When the cannon fires, harden up, tack or get out of my way"

Check the number of turns on the travel.Many of us find the 7.2 vs 6 (on the new one)revolutions helpful.I did buy a boat with the old 380 (5.8) revs-all the below sheeting must be way forward to work.

R.C.Greer

25g is way to close to a full oz.

Weight weight weight.....as much as an enemy as Drag

Yea but isn't this is good weight Doug? Its down low, its centered and it will pull the B rig in a blow, right?

"When the cannon fires, harden up, tack or get out of my way"

I would say it's better than weight at either end......however anything above the Ballast is bad.

My 280 Will Pull an A rig in in a blow so power is not the issue IMHO
Have been sailing when I probably should have been on a B rig, never had the winch overpowered

Down here in NZ we probably sail in higher winds more often than not. I have 2 x 280's, 1 is over 6 years old (that's when I got it 2nd hand and it ws old then) the other about 4 years old and they have never failed due to being underpowered even whent he wind was strong enough to take a C rig off a deck[:p]the winch was still going - not so the rigging which failed [V]
IMHO the 280 is strong enough to do the job as long as batteries are good and the rigging will hold up [;)]

Chris
NZL1 Longtack
&
NZL110 Swept Away

I think these little buggers are more than strong enough for anything the EC-12 will sail in. They are so strong they will rip the turning block out of the bow before any amount of wind will slow them down.

I took my old 380 and bolted it to the front of my Durango. Pulled me right out of snow drift last winter. [:D][:p]

I'm joking of course, but the 280 is plenty strong enough. Why add weight?

Joe Walter #24

When l fitted out my hull l made two control board winch sytems,on each of which l fitted a rudder/jib trim servo and a 380 winch.
l have a length of mast fitted to the board which runs up to the bow and on the end is my winch pulley the whole system can be removed and replaced in about four mins ( hence two identical board systems)
When measured at the US Nats my boat was the fourth lightest and only just came in on the 42" waterline.The extra weight of the system was overcome by adjusting the ballast weight.
l belive that with the system being so low down the weight does not necessary have to affect set up or stability of hull.
Woody

At the end of the day it's a personal choice of what winch to use but perhaps I can help in making that choice. Back in the "DumbWinch" days (pre 1993) the mechanics of those was the same as the current 280DL. By that I mean the motor and gear ratio was the same. So the speed and torque was about the same. Theoretically the 280DL would be slightly better performance at the same voltage because of the more efficient electronics of the SmartWinch controller. And even more performance can be produced by the 280DL simply by using 7.2 volts. The DumbWinch was only designed to run 6 volts.

The DumbWinch was used in up to A Class. Back then I sailed a few different A's which were in the 30 to 40 lb range. Sheeting speed was still ok even in up to 30 knots. (6 volts remember) Sheeting power requirements for the A class is well over double that of the EC12. So a 280DL is plenty for an EC12.

Having said that, the use of the 380 in an EC12 is not going to hurt and will only cost a few bucks extra plus the extra weight (insignificant) but there is no effective gain either. Battery drain difference over a day of sailing would be insignificant also. Me? I'd stick with the 'DL but.


Cheers


Rob

Being a complete newbie to the RMG and the 12 for that matter, it looks like I can use my existing 380smart winch correct? If so what issues if any will I face? Do I need to get a different drum? Guess to answer that I need to measure the one I have. I picked up the 380 for about the cost of a good used probar so i couldn't pass on it.

Charlie