POWERWINCH: Trailer Boater’s Best Friend

Powerwinch Electric Trailer Winch

For over 50 years, Powerwinch, now part of Carefree of Colorado, has provided boaters with a product that greatly facilitates launching and retrieving their vessels. Their Powerwinch model 712 is great for use on trailers for boats up to about 20 ft; the model 912 works well on boats up to about 25 ft, especially if the double line pulley system (included) is used. These winches are designed for “freewheel out and power in”.

The Powerwinch has a universal base plate that easily mates to trailer winch mount brackets. It comes with a 40 foot long galvanized cable with snap hook. Also included with the kit is a 12volt electrical harness with circuit breaker that will connect to the tow vehicle battery and end in a proprietary plug that connects directly to the winch.

Personally, I used a Model 912 for my 23 Ft boat that lasted for 18 yrs until it finally failed and I then replaced it with another 912.

In preparation for this article, I spoke with a contact at the company who explained to me that they recently installed a statistics based Quality Control Program which has improved product quality by 99%. They take samples from each manufacturing lot and perform a variety of tests (including pull strength test) which will assure a quality product to our customers.

The Powerwinch Model 712 and 912 are available online at www.easternmarine.com