Image Credit: Andersen Winches
Andersen Winches are a big name in the boating business. Designed and manufactured in Denmark, Andersen Winches have earnt a reputation for building first class, high quality winches.
In a previous blog post Upffront broke the news that Karver Systems had acquired Brittany based Pontos and their range of innovative winches.
Now operating under the name ‘Pontos by Karver’ – and with exciting modifications in the pipeline for Spring 2019 – it’s time to consider… what makes the ground-breaking Pontos design so unique?
Now that is a tongue twister! However, we have attempted to classify the main different types of winches into a quick, and much simpler, 6 minute read.
Some exciting news this month from one of our favourite French deck hardware suppliers, Karver Systems, who acquired Pontos winches in February this year.
Pontos was another innovative start-up French company based on St Malo who brought their innovative 4 speed winches to the market in 2012/2013. They dominated the media for the following 2-3 years, coming first in Yachting World’s New Year’s Top 10 (2013) and with feature articles in Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Sail World, Seahorse and Yachting World all of whom were impressed and wondering why no-one had done this before.
Choosing a winch can be daunting. The main decision criteria may be size or power Ratio, but Style, Speeds, Material and Grip are also of a consideration. That’s without going into powered options (electric / hydraulic), and then an extensive range of winch handle styles and sizes! Winches are an expensive bit of equipment and an educated choice will save you from unnecessary spend.
Although the fundamental mechanics of winches have not really changed over the years, there are some innovative features and performance improvements which have appeared in more recent years. Winches are a durable piece of equipment, lasting many years, but it is important to consider if the winches on-board are right for you.
