Pontos winches

[hoppy]

In the January 2015 Yachting World magazine there was a test of the Pontos 4 speed winches. There was even a Jeanneau connection as one of the winches tested was demonstrated on board a SO 40

It seems to be a new French company.

They come in two ranges, "Grinder" where the 2 extra gears are for speed or the "trimmer" where they are for power.

They are a little more expensive than a standard winch but substantially cheaper than electric. The review says that the "trimmer" is so easy to use that there is no need to upgrade to electric.

I hope they are at the London Boat show because I would be very curious to check them out

pontos.fr/gb/7-winches

[hoppy]

I have found something that gives an indication of a comparison between Pontos 40 and the Harken 44 my SO40 has for the genoa sheets. The both have a similar base size.

Harken 44 power ratio gear 1 is 13.8 and gear 2 is 44.2 (Harken 40 is 13.4 & 40.1.... so now I understand what the size numbers mean )

Pontos Trimmer 40 power ration gear 1 is 11.6, gear 2 is 40, ultra power 112.9 and pump 32.7

For both the Trimmer & Grinder models, in gears 1 & 2, for 1 rotation of the handle they recover 14cm & 4cm of line. For the trimmer in power mode they recover 1.4cm & 5cm of line whilst the Grinder versions 2 ultra fast modes recover 70cm & 20cm per rotation.

Before looking up these figures I was unsure whether going from a 44 down to a 40 might lose the benefits of the Pontos, but now I know that is not the case.

If they really are as good as they sound, then I want the trimmer. As a fat arsed weakling who solo's a lot, it sounds perfect for me


Just found a like to the YW article

pontos.fr/img/cms/Actualites/Yachting_World/Yachting_World_January-2015.pdf

[hoppy]

Found another article adobe.ly/1zViMLn


The grinder looks impressive

[MalcolmP]

Hi Hoppy

Yes the Pontos winches do look really clever and well engineered and for a 10% or so uplift well worth it, the Trimmer looks perfect for the older guys alike me whereas The Grinder should definitely be on Marty B's Santa list for next year

have a great Christmas

Malcolm

[gowell101]

Just fitted a pair of Pontos 46 Grinders to our SO40.

WOW.

They do as promised, very fast in 1st and 2nd gears.
And possibly more powerfull in 3rd and 4th gear than our Harken Classic 46.

First test sail.....
We did lots of quick tacks in 10-15kts to try them out.
Nailed every tack. 130% genoa was just about fully in before powering up.

The drum grips very well. Easy self tailing action. Smooth easing out.

I was thinking of going electric but too many maybes?
Cost, wiring, new batteries and the fear of newbies over sheeting.

Fitting was easy but did require drilling 5 new 8mm holes.
No big deal.

Just waiting for a windier day to really test them out. And the crew.



Attachment Deleted

[hoppy]

gowell101, I guess from the photo Scallywag is a 40.3 (and I see from your location and sail number you are in the Sandringham yacht club, my fathers boat is moored there as it is listed with a broker based there)

I wonder if the Pontos 46 fill fit on my SO40. I recall that that base of the Pontos 40 was bigger than a normal 40 winch, about the same as the 44 Harken I have. Whilst I believe the SF40 has 46, so bigger is possible for me, the base of the Pontos 46 is bigger than the Harken 50

For solo tacking I would love to get the grinder, but unless I can get the 46 to make trimming a little easier (the 40 would be giving up too much power)

Sadly , as Malcolm describes, the old guys trimmer 40 would be a better option

I will be onboard tomorrow night So I will be measuring to see if the 46 is possible

[gowell101]

Hoppy,
Yep, SYC.
Pontos 46 was easy replacement from Harken 46 Chrome Classic.
Maybe 5 mm larger base diameter.

Perhaps you should download templates, print out and check?

Aus agent very keen to get them out there.

Welcome to come for a test sail.

[hoppy]

Apr 24, 2015 13:21:05 GMT gowell101 said:

Welcome to come for a test sail.

Love to but I'm living in Sweden and heading to my boat in Greece

[gowell101]

Hey Hoppy,
Are you the same Hoppy on SA with SL AMG ?
Nice car if so.
I have a 2011 SLK350.

And sister yachts?

Small world.

Skalpel.

[hoppy]

Apr 26, 2015 7:23:26 GMT gowell101 said:

Hey Hoppy,
Are you the same Hoppy on SA with SL AMG ?
Nice car if so.
I have a 2011 SLK350.

And sister yachts?

Small world.

Skalpel.

Yep, that's me. Sad to be selling it but once I'm living onboard I'll get over it.

Must measure up the winch mount after breakfast. Not hopeful the 46 will fit. Perhaps that's a good thing, the trimmer 40 is probably better suited to me.

[gowell101]

I like your taste in yachts and cars.

What ever size you choose, check sheet angle from sheet block to winch drum.
Pontos drums are a little higher than Harken.
May need to pack up sheet lead to get the right angle to stop over runs.

Same old BS at SA. Good fun.
Skalpel.

[hoppy]

Apr 26, 2015 12:41:16 GMT gowell101 said:

I like your taste in yachts and cars.

What ever size you choose, check sheet angle from sheet block to winch drum.
Pontos drums are a little higher than Harken.
May need to pack up sheet lead to get the right angle to stop over runs.

Same old BS at SA. Good fun.
Skalpel

Your car is more sensible for Melbourne than mine. 500bhp and a million speed cameras wont mix

The Pontos 46 is not an option for my SO40, too wide base. The 40's base is 1mm less, so perfect. Grinder 40 is not on but trimmer 40 is fine. The extra power from the extra gears will make up for the size drop. The height is no problem, the line entry height on my "classic" Harken is 85mm and on the Pontos 40 it's 87mm. On your 46 its 97mm. 2mm wont cause an issue, 12mm, maybe.

Now I need to start being good and hope santa can find me and give me a couple at the end of the year ;-)

I wonder what a grinder 40 would be like on the cabintop for the main halyard ;-)

I like SA, but don't get involved in the cruising forum. I was happy that my video edit of the G4 capsize made their front page.

[Borealis]

Installation of Pontos winches on a Jeanneau Gin Fizz 38 foot ketch

GF was built between 1975 and 1980, I bought one 2 years ago and have been since making a MLU (middle life upgrade) on it, for more info on the boat consult 

www.jeanneau-owners.com/GinFizz.html

The original 3 speed 44 genoa winch is clearly insufficient for use by average cruising sailor as the 45 m2 genoa line thrust can go up to 700 kp. It would  be ok with competition crew and 2 on the line, but a cruiser has good reasons to look elsewhere. It seems to me that there are only two options possible: go electric or have a look at Pontos.

I chose the latter one and installed Pontos 40 Trimmers. Below a clip on how it works according to my experience.

[hoppy]

A nice timely reminder for me. Now that I will have my GF onboard for extended cruising I suspect that she will appreciate such an upgrade once she becomes an active crew member

[Trevor]

Hey Hoppy, I have heard of many different things to make sailing nicer for the ladies, but I haven't heard of new winches being the secret to a happy GF so I must keep that in mind the next time my sailer girl wife starts to complain about conditions onboard. I will tell her that I care for her enough to renew the winches!!!

I am looking forward to having that up my sleeve as a negation tactic.

Trevor

[MartyB]

I do not think I saw this last year.....

I have seen an add or two for them. I'm thinking 40 replacements for the Barbarosa/Harken 40s I have......20 something kids that are crew may like them besides this 50 yr old phat arsed dad! Not sure about wife. she wants a trawler with no sails..........bah HUMBUG! over me dead body.......

Marty