Synthetic winch cable.

C

cemiii

New member
My winch cable was kinked and frayed and in need of replacement.

So I did some research on synthetic rope cable and it was very interesting to me. Apparently it was designed within the marine industry. It's features include, super light weight, no memory, no recoil if broken, no corrosion, no dangerous fraying, etc.

1/4" rope is rated minimum strength of 8700#.

OK, so I bought a 50 foot length of Amsteel Blue on line for my winch and today it came in the mail. I picked up the box first and thought "it must be empty". I opened the box and found there was this rope coil in there that, other than the color blue, looked just like that cheap 1/4" poly rope that is usually yellow. The stuff you might use to hang a bird house but certainly nothing heavier. My next thought was that someone took me on the net and sent me a cheap poly rope for 80 bucks.

The whole rope weighs maybe 3 ounces and I guess they say it actually floats! And I'm supposed to believe, blind faith, that I could use this safely to lift my Bobcat skid steer loader over my head (if not just to haul a 3000# C-dory onto the trailer)?

My question is, has anybody out there actually had first hand real life experience with this stuff? Any verdict?

Chris
 
I share your concern. My neighbor, an engineer and knowledgable rigger hoisted my rider mower to dizzying heights with his forklift using a similar looking panty waist the other day. He swears by the stuff. It looks pretty flakey, but they certainly don't give it away.
 
A lot of folks up here have replaced their cable with the synthetic rope on 4 wheeler winches. Myself included. It is as strong as advertised and will work as indicated BUT you need to keep a couple things in mind. Just like loading super line on a reel, it must be tight! If not it pulls down into itself badly. Also in 1/4 inch diameter it may be hard to handle, a lot of folks go bigger to gain user friendliness. You certainly want to provide chafe protection too. Yes it floats and we really like that feature, using a 1/4 inch by 50 foot piece as a bow / anchor line on the dingy. In the mornings when getting going, I pull our small stern anchor and remove the shackle connecting it to the stern rode, and reattach it to the end of the dingy bow loop. Toss it over and wala, your on your way to pull pots or fish for the day without having to load and unload the dingy every time!
Mike
 
I put a picture (last one) in my album for those who have vever seen this stuff. and it's every bit as soft and flexible as that cheap yellow poly. They also sent me a chafe guard which looks to be no more than a sleeve of rip stop nylon material like cheap pup tents are made out of!

I guess some home based testing is in order just to get me past this doubting thomas phase! I read an article where they winched Bronco's up walls with the stuff but it's hard to believe it's any safer than dumping every last dime in the stock market right now. As a dolly tow is one thing, but as your main trailer winch cable?

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Chris
 
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