Junk sails are heavy, and we want a sail winch that is versatile.  This idea is centered around a hydraulic hub motor, allowing the sail to be raised or lowered with a remote switch in the pilothouse or a secondary switch near the winch.   I do not think the motor will hold the sail in position, so a solenoid will be needed to release the pawl so the sail can be lowered.  I think the motor’s will need a valve that connect its two hydraulic lines together so it can freely spin.   When that is done then the winch becomes a manual winch, and the break, ratchet and pawl, and hand wheel are used.   The spool and sufficient space of  all of the sail halyard, but it is an open spool and so the halyard can be removed and the winch used as a capstan.  Or if the which has failed the halyard can relocated to another winch such as the capstan on the anchor winch.  The eventual plan it to have similar winches controlling the sheets making it possible to sail the boat completely from the helm station, and provide greater control to the autopilot so that sails can be reefed automatically.    You are welcome to download the DFX file: Sail_Winch_1.dxf , make modifications or leave comments below.    More details can be found on the bottom of the Winches page.   And thank you for your help.  –Doug

Manual/Hydraulic Sail Winch