Let’s learn how to release a come along winch safely in this article.
Come-along winches are the most common tools used to install sails.
Composed of a body and lever arm, a come-along consists of two parts. This body is made up of two parts, a running end, and a fixed end.
Movement is controlled exclusively by the running end. In wrapping the wire rope around the spool in the center of the body, the running end is moved.
Through the lever arm pivoting and the latches, spooling can be accomplished. The latches are separated into two parts.
There are two mechanisms – the first is found on the body, and it prevents the spool from unwinding while the second is on the lever arm, which applies tension to the running end.
Two latches are found on the lever arm of the come-along and allow the spool to move forward so the wire rope can be wound onto the spool.
In the end, a hook is attached to the wire rope that exits the body on the running end.
Along that length of wire rope, we use a modified come-along with a pulley and quick-link, as shown in the video.
The sail is thus brought closer to the connection point than would otherwise be possible.
You should take the following steps:
- By disconnecting both latches at once and pulling on the running end hook, you will be able to release the wire rope. The wire rope can be disengaged from the spool most easily by having a second person pull it.
- To the corner of the shade sail, attach the hook on the running end of the come along.
- If you intend to pull the shade sail corner from the pulley, it should be attached to the connection point on the pulley you intend to use. (Be sure to connect it to a different location on your tensioning hardware than where you will shackle the rig. For example, our standard poles typically have two holes in every point of connection.)
- An apposing point, such as another pole, tree, etc., should be connected to the fixed end of the come-along. Additional rope or wire rope may be required in order to get to that point.
- If you wish to pull the sail closer to the corner, crank the lever arm slowly until the sail is positioned at such a point that you can connect the turnbuckle or commercial bracket to the desired corner. Observe the movement of the rope around the sail and the stretching of the sail while going slowly.
- The come-along can then be released once your corner hardware is connected. As a result, you must press on the lever arm so that the sprocket on the spool turns in the opposite direction when you release the lever that is attached to the body of the come-along, thus allowing the wire rope to extend. Continue the process until the entire force is transferred to the connection hardware and the come-along can be removed.
- Repeat the process for all corners.
How To Release a Come Along Winch [4 Steps]
1) As a first step, we slide the spring’s hook from the bottom to the top of the slot to release the tension. The drive-pawls will now be freed and can be swung freely. However, the tension in the cable has not yet been released.
2) When the handle has reached the other side, swing it until there is some resistance. The trick is to press a little more, a little harder, until you hear a very audible “clunk”. The sound you hear is the clunk of the stop-pawl being pushed off of the ratchet, releasing just a little tension. Once the cable is released, one step of the ratchet will be released.
3) You can continue doing this until you loosen the cable one more step for every time you push the handle all the way and then relax it.
4) Keep doing this until most of the tension has disappeared. Swing the handle back, release the stop-pawl again, and grab the trigger of the stop-pawl with your thumb so you don’t let it go back down. This will make the reel coil more quickly.
This now allows the ratchet wheel to spin freely, and you can pull the cable out as much as you like.
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Conclusion
Come-along is the most common tools for erecting sails. A come-along consists of two parts: the body and the lever arm. This body is made up of a running end and a fixed end. Only the runner end has control over movement.
