Last fall I checked out the eWincher electric winch handle at the Annapolis Sailboat Show and wrote an article with my initial thoughts—since deleted and replaced with this one.

This summer Chrysadev, makers of the eWincher, were kind enough to send us a unit and two batteries for evaluation.

And, as it happens, events conspired to make this an even better test than it might have been in that I managed to screw up my neck while removing a recalcitrant hose from a defective pump. While the injury is getting better slowly—everything gets better slowly at this age—it has meant that lots of high load winching is out.

OK, with all that pissing and moaning out of the way, let's take an in-depth look at eWincher. And when I write "in-depth" I kid you not, this will go two parts.

I know, seems like a lot of blather about a winch handle, but bear with me, this is a revolutionary product. And it's also an expensive product, so I owe you a detailed look to help you decide if eWincher is for you—an impulse purchase, this is not.