How to Determine Needed WLL Capacity in Boat Winch Strap

Updated 03/18/2016 | Published 03/16/2016

Question:

My boat is 3200 lbs. Is the 7800 lb strap good with a working load of only 2500 lbs? The boat is a 19foot Sea Ray I/O.

asked by: Rick S

Expert Reply:

While you never want to exceed an item's working load limit (WLL) in your actual application, the nature of your trailer matters too when selecting a winch strap.

If you have roller bunks rather than carpeted bunks this reduces friction and means that a given winch or strap could be strong enough. With typical wooden bunks and long winching distances (over 25-feet) the boat weight-to-winch capacity ratio is 1 to 1. But if your trailer uses roller bunks and shorter winching distances then that ratio becomes as much as 3 to 1.

Other factors that affect winch/strap capacity are the degree of incline and the number of layers of strap on the drum. The linked article will help you determine if this strap is suitable for your trailer.

You can remove all doubt by using Fulton 10K Heavy-Duty Winch Strap with Hook # FWS20HD0200 which has a WLL of 4000-lbs.

expert reply by: Adam R