Slipway Winch

Slipway winch is designed to move boats to and from the water by the slipway. It is widely used when the boats or vessels need to be carried out for repair or maintenance. This type of winch is also ideal for launching and retrieving ships and boats. Our winch for slipway comes in a variety of options: electric and hydraulic slipway winch, single drum and friction type winch. We also provide the necessary accessories to pull the boat through the slipway: airbags, moving and fixed pulleys, guide wheels, etc.

1. Using Marine Airbags To Pull The Boat Ashore

Airbags are the most commonly used pulling boat scheme. The winch can use a single drum or a friction type, which can make full use of the slipway. The same slipway can pull multiple ships ashore. It has the following features:

• Airbag landing is an innovative way for ships to land ashore.
• The flexibility of the marine airbag allows the hull to pitch freely during landing, so that the hull structure is not damaged.
• The equipment is simple, the construction cost is low, and the maintenance and management are convenient.
• It is suitable for the landing of different types of ships.

When choosing this boat pulling scheme, customers need to determine the following parameters:

• Determine the type of winch: friction type or single drum winch, electric or hydraulic winch
• The maximum weight of the ship to be pulled
• Slipway slope
• The speed at which the boat is pulled
• The distance the ship is pulled
• Accessories (wire rope, moving and fixed pulley sets, guide wheels, airbags, etc.)

Two Types of Slipway Winch for Sale

We offer different types of slipway winches: friction or single drum. The driving method can be electric or hydraulic.

AQ-JMM Friction Type Slipway Winch for Sale

The AQ-JMM friction type electric winch uses the friction between the wire rope and the drum to generate tension. It has the following advantages:

• Friction type winch has no deflection angle of steel wire rope because the position of the rope is unchanged, which reduces the wear of the wire rope and increases the service life of the wire rope.
• The pulling force and speed of the rope are constant, so the whole machine runs stably and the impact force is small.

The structure of the AQ-JMM friction winch is mainly composed of a friction drum and a rope storage drum.

• The friction drum set has a rope groove to increase the friction between the wire rope and the drum. The number of rope grooves is generally 6-10.
• The rope storage drum is only used to store the wire rope and does not provide pulling force. This drum is controlled by the drive torque of the frequency conversion motor, which can better keep in sync with the friction drum.

A Case of an AQ-JMM 60 Ton Slipway Winch for A Shipyard in Indonesia

We once provided an AQ-JMM 60 ton slipway winch for an Indonesian customer’s shipyard to pull the ship ashore for maintenance, as well as launch newly-built vessels. Equipped with pulleys, our AQ-JMM friction winch solution can pull vessels with a maximum capacity of 6,000 tons.

AQ-JM Single Drum Slipway Winch for Sale

Aicrane AQ-JM single-drum electric slipway winches have less rope capacity than friction-type electric slipway winches, and are more commonly used for small-tonnage ships. It has the following characteristics:

• According to the height of the fixed pulley, the single-drum winch can be made into an upper rope or a lower rope. The single drum slipway winch mostly adopts the lower rope.
• When the number of layers of the wire rope exceeds 7 or the deflection angle of the wire rope is greater than 3°, the single drum electric slipway winch will add a rope arranging device.
• The distance from the single-drum winch to the fixed pulley is about 10 times the length of the drum. Therefore, the layout of the single-drum winch takes up more space.
• The working speed and pulling force of each layer of the electric drum winch are different. The first layer has the largest pulling force and the slowest speed; the outermost layer has the smallest pulling force and the fastest speed.

A Case of AQ-JM 30 Ton Slipway Winches for A Naval Base in Nigeria

We provided AQ-JM 30 ton slipway winches to a naval base in Nigeria to pull ships ashore for maintenance. The weight of the customer’s ship is 250t, and the slope of the slipway is 7.2°. The scheme we provided uses a movable pulley and a fixed pulley, with a 3-fold structure, so that a smaller capacity electric winch can be used to pull a larger-tonnage ship. The specifications of the AQ-JM 30 ton winch include: rated speed 9m/min, drum capacity 400m*42mm (galvanized steel wire rope), electric control box button and remote control.

How to Operate A Marine Slipway Winch

As the winch can pull small to large boats to and out of the water efficiently and safely, it is increasingly popular in shipyards or dockyards. The slipway is usually the inclined surface on which the boats are moved by way of slipway winch. Before the movement, the vessels’ hull is coated with grease, and then the winch pulls the ship to “slip” off of the ramp and progress safely into the water. For electric and hydraulic slipway winches, they usually have different control methods.

• For electric control option, it usually takes the basic form of push-button control box, which incorporates up-down and emergency stop. It can be installed on or near the winch. Another popular option is remote control which will be connected to the control box. This form of control allows the operator to stand well clear of the load and rope.
• Hydraulic control usually takes the form of a hydraulic valve. It controls both speed and direction of the winch. The hydraulic valve can be fitted on the hydraulic winch or in a suitable location.

The two control options vary widely with respect to cost, ease of use, safety and durability. The selection of the winch control is largely determined by the type of your winch, your preference, ease of use, etc.