Build A Beach Winch For Wakeboarding

beachwinching itself is a hack of common wakeboarding. No waves? hrm... lets hack something together.

Here’s a build log for  a nice beach winch for your next trip out to go beachwinching. Beachwinching is when you use a fast winch on shore to pull you in, allowing you to wakeboard, wakeskate, or water skii without the need of waves or a boat or jet ski to pull you along. While there’s nothing amazingly groundbreaking here, we do love a nicely documented build log. We think a remote way to initialize the pull would be nice too.

You can catch an example video of beachwinching after the break

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nciyAvHJZ7c]

16 thoughts on “Build A Beach Winch For Wakeboarding

  1. Winches have been used for around 7 years, so this is nothing new, but is something that hasn’t shown up on hackaday before. This build is not optimal as it uses a centrifugal clutch. Everyone who knows how to build a winch will now use a Tav torqu-a-verter (think CVT), which improves winches pull strength to a night and day difference. If you want to build your own winch I suggest that you go to the wakeskating dot com forum and hang out in the winching area for a while.

  2. @hacky97

    You’re correct. This isn’t a hack and HAD specifically mentions why it’s here.

    Quote from description: “While there’s nothing amazingly groundbreaking here, we do love a nicely documented build log.”

  3. ‘Tis true that winches have been around for a long time (hell, I built one myself about three years back), and they are great fun on places where a proper boat or a jetski can’t get to (think ditches, canals or balancing ponds).

    Using them on the beach is good fun, but the salt water ruins the frame and drive components after a while. If you want something that lasts, use a non-corroding metal (Mmmmmm Titanium) for the drum and frame, and fit a water guard to the back of the drum so that it directs spray away from the engine. Oh yes, and make sure you wash the line after use.

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