This year, I picked up a simple mechanical rope winch as a backup for our boat’s anchor windlass. With 30 meters of heavy chain and a 44-pound anchor, retrieving everything by hand is tough if the motor or gearbox fails. I figured I could hook the winch at the stern and pull from the bow to bring it all in without killing myself.
A company recently sent me their portable 12-volt Rugel TK4500 electric winch, packaged in a handy suitcase, to test. It comes with a remote, decent cables, hooks, shackles, and a pulley. I’ve been trying it out for man-overboard recovery, lifting heavy loads up to the swim platform, and even pulling things around the boatyard.
Fair Disclosure: I received a free review sample of the product
It runs fine off my small lithium trolling battery and has plenty of power, but it needs a few mods like better quick-connects, a roller for proper spooling, and more secure mounting points. Overall, it’s a solid emergency tool for the boat or if we get stuck with the RV or truck. The components feel a bit light-duty, but for occasional use, it should do the job nicely.
RUGCEL TK4500 Portable 12VDC Winch Review Video
Company feedback was provided to me after watching my review video
Additional context regarding some of the issues mentioned:
- About the battery clamps: for a portable winch, this is currently the most practical and versatile solution, since it allows quick connection to different power sources in outdoor situations.
- About the housing thickness: we are already using the best practical manufacturing solution. Increasing the thickness further would almost double the production cost.
- About the rope stacking unevenly at an angle: this type of portable winch still requires some manual guidance while rewinding the rope.
- About the exposed positive and negative terminals: this is indeed a design weakness on our side, and we are already considering improvements for future versions.
