We Ship Worldwide! Shipping information.
SELECTION GUIDE

Ronstan's recommended Orbit Winch™ size for each sheet, halyard and reef line, by boat length and sail area, with the corrections for fractional rigs, heavy displacement boats and multihulls.

DocumentRonstan Orbit Winch Selection Guide
FormatPDF · 1 page · 0.6 MB
LanguageEnglish
Download PDFView Collection
Selection TableHow to UseProducts
Ronstan Orbit Winch Selection Guide

Recommended Winch Size

LOA (feet) LOA (metres) Genoa sail area (ft2/m2) Spinnaker sail area (ft2/m2) Main sail area (ft2/m2) Genoa sheet Spinnaker sheet Main sheet Genoa halyard Spinnaker halyard Main halyard Reef line
25-28 7.6-8.5 300/28 410/38 150/14 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
29-32 8.8-9.8 350/33 600/56 210/20 30/40 20 20 20 20 20 20
33-35 10.1-10.7 470/44 800/74 260/24 40 20/30 20/30 20/30 20/30 20/30 20
36-39 11.0-11.9 560/52 1200/111 320/30 45/50 30/40 30 30/40 30 30/40 20
40-43 12.2-13.1 770/72 1600/150 430/40 50 40/45 30/40 40/45 40/45 40 20/30
44-48 13.4-14.6 880/82 2000/185 470/46 – 45/50 45/50 45/50 45 40/45 40
49-54 14.9-16.5 1300/120 2800/260 750/70 – – 50 50 50 45/50 40/45

Winch sizes are Orbit sizes 20, 30, 40, 45 and 50. Blank cells (–) are left empty in the guide. Typical sizing only: it cannot account for every boat and condition.

How to Use the Guide

  • Written for masthead rigged monohulls of medium displacement.
  • Masthead rig: use the length overall (LOA) as the primary selection criterion.
  • Fractional rig: select primarily by sail area rather than LOA.
  • Heavy displacement and/or high righting moment: choose a winch larger than the table.
  • Multihulls: catamarans and trimarans have higher righting moments than monohulls of the same size: choose winches larger than the table.
  • Electric winches: size selection is generally the same as for a manually operated winch.

Need a part that isn't listed? Ask us to source it and quote the part number from the PDF.

Products in this Selection Guide