I’m a new owner of a Freedom 38, and I’ve seen some old posts about using an offset drill to help raise the main. Doe anyone have some current input on what works? I’m curious about:
using a battery operated or plug in? I have an invertor.
What brand ((I’ve heard Milwaukee)?
How much power I need- 7 amps, 18v.?
What kind of adapter do I need to specify to fit the winch?
thanks, in advance.
I have used the Winchrite for 6 years on my 39 Express and have nothing but good things to say about it. Used a battery powered drill before that and though it worked it did not come close to being as good as the winchrite has been.
Very happy with the Milwaukee right angle drill. Used it for eight years. No experience with the Winchright
I used an 18v Nicad battery Milwaukee 3/8 drill on my f36 for ten years. It was not a right angle and also not an impact driver. It raised the main to about 3 feet from the top requiring very little work to get it up and tightened properly. I would be careful not to get an impact driver or hammer drill fearing damage to the winches. A Winch Bit is all you need to connect drill to winch.
I’ve used the Winchrite on my F36 for the last two years and works great. I used the Milwaukee right angle drill to raise my rigging guy up the mast and found the Winchrite to be easier in that it can be handled by one hand once fitted in place. Not as bulky.
Thanks for all the input-good to know.
I bought the 28V half inch Milwaukee right angle a couple of years ago - does a great job raising main on our F38. Will also pull me up the mast for inspections/repairs. While I looked at the Winchrite and really liked it, I opted for the Milwaukee becasue I can also use it as a drill when doing installs/repairs on the boat that require the accessibility of a right angle drill or the power & chuck size needed by a larger hole saw.
One word of caution docunmented in a variety of commentaries on the Milwaukee. If you have a 2 speed winch and use the drill in the higher speed direction, the chuck on the drill tries to unscrew itself - resulting in the securing screw inside the chuck snapping off. This usually happens when the screw loosens a bit - allowing the chuck to begin unscrewing. While some people have addressed this issue by unsing locktite I am reluctant to install the screw in a way that makes it difficult to remove if I need to take the chuck off.
I’ve found a much better approach is to always use the drill in reverse - which operates the winch in the low speed highs power direction. While this does raise the sail a bit slower, it is easier on the drill motor and most importantly pulls the sail up slowly enough that damage to sail/rigging is less likely if something hangs up. I can think of no reason why it would be necessary to raise our main in 6 seconds. 30-40 seconds seems to work just fine.
Either way, I just retired and am making preparations for retirement cruising and really enjoy not having to pull our 85# main up by hand grinding.
Note that there are two flavors of Loctite. Blue Loctite is intended to secure the screw/bolt; red Loctite is intended for much more serious/severe vibration, and is much more resistant to being removed. I only use red Loctite when it’s critical or dangerous if the screw becomes undone. BTW both Loctites do a good job of preventing the fastener threads from corroding. Assuming that the screw in the bottom of the chuck is NOT stainless steel, the anti-corrosive characteristic seems valuable.
I have been using an old 1/2" 120volt Milwaukee right angle drill to raise the sails on my Freedom 39 Express for about 4 years. It works great. I have a winch bit fitting for it http://www.winchbit.com/
I plug it into the inverter and don’t have to worry about a battery going dead or needing to be recharged. It has plenty of torque to get people up the mast and can still be used to drill holes at low rpm with lots of power if needed.
I’d be careful using 120 volts in a potentially damp/wet environment.
I appreciate your concern. If the environment is that wet then the drill stays inside more out of concern for the longevity of the drill then my own! There don’t seem to be any obvious ground sources in the vicinity of the winches on the cabin top and the GFCI outlet that the drill is plugged into is yet another safety net that I have in place. Here is my disclaimer: Use at your own risk and don’t try this at home. I’m a trained professional. 
I guess the winchrite is waterproof(rain proof), whereas the Milwaukee is not?
We use a Milwaukee Winch Buddy system which we put together via Ebay. It has become an indispensable tool, not just for raising the sail, but hoisting people up the mast for necessary repair. And as on any boat, when hoisting someone up the mast is usually when the battery craps out! Usually get about 6-8+ hoists out of a charge. We charge the battery on the inverter while doing long range cruising. We use bungee cords and store it tucked against the settee bulkhead by the nav station, so it is accessible and out of the way.
Parsons & Dave Clark
Tyche - 1986 F36 converted to an F38
South Dartmouth MA
Sorry to bump an old thread but I found it helpful and perhaps could add some insight: the very ubiquitous (here in the US) line of Ryobi One+ tools has a pure DC car charger which can eliminate some of the conversion loss going from dc/ac/dc, plugs right into a cigarette lighter. The tool line also has a wet/dry vac in large and small size, the small one is about the size of a tool box and is great for drying out the bilge or other damp bits.