The tugger winches are typically used for helping to move loads on a boat deck. The pulling force generally ranges from 10 to 25 tonnes. The winches are either controlled by radio-remote control or from a bridge that uses a winch-control system, which allows the crew on the boat to conduct their operations from a location that is safe.
The electric tugger winch is driven by either a single or a 2-speed electric motor or state-of-the-art variable frequency drives. These line pulls will range from 5 to 30 tonnes. A control panel is located adjacent to these winches. A remote-control or wired-controller are additional available options.
All the winches also come in high-pressure and low-pressure hydraulic drives.
The tug winches are typically installed on the tugboat decks which include different types that range from the smaller river tugboats onto the larger-scale seagoing tugboats. These winches usually feature high load bearing capacities and rope capacities, particularly when they are used for tugging larger boats. The windlass on these tugger winches is made with either a single drum, a double drum, or with multiple drums, without or with a warping head. Regarded as one of the more important tugger machines which are used on the tugboats, the tugger winches have been in use over a wide range of applications for a number of years in different types of working environments.
These winches come outfitted with an overload alarm, a spooling device, a device that indicates the length of the rope that is let out, along with a device that measures the overall towing load. The drum device on these winches includes a brake wheel, big-gear wheel, and a drum. The brake wheel and big-gear wheel are generally positioned on either side of the winches drum. A steel plate is usually used in these drum as they are designed to bear heavy forces. For the larger tugger winches, the clutch and brake device will always use a hydraulic control and drive in order to guarantee operational reliability. These winches are supported with a wall frame that is connected to the base by either welding or bolting it into place.
Tugger Winch Types
The tugger winches are divided into 2 main categories which include the non-automatic tugger winch and the automatic tugger winches. The automatic winches are able to detect the pull of the rope, the length of the released rope, along with making adjustments to pulling the rope in or letting more of the rope out. These winches can also come with a warping head and chain on request. The towing winches that include the hydraulic and electric winches come equipped with drum brakes, which generally includes 2 functions. This includes the emergency brake and the normal brake. If the brake is automatically powered, there should also be the option to manually operate the brake, especially in an emergency situation.
For those who have plans to invest in either an automatic or non-automatic winch, it is advisable to find out exactly what is needed to ensure they choose the right winch for their tugboat needs.