Components

The following are the important components of a mooring winch:

1. Winch drum/ Barrels- Also known as a winch or tension drum, it is used for winding in and out the mooring ropes or wires that help hold the ship to a mooring. A mooring winch can be equipped with multiple drums, wrapped around by cable or rope, as per the requirements of the ship.

2. Gypsy Head- Also known as Warp end, it is a cylindrical fitting at the end of the winch, around which a wire rope is wound a few times to fasten or slacken it. The warp end manually holds the free end as the system rotates.

It is most importantly used for aligning the ship along with the berth by fastening one end of the rope to bollards onshore and the other end around a warp end.  It is also an auxiliary used for hauling ropes across a deck and handling additional mooring lines.

3. Motor drive- The motor drive is the driving force of the mooring winch that controls the movement of the barrel and warp end by a spur gear transmission system.

4. Spur gear transmission: A gear transmission system is provided between the winch drum and the motor for speeding up or down the movement and speed of the drum.

5. Brake: The brake liner is an important feature of the winch as it secures the drum, and consequently the mooring line to the ship.

6. Clutch: The clutch is used to engage the gear (connecting motor and winch) changing the movement such as halting it, forward and backward movement. The winch clutch is an important component as it locks the motor shaft to the brake assembly preventing the spool from unwinding when the motor stops