Patent ID: 7913979

Claim:
A sail managing winch for handling running rigging lines of a sailing yacht, which comprises (a) a rotatable winding drum having a core and spaced apart flanges and rotatable about a winding axis for winding and storing a line, (b) a bi-directional drive mechanism, including a primary drive member extending through the core of said winding drum for controllably driving said winding drum to rotate in line winding and unwinding directions, (c) a drive motor engageable with said drive mechanism and operable to controllably drive said primary drive member for rotation in winding and unwinding directions, and (d) an adjustable line release clutch mechanism connecting said primary drive member to said winding drum enabling said winding drum to rotate in an unwinding direction with respect to said drive mechanism to effect controlled release of rigging line from said winding drum by rotation of the winding drum independently of said motor.