The combination of a new rope and a new capstan drum is indeed more difficult to use at first. This is because the rope is very clean and the drum is not worn at all, the coefficient of friction is at its lowest. Although the rope is made specifically for our winches and each drum is cleaned to remove any oil residue during machining, the drum may be so smooth it offers less grip. During the first uses, it is normally advisable to start with small loads in order to both get used to the behavior of the winch but also to start the wear of the drum (by the rope) so that the coefficient of friction increases slightly. It is also advisable to make your rope dirty by dragging it on the ground (without load) so that tiny particles of sand and earth get inserted between the strands, again, in order to increase the coefficient of friction. A dirty rope will work much better. Another possibility is to start the motor to spin the drum and press sandpaper on the drum to scratch it.