Barton Marine has introduced a range of composite winches which offer yacht owners a high quality, and extremely cost effective and lightweight alternative to standard aluminium winches. There are three models in the Barton range; a single speed 8:1 and two speed 16:1 and 23:1 versions. The winches can be used for a wide range of applications including use as a primary on yachts up to 30ft in size, or as spinnaker sheet and halyard winches on larger yachts.

In a recent comparison against other leading brands, tests showed the Barton G23 winch to be as effective and in some cases better than winches double the price. Handling loads of over 200Kg without slippage, the test team commented that the winch was "spectacular value for money". Being manufactured from composite materials, the G23 winch also provides a more lightweight alternative to the metal versions, and is much easier to maintain. The innovative design has made the winch more resistant to wear and due to the materials employed, virtually eliminates any chances of corrosion, vastly increasing the long term durability, reliability and consistent high performance of the winch.

To further compliment its range of winches, Barton offers the Rubber Wincher, a specially designed rubber moulding, available in four sizes, that converts a standard winch to a self tailing version. Having loaded the winch and the line is sheeted, the coils climb up the drum and are then gripped by the underside of the rubber body. When the sail is trimmed, cleating can be achieved by simply locking the line into the ribbed groove of the Barton Wincher.

"Our winch and wincher combination offers sailors incredible value for money, especially when you compare it to other brands of self tailing winches in the market," comments Christian Brewer, Sales Manager of Barton Marine, "At under £250 for the G23 and Wincher, it makes a significant saving on a yacht refit and that's without any compromise to performance. In addition there are serious benefits in maintenance and consistent performance levels over several seasons use. For racing yachtsmen who like to keep an eye on weight issues, our composite materials make the winch significantly lighter."

The Barton G23 winch and Barton Wincher are now available at most Barton equipment stockists throughout the UK and Europe.