If you are interested to be a sailor or want to involve in the segment that involves sea, ships, and sailing then it would be essential for you to learn about the pieces of equipment used in ship’s navigation system. A mooring winch is the most important equipment used in the navigation system and it is found on all the ships regardless of the era.
Mooring Winch
If you have ever been to a port, you might have observed huge ships parked in a line. It is not possible to park the ship like a car or other vehicles as it will be continuously moving depending on the tides but there is a limit to the movement. In any case, a ship should not move from its position beyond a certain limit. The excess movement will cause disruption in the operations like loading or unloading or it can cause damage to the nearby ships or other structures.
Small boats can be controlled very easily but when it comes to huge cargo or passenger ships it is a tough job. This is where mooring winch comes to the action. It is a mechanical device that has the capability to steady the ship at a particular point and does not allow the ship to move beyond certain degree keeping the ship and the surroundings safe.
Mooring winch assembly mainly consists of drums, wires or ropes, warp end and driving motor, the number of drums or barrels depends on the size of the ship. During early days these winches were operated manually, but today with latest technologies stronger winches are manufactured that can be operated electronically or hydraulically.
Working of a Mooring Winches
A motor drive is connected to the winch that controls the movement of the wire, warp end, and the barrels. The warp end acts like a lock and stops the sliding of the rope or wire from the barrel to control the movement of the ship. Actually, warp end plays important role in helping the ship to align properly. The ship can be moved to any direction desired by tightening or loosening the ropes on the warp end or on the shore.
Drum or Barrel movement can be stopped at any point of time using band brakes. Nowadays, drive motors attached to the controller arrangement makes the job pretty easy as the to and fro movement of the ropes or wires becomes flawless. The movement of the drums with accuracy decides the success of the mooring operation.
The strength of the mooring winch is also a very important factor that should be considered before installing it on the ship. The complete safety of the ship depends on the strength and functioning of the winch while berthing. Each and every component of the mooring winch plays important roles. It is a mechanical device, so it should be bought from an experienced, reputable and reliable manufacturer. You cannot take the risk of compromising in the quality of the winch or else it will lead to big disaster.
