Winch arrangement for a sailing boat

A winding arrangement for a sailing boat comprising:

• a winding member comprising a rotatable winding drum configured to be driven by a handle or crank via a transmission mechanism, wherein the handle or crank can be turned to rotate the winding drum with at least one rotational speed;
• a drive unit transmission comprising a motor configured to drive the winding drum, wherein the drive unit comprises a transmission arrangement comprising mechanical gears connected to a motor shaft of the motor, an outgoing shaft and an outgoing shaft outer gear wheel;
• the winding member is adapted to allow mounting of the drive unit and comprises a mount for reception of the outgoing shaft of the drive unit allowing the winding drum to be driven by the motor by the outgoing shaft gear wheel engaging, directly or indirectly, with a gear wheel of the transmission mechanism of the winding member that can be rotatably engaged with, and disengaged from, the winding drum;
• the drive unit transmission arrangement is configured to allow engagement/disengagement of the drive unit outgoing shaft gear wheel from the winding member;
• the winding arrangement independently can be used either as a manual winding arrangement or as a two speed motor driven winding arrangement;
• wherein the mount comprises a shaft hole or opening in a bottom portion of the winding member adapted for reception of the outgoing shaft of the drive unit, the drive unit being mountable under the winding member;
• wherein the drive unit comprising the drive unit transmission arrangement comprising a gear stage comprising a two-speed torque hub comprising a spur gear couple and output or outgoing gear hub connected to the spur gear couple, and the drive unit transmission arrangement comprises an output gear one-way locking mechanism when in an engaged, connected, mode, the outgoing, output, shaft gear wheel is connected to the output or outgoing hub allowing the winding drum to be operated by the motor, and in a disengaged, unconnected, mode is disconnected from the outgoing, output, shaft gear wheel, allowing manual operation by the handle or crank or rotation of the winding drum by a rope pulled over the winding drum;
• wherein when output gear one-way locking mechanism is in the engaged, connected, mode in which the outgoing output shaft gear wheel is connected to the output gear hub, and the motor is turning in a first rotational direction at a first rotational speed, N rpm, the outgoing shaft gear wheel will rotate in an opposite direction at a first outgoing shaft gear wheel speed, whereas when the motor is turning in a second rotational direction opposite to said first rotational direction, at the first rotational speed, N rpm, the outgoing shaft gear wheel will rotate in the same direction as the motor, at a second outgoing shaft gear wheel speed, the first outgoing shaft gear wheel speed is higher than the second outgoing shaft gear wheel speed, the relation between the first and the second outgoing shaft gear wheel speeds depending on a gear ratio provided by gear stages of the transmission arrangement;
• wherein the two-speed torque hub is formed by a fixed planetary gear stage carrier of a fixed carrier planetary gear stage of a planetary gearbox, the spur gear couple and first and second torque hub one-way locking mechanisms;
• and
• wherein the fixed carrier planetary gear stage comprising the fixed planetary gear stage carrier comprises a planetary gear stage sun wheel, planetary gear wheels and a ring gear, so arranged that when the planetary gear stage sun wheel rotates, the ring gear will rotate in the opposite direction at a lower speed, the fixed carrier planetary gear stage of the planetary gearbox thus being adapted to enable the two output gear speeds of the drive unit when the winding arrangement is driven by the drive unit.