Manual marine winch with safety knockout override preventing release of winch tension without the handle in the stowed position

A manual marine winch comprising:

• a winch housing;
• a rotating drum assembly supported on the winch housing;
• and
• a winch line selectively spooled and un-spooled on the drum,
• a manually actuated control for spooling and un-spooling the winch line on the drum, wherein the manually actuated control includes a handle for selectively tensioning the drum and moveable between a position engaged with the drum in at least one rotational direction for tensioning of the winch line on the drum and stowed position wherein the handle is not engaged with the drum;
• a tension holding mechanism on the winch housing comprising at least one ratchet gear coupled to the drum, at least one pawl selectively engaged with said at least one ratchet gear to hold tension on the winch line on the drum, and a knockout configured to selectively disengage each of said at least one pawl from the gears to allow for release of tension on the winch;
• and
• a safety knockout override coupled to the winch housing and selectively engaged by the handle and configured to prevent release of winch tension when the handle is not in the stowed position, wherein the safety knockout override includes at least one leg member extending from and pivoting about a pivot member coupled to the winch housing.