ZOLLERN have specialised in lifeboat and recovery boat winches and their equipment has type approval and certification by GL for variety of applications. Recent development work resulted in a new feature – ‘sea wave compensation system’ with automatic tension control. The sea wave compensation system has been designed to facilitate the recovery of lifeboats on board.

A light tension is applied to the hoist rope to prevent any slack rope condition. In the automatic hoist mode, whatever the sea-state, a regulator within the system hydraulics takes over control and the movement of the hoisted craft is followed automatically. The rope is fully tensioned and the craft lifted from the water without any need for manual control. The new winch is based on ZOLLERN’s compact design of gearbox contained within the winch drum. This gearbox has many innovative features.