Introducing Self-Tensioning Winch Drums for RC Racing Yachts

We're excited to announce the launch of our new self-tensioning winch drum, designed from the ground up to solve one of the many frustrations in RC yacht racing, sheet lines slipping or coming off the drum mid-race.

The Problem We Set Out to Solve

Anyone who races high-performance RC yachts knows the feeling — a gust hits, the sheet goes slack for a moment, and suddenly your line has jumped the drum. Traditional fixes rely on springs or elastic tensioning devices to keep the line under load, but these add complexity and are a well-known failure point, especially as they age or are exposed to the elements.

Our new winch drum eliminates that weak link entirely. The self-tensioning mechanism maintains positive tension on the sheet line throughout its range of travel, dramatically reducing the risk of de-spooling — with no springs, no elastics, and nothing extra to fail.

Built to Last, Built to Fit

Every drum is designed in-house and manufactured using MJF (Multi Jet Fusion) 3D printing in PA12 nylon, giving us a strong, lightweight, and dimensionally consistent part straight off the printer. From there, each unit is hand-assembled by our team to ensure it's race-ready before it reaches you.

At launch, the winch drum will be available in:

• Three drum diameters: 36mm, 40mm, and 42mm
• Both rotation directions: Left-hand and right-hand configurations
• Two fitting types:
  • 1/4" drive, compatible with RMG and Red Ant winches
  • T25 spline fitting, compatible with Kingmax and other servo-type winches

This means whatever your current setup, there's a configuration built to bolt straight in.

What's Next

Development is now complete, and we're moving into production. We expect the first units to be available within the next few weeks and you can pre-order now though the online shop.  https://catcomponents.co.uk/products/self-tensioning-winch-drum

If you're tired of chasing slipped lines and swapping out worn elastics, this one's for you.