Llighter plug

G'day Mal,

Sadly i do not think your ciggie plug is going to be suitable for connecting the boat winch.

120W = around 8-10Amps between 12-14V.

This is fine for powering things like GPS units, Moblile Phones, Camera's and small inverters for charging similar items / the same items at 240V AC if you do not have DC-DC chargers for them but really it isnt designed for supplying power to larger devices.

8-10Amps IMO is pushing the factory wiring, that really is the MAXIMUM current you can draw from the circuit but id expect to see some voltage drop at the higher end. I believe there is a very real potential to start melting the wires if you were to simply run a larger fuse on that circuit in order to supply larger devices etc...

It is much safer and easier to install a dedicated socket where required to power things like your small boat winch, fridges, air compressors etc.

Id suggest running a 5mm^2 (30A) or 6mm^2 (50A) twin sheathed, twin core cable from your main battery (assuming you do not have dual batteries), fused at both ends with a hella style or anderson socket at the end.

Travis.