winch history

 The earliest literary reference to a electric winch can be found in the account of Herodotus of Halicarnassus on the Persian Wars (Histories 7.36), where he describes how wooden winches were used to tighten the cables for a pontoon bridge across the Hellespont in 480 BC. Winches may have been employed even earlier in Assyria. By the 4th century BC, winch and pulley hoists were regarded by Aristotle as common for architectural use (Mech. 18; 853b10-13).[2]

The yacht Reliance, American defender of the 1903 America's Cup, was the first racing boat to be fitted with modern winches below decks. The Reliance's competitors relied on muscle power using topside mounted capstans and windlasses, which would soon be replaced in most applications by winches, including on fishing boats, where they are used to bring in the fishing nets.