[Destroyer]

I'm older and wiser.. I use electric all the time. Powerwinch makes a great winch, as do Dutton-Laminson (Strongarm) winches. DL's are more money, both do a great job. Stay away from the cheapo China winches you find on eBay. They work for a while and then one day they stop and you have a pile of worthless crap. Spend the money once and be done with it.

I like the idea that I can stand to one side and control my boats rear with a line as I remotely control the winch pulling my boat up onto my trailer. It's fast, easy, and safe. Plus, Most times I can keep my trailer wheels out of the water, thereby extending the brakes life.

All my winches have 5/16's aircraft cable. Since my hands never touch the cable I never have to worry about fishhooks. (If you take care of your cable you don't get them in the first place).

Run a heavy wire from the positive post on your battery back to the rear of your tow vehicle. (I used a #6 awg wire. Probably overkill, but I felt with a long run I wanted a heavier wire for less electrical resistance.) Run a second heavy wire from the frame of your tow vehicle to the same spot as where you terminated the positive wire. Get yourself two 50 amp Anderson quick connectors (The type they use to connect industrial fork lifts to their chargers They are quick, safe and make it impossible to accidentally cross connect your wires). http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-QUICK-DISC...a8b&vxp=mtrPut Connect one to the wires you ran from the battery and frame, and put the other one on the wires leading from the winch. Now all you have to do is plug the winch in when you want to use it, and unplug it and keep the wires out of the way when you aren't using it. Nice, tidy and clean.