On Jul 24, 1:04*am, Peter Scholz
wrote:
bildan wrote:
On Jul 21, 4:12 pm, tommytoyz wrote:
Perhaps the way to go is just buy a good used winch from a European
club. What was the offered price again for that old Tost winch at
Lasham?

My German contacts recommend against buying an old Tost winch since
the parts they are made from are no longer available. *
...

This is not true. All parts are available, seehttp://tost-startwinden.de/or contact Tost .

There are a few hundred Tost winches operating here in Germany, and
other countries, and I have heard of no difficulties getting spare
parts, or even drawings if required.

--
Peter Scholz
ASW 24 JEB

I am familiar with the Tost winch site. What they specifically say is
this:

"There are more than 5000 items available in our warehouse. Most of
the spare parts for our launching winches, from the year of
manufacture 1980 up, are in stock constantly. If nevertheless a spare
part is not available at once we'll do everything in order to get it
for you or to manufacture it, if possible."

Most of the old Tost winches were built before 1980 (Some from the
1950's) using a modified fully floating axle from a German Army
truck. I'm told the axle and parts for it are very difficult to get
and expensive when you can find them.

However, I'm not the definitive source. I'd suggest contacting
someone in Germany for an independent, informed opinion before buying
one.