Surf winches have opened up yet another frontier when it comes to wave riding. The contraptions have been around for some 20 years now, but more recently, electric winches have really expanded their possibilities. Jamie O’Brien and Blair Conklin have been confirmed fans of the devices, and Kai Lenny has called them the “amplification of self-controlled gratification.”
Recently, Jon Troglio has endeavored to make a surf winch for the people. The tinkerer’s social media pages are full of DIY projects, ranging from custom Onewheel parts to a camper van conversion, but lately his attention has turned to transforming a Onewheel into a surf and snowboard winch.
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The saga of the Onewheel winch began in November of last year, when he posted this video detailing the process. “This is probably one of the most complicated things that I’ve ever built. Lots of ins and outs to this build. Who knows how this thing’s gonna go when it goes,” narrated Troglio. “We’re really not experts here. We’re just using what we got.” Shockingly, the thing actually worked on the first test, but the winch only survived for a few runs before succumbing to the water.
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The broken winch provided a key opportunity for a redesign. Troglio upgraded the battery and waterproofed key components. In part two of his series, Trogio and friends promptly tested out the winch his backyard, including in a deeper body of water that once again killed the device.
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Things went quiet for a little while after that, until the project reappeared in April, this time in the mountains of California. In true DIY spirit, Jon served as cameraman, rider and winch operator, for a video that showed off the machine’s new solar power and ability to “do whatever the hell it wants to” in one-inch deep snow.
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Which brings us to the latest video, where the Onewheel winch made its triumphant return to the surf. With seemingly most of the kinks worked out, the mad max-looking contraption heroically towed Troglio on various finless craft across 300 feet of a California beach. Can’t wait to see where he goes with this thing next.