Hi Stephen,

The prior owner of my boat had the boat in Florida for several years so it
was in a saltwater environment, but it was on a lift so it wasn't left
sitting in the water.  When I bought the boat, the remote control was
becoming unreliable and that was the only switch.  Some other folks on the
list have had some concerns about the remote and perhaps some people have
found replacements for the remote.  I think some people have added a wired
switch.  I took the approach of replacing the winch with one that came with
a wired switch as well as two remote controls since I prefer redundancy.
It has worked out well.  I documented that project at the following link:
http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/Replacement-of-winch-for-motor-lift-td56157.html#none

I think most (perhaps all) of the ATV winches have the release knob that
Bob showed in his photo.

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr

On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 1:36 PM Stephen Staum <snstaum at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I have questions for you about the electric motor lift.
>
> 1.  How many have experience with the reliability of the motor lift in salt
> water conditions & how many years?
> 2.  What problems have you had with it if any?
> 3.  Is there a fail safe to allow lowering the outboard for use if the
> electric motor or switch fails?
> I am thinking of upgrading.  Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> *Thanks and Stay Well,*
>
> *Stephen Staum*
> s/v Carol Lee 2
> Needham, MA
>