Fabrication Guide: McElroy/Catchot Model 505 Winch Guard

Unguarded drum winches are a common hazard on side-trawl shrimp vessels. Entanglement in an unguarded winch can result in serious and even fatal injuries to commercial shrimp fishermen. NIOSH addressed the unique entanglement hazards associated with the main drum winches on shrimp vessels by developing static winch guards for these mechanically-driven winches. NIOSH explored potential guard designs for several common models of winches based on surveys of vessels around the Gulf.

This guide is for the McElroy/Catchot Model 505, which was most commonly seen winch in informal surveys. The NIOSH McElroy/Catchot Model 505 Winch Guard Fabrication Guide is designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding NIOSH McElroy/Catchot Model 505 Winch Guard Installation Guide (NIOSH Pub# 2024-111) to construct and install a static winch guard to protect deckhands and operators from safety hazards present while operating a McElroy/Catchot Model 505 drum winch on their commercial shrimp vessel.

Fabrication Guide: McElroy/Catchot Model 505 Winch Guard

Suggested Citation

NIOSH [2024] Fabrication Guide: McElroy/Catchot Model 505 Winch Guard. By Sweet D, Alexander J, Wimer B, Teske T, Kloczko D, Victoroff T. Spokane, WA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2024-110, https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2024110.