NOVELTY - The winch has a line guide mechanism (14) that includes a drive which is operative in accordance with rotations of the flanged winding drum (11) in a line unwinding direction to rotate the rotational mechanisms in a direction to apply tension to a line being unwound from the drum. The guide mechanism also assists in the release and clearance of the line from the drum during line unwinding operations. The housing has separable portions to accommodate opening of the passage for inserting and removing the line.    USE - Sail managing winch for handling running rigging lines of a sailing yacht.    ADVANTAGE - The winch has the ability to operate under power in all phases of line handling, including the controlled release of line from the winch with no manual intervention from crew members. The winch enables lines to be wound and stored on the winding drum so as to be out of the way and so as not to pose a danger to the crew members. Safety of the crew members in charge of handling the lines is also increased since no manual handling of the liens is required at any stage. The use of high tech lines enables the use of lines of about one half the diameter of the older lines, providing for greater line storage capacity on the winch drum and less windage and weight aloft which reduces heeling angles. The lines have greater strength, less stretch and enables more accurate sail settings. The ability to positively strip line off of the winch during line releasing operations allows practical and effective power operation of the winch during release of line from storage on a winding drum which facilitates very precise adjustment of the lines for continued refinement of sail trim and makes the entire operation very simple and risk free. This feature enables a unified control of winches on opposite sides of a yacht such that during tacking and gybing. The entire tacking or gybing operation, which at times can be fraught with problems and risk of injury, is reduced to the operation of a single remote control, with no physical handling of the lines such that it represents a major advance in sail handling aboard sailing yachts, particularly in the medium to large sizes, where the forces on running rigging lines can be dangerously large. The winch also has the potential for increasing sailing activities for a variety of individuals who currently are either unwilling or unable to exert the efforts required for operating a typical sailing yacht.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows a side elevational view of the winch as mounted on the deck of a sailing yacht.    Winding drum (11)    Line guide mechanism (14)    Gearbox (16)    Worm gear mechanism (18)    Output shaft (19)