The brake is the heart of the mooring winch, since the brake secures the drum and consequently the mooring line at the shipboard end.
- Band brakes – Band brakes follow the same principle as wrapping a rope around a bittor warping head to hold a line force. This principle ensures for easy brake application, but has disadvantages such as sensivity to friction changes and sensivity to reeling direction. Oil, moisture or heavy rust on the brake linings or brake drum can reduce brake holding load capacity by 75%.