I personally like to overkill the winch by at least 500 pounds. Yes, it’s slower because of the lower gear ratio, but because of the lower effort required to turn the handle, the net result is you can wind the boat on faster once the slack is taken up.
BTW, now is a good time to inspect your safety chain and if you’re going to replace your winch, if it has a nylon strap, replace that at the same time. I learned this the hard way, those nylon straps get broken down by UV light, so I was winching up my boat and BANG! the strap broke. Luckily I had just started to get the bow on the 1st roller, so it didn’t roll back off the trailer on dry land or anything, but wow was that lucky.
I wrote a date on the strap in magic marker and from now on those straps are getting thrown in the trash and a new one installed every 3 years.
Grouse