Winch Cable, which type?

[Ljohnsaw]

On my soon-to-be log arch, there is a 3,500lb winch with about 45 feet of cable.  The last 5-10' is frayed, kinked and mangled.  At the very least, it has to go.  There is also some weak spots where it untwisted a little and got flattened from not spooling it up right (a few broken strands too).

So I started looking around and I'm confused as to what I need to replace it with.  Is winch cable special (more flexible) than standard ?  I see the specification of 7x19 (seven bundles of 19 strands?) for both aircraft cable and winch cable.  Since I will be using in a harsh environment (moving logs), I'm guessing that synthetic is out of the question.

One ad lists the breaking strength of 3/8 at 14,400 lbs with a CAUTION: DO NOT EXCEED WORKING LOAD LIMIT OR 20% OF PRODUCT'S  BREAKING STRENGTH.  They give a working load limit of 2,880 lbs with a safety margin of 5 times (i.e. 20% of breaking).  Would this be good for a winch like mine or will it just get all springy when I unroll it?

Thanks for your input(s)...

[Ironwood]

I am sure someone more knowlgeable will chime in, but dont count out the synthetic. It might be just the ticket.

Ironwood

[Cypressstump]

You could cut off the bad section and roll an eye using the 'flemish eye' method, as 45 foot of cable will more than likey be too long anyway. The first layer of the cable on the drum provide the most load bearing capicity.

I have changed out my winches to all syntheic rope/cable whne the steel cable gets ready to be replaced. It costs a bit more, but you never have to worry about kinks,frays,etc. You ususally can upsize the syntheic in size as compared to the steel cable and agin a little more strength.