Abstract: A portable winch having a drum and ratchet wheel mounted upon a frame for rotation about an axis, and a hand lever pivoted upon the frame for rotation about the axis. A tension-transmitting cable is wound upon the drum, and a releasable stop pawl is pivotally mounted upon the frame and engages the ratchet wheel for permitting unidirectional rotation of the drum. A ratchet dog is pivoted upon the hand lever for movement between an operative position engageable with the ratchet wheel and an inoperative position clearing the rachet wheel during pivoting of the hand lever about the axis. A coil spring is fixed to the hand lever and extends transversely of the dog projection, the coil spring selectively engaging one side of the dog projection for biasing the ratchet dog into the operative position, and selectively engaging the opposite side of the dog projection for biasing the ratchet dog into the inoperative position.