A level winding drum winch has a frame within which a rotatable drum is mounted. The frame is supported upon a pair of tracks upon which the frame may be slid from side to side. A motor connected to the drum rotates the drum for winding or paying out a cable wrapped around the drum. A feed screw attached within the frame is actuated by the motor to slide the frame from side to side as the cable is wound upon the drum. Thus, the cable is continuously directed at a substantially perpendicular angle, without bending or kinking, towards or away from the drum thereby forming a level winding and avoiding damage to the cable. The winch is particularly useful in handling relatively fragile composite cables useful for simultaneously towing and electronically communicating data with the objects towed by a boat.

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