[jzwinck]

1/2:1 is not useless. Sometimes you want to pull a rope quickly and power is not a problem. One real world use of a 1/2:1 pulley system is in high performance sailing dinghies on the spinnaker halyard. You want to be able to hoist it as quickly as possible, before the wind puts pressure on the spinnaker.

[raelming]

Just about every forklift uses a 1/2:1 pulley system in the the chains that lift the fork carriage up the mast. The main lifting pistons push a pulley upwards with chains tied to the fork carriage and mast base routed through the pulley.

[araes]

Maybe I don't understand what you're describing. That sounds like a system where you'd prefer slow, and really heavy lift capacity?

[araes]

Thanks. Figured there might be something, why the "might" have a use.

Maybe it's implied, yet the author didn't seem to care about fast, and mostly appeared to be counting whole numbers for greater lift. Guess most of the furthers probably also have uses if force is not an issue 1/3:1, 1/4:1, ect...

Sailing's not one I'd thought of much. Guess if large scale sailboats ever make it around again, hauling large scale ripstop nylon clipper sails might use a really fast spinnaker halyard.

[jzwinck]

Really fast lines are used to drop spinnakers on big boats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAo3KQ89no - this uses gears more than pulleys but same idea, light loads and high speed.