A shipboard winch having guide vanes includes a first drum and a second drum that are mounted on a frame so that the drums contra-rotate when the winch is activated. A plurality of guide vanes is positioned between the first drum and the second drum. Each guide vane is formed with a base and a distal lip that extends outwardly from the guide vane when the guide vane is oriented horizontally. The guide vanes are further formed with a decreasing taper from a maximum width at the base to a minimum width at the distal lip. For deployment/recovery, the cable is threaded around the first drum, through the guide vanes and around the second drum in a figure eight configuration. A feedback circuit is used to control the rotational torque of the drums to maintain a constant tension on a cable as it is deployed or retrieved.