"Reset" KAS Harpoon for Re-use?

[Srpadget]

I suspect what I really need is a tutorial or a users' guide to KAS (that doesn't date back several years, before KAS and KIS became two separate mods), because I am doubtless just being clueless.  But here's my problem:

After all the discussion about Gilly's basically-negligible gravity and all the hassles it creates, I added winches and harpoons to my Gilly ISRU refinery/tanker.  Just to be safe, y'know?  The basic idea is: land on Gilly, fire harpoons angled out-and-down, then retract the winches just a bit so that the refinery doesn't 'drift'.  When all fueled up and ready to lift back into orbit: release the harpoons, retract the winches, lock the harpoons back in place ready to fire after the next landing.

At least, that's the idea.  Only problem is, I can't for the life of me figure out how to lock the harpoons back in place.

When I retract the winch cable, the harpoon tip starts flailing all over, spinning round and round the winch faster and faster as the cable shortens.  Okay, that's understandable, the loose harpoon picks up some angular momentum as it drifts and from there on it's just physics.  But it doesn't seem to want to damp out and STOP.  And apparently everything has to be aligned properly when the cable length reaches zero in order for the harpoon tip to lock back onto the winch so it can be fired again.

Surprisingly, I found a good mining spot that's nearly level, so I don't think I actually NEED the harpoons after all.  But I still want to get them re-locked in their original fire-able configuration, if only because I have ALSO found that if I just ignore them, they'll extend out to max cable length whenever I time warp.  And that is seriously annoying.

So:  What do I need to do [in DETAIL, seeing as I'm apparently dumber than a dart] in order to re-use a KAS harpoon?

[And OF COURSE I tried this in a test run.  When I set up a sandbox and cheated my way to Gilly, everything worked just fine.  Retract cable, when cable length reaches zero the harpoon locks of its own accord, and we're  good to go.  But try the same thing in career, and all goes pear-shaped.  Isn't that always the way...?]

[JoeeoJ]

Hi there,

have the same problem. Have built a small space tractor with a winch & a magnet. I wanted to use it to re-arrange  parts of my space station. But this ship turned out to be a use and throw ship, as I never again could get the winch/magnet in a position to eject/shoot it again. Thus the use of these winches is very limited.

Joe