Cabin Top Winch Advice...

[...3TacksontheWater]

Getting ready to plan for repurposing my Lewmar #6 winches on the cabin top to handle the lines led aft. These will be paired with Lewmar DC1 double rope clutches. Do I need a cabin top winch base plate? Since WH was converted to Starboard by a PO, I'll need to stay with white starboard plates to keep things coordinated. Will a 1/4" thick 4" round plate be sufficient or, should it be thicker? I'm concerned that without a base plate to increase the height of the winch that it won't wrap smoothly. I'll be running the Main Halyard and first reef to starboard and the Jib Halyard and second reef to port. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
George

 

[kappykaplan]

I'll be running the Main Halyard and first reef to port and the Jib Halyard and second reef to port.

George, shouldn't there be a stbd in there?

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

George, shouldn't there be a stbd in there?

LOL. You're absolutely right. I have no business typing anything without a frosty mug of beer close by..... Correction made.
George

 

[kappykaplan]

LOL. You're absolutely right. I have no business typing anything without a frosty mug of beer close by..... Correction made.

 

[Gene Neill]

Do I need a cabin top winch base plate? I'm concerned that without a base plate to increase the height of the winch that it won't wrap smoothly.

We don't have base plates on our halyard winches, but they would be helpful. The line does want to cross over itself. It may never rise to the top of my to do list now, but if I were doing it over, I'd use a plate.

And I'd use self tailing winches.

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

We don't have base plates on our halyard winches, but they would be helpful. The line does want to cross over itself. It may never rise to the top of my to do list now, but if I were doing it over, I'd use a plate.

And I'd use self tailing winches.

Gene:

Thank you for your reply, 10-4 on the base plates. Is a one (1) inch too much for a base plate in your opinion or, kind of the “sweet spot”? I’ve located a source for custom sized Starboard base plates. I kind of wish you hadn’t brought up self tailing winches. Out of all the Kool-Aid I‘ve tasted over the last several years, Self Tailing winches really delivered! Admittedly, I’ve only been sailing several times since the Labor Day launch but the self tailing winch has negated every (real and imagined) downside of Catalina Yachts’ faux pas of a smaller winch coaming than on the pre 85 Catalina 22s. The 15ST Evo’s do the job and the self tailing feature completely negates the lack of jib sheet cleating options on the New Design. It was well worth the cost and effort of installing the self tailing winches on Waffle House IMO. I highly recommend this mod for jib sheeting to other New Design owners.

Are you using rope clutches on your cabin top? What in your opinion is the benefit of ST on the Cabin Top? I will be using Lewmar DC1 clutches in front of the winch. Thank you in advance for your reply. As I’ve mentioned before, I do wish the STs came in smaller sizes. I wonder how many more STs would have found their way to New Design second owners if they would have been a direct replacement for the OEM non ST winch?

George

 

[Gene Neill]

Gene:

Thank you for your reply, 10-4 on the base plates. Is a one (1) inch too much for a base plate in your opinion or, kind of the “sweet spot”? I’ve located a source for custom sized Starboard base plates. I kind of wish you hadn’t brought up self tailing winches. Out of all the Kool-Aid I‘ve tasted over the last several years, Self Tailing winches really delivered! Admittedly, I’ve only been sailing several times since the Labor Day launch but the self tailing winch has negated every (real and imagined) downside of Catalina Yachts’ faux pas of a smaller winch coaming than on the pre 85 Catalina 22s. The 15ST Evo’s do the job and the self tailing feature completely negates the lack of jib sheet cleating options on the New Design. It was well worth the cost and effort of installing the self tailing winches on Waffle House IMO. I highly recommend this mod for jib sheeting to other New Design owners.

Are you using rope clutches on your cabin top? What in your opinion is the benefit of ST on the Cabin Top? I will be using Lewmar DC1 clutches in front of the winch. Thank you in advance for your reply. As I’ve mentioned before, I do wish the STs came in smaller sizes. I wonder how many more STs would have found their way to New Design second owners if they would have been a direct replacement for the OEM non ST winch?

George

It's hard to say, on the block thickness ... an inch, maybe 3/4? Your guess is as good as mine. There is a proper sheeting angle specified by the winch manufacturer; that and a little geometry would provide the answer, I think.

We do have clutches forward of the winches, like you described. I believe I would prefer ST's because I could grind the winch one handed, and slap the clutch closed with the other hand, never having to hold tension on the line with my THIRD hand. (More than two wraps on the drum causes the fouling problem to happen, so you gotta hold that line pretty hard sometimes.)

Ironically, I'm only lukewarm on our ST jib winches. They are way better than the factory setup, but dang it, the original design is still superior in this one critical area. It annoys me that I can't call Frank Butler and give him a piece of my mind.

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

Gene:

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate what you’re describing regarding grinding in the main. In my mind, I imagined taking three (3) wraps on the 6’s, hauling in, and simply leaning forward to set the clutch. You’ve convinced me otherwise. Raising the main for optimum tautness has always been a bit of a ”muscle bound” exercise on my previous C-22 but, youth and the agility it affords sure helped mitigate this issue 30+ years ago while I went to the mast to raise the sails. I do believe that two more ST 15‘s are in my BOGO future. While I wanted to repurpose my Lewmar 6‘s to the cabin top, I’m not too keen on drilling eight holes just to have winches for a few months to be replaced by the correct winch in the Spring. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that West Marine will have a BOGO winch sale in the Spring.

George

 

[OS2Dude]

The winches on my 1985 Catalina 30 Mk I have no 'base plate' at all. If your cabin top is rounded somewhat whatever thickness you need to make a flat base (even if it is angled a bit) is what you need. The other thing I would recommend is a backing plate. My winches came with the factory standard washers as backing, and I guess they did their job for 35 years, but I don't trust washers. When I bought the boat, I replaced the washers on both winches with a 0.25" aluminum disk as a backing plate. Old frying pans are a good source for the aluminum. I also cored the bolt holes in the cabin roof. Both the cabin roof and the disk were tapped to fit the mounting bolts. Cap nuts finish the bolts off.

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

The winches on my 1985 Catalina 30 Mk I have no 'base plate' at all. If your cabin top is rounded somewhat whatever thickness you need to make a flat base (even if it is angled a bit) is what you need. The other thing I would recommend is a backing plate. My winches came with the factory standard washers as backing, and I guess they did their job for 35 years, but I don't trust washers. When I bought the boat, I replaced the washers on both winches with a 0.25" aluminum disk as a backing plate. Old frying pans are a good source for the aluminum. I also cored the bolt holes in the cabin roof. Both the cabin roof and the disk were tapped to fit the mounting bolts. Cap nuts finish the bolts off.

Chris:
Thank you for the reply. Yes since the cabin top is far less substantial than the coaming there will be a backing plate for sure for the halyard winches. I like what you did on your boat, it’s much better to be safe than sorry.
George

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

It's hard to say, on the block thickness ... an inch, maybe 3/4? Your guess is as good as mine. There is a proper sheeting angle specified by the winch manufacturer; that and a little geometry would provide the answer, I think.

We do have clutches forward of the winches, like you described. I believe I would prefer ST's because I could grind the winch one handed, and slap the clutch closed with the other hand, never having to hold tension on the line with my THIRD hand. (More than two wraps on the drum causes the fouling problem to happen, so you gotta hold that line pretty hard sometimes.)

Ironically, I'm only lukewarm on our ST jib winches. They are way better than the factory setup, but dang it, the original design is still superior in this one critical area. It annoys me that I can't call Frank Butler and give him a piece of my mind.

Gene:

A follow up question, if I may. You’re currently sporting Lewmar 6’s or 7’s on the cabin top, is that correct? Since your winches are already mounted, what if you experimented with several thicknesses of winch pads? I’m willing to bet that you will find a sweet spot to take three (3) wraps without fouling. With three (3) fair wraps, do you think you could comfortably hold the halyard in hand after grinding and then, set the jam cleat? Looking forward to your thoughts.

George