76 Hunter 30 winch on cabin top?

[okia42@hotmail.com]

Has anyone installed a winch on the cabin top? I am thinking about setting up starboard cockpit halyard. There seem to be no block to mount the winch.
Can you give me details on how you mounted the winch?

Thanks in advance

 

[Chuck Creel]

on my 79 vintage H-30, there was a metal plate inbedded in the glass on top of coah roof to mount a winch. I believe yours would be the same.
Just cant be sure.

 

[okia42@hotmail.com]

How can I tell if that metal plate is there?

 

[Steve Dion]

Drill a small pilot hole.

I don't know about the early models, but the later ones had a raised area where the winches were designed to be mounted. Does you H30 have the raised area?

 

[Nereussailor]

Cabin top winch

My H30 has the raised pad in the cabin top for a second winch, and yes there is an aluminum plate sandwiched in between the fiberglass. Drill a small pilot hole and see if you get any aluminum shavings out of it. If you do, you can drill and tap the holes. Be careful not to drill through the cabin liner.

Dave

 

[okia42@hotmail.com]

No raised area.

 

[Nereussailor]

I'd still do what Steve says and drill a small pilot hole. I'm willing to bet that there's an aluminum plate in there. It was also used for cleats, and rope clutches.

dave

 

[okia42@hotmail.com]

how big do you think the plate is? Not sure were to drill.

 

[Paul F]

There is a raised area on the deck where the plate is. If the area is not raised it is doubtful that a plate is there. Putting holes in the deck may be a bigger problem than using the halyard at the mast.

 

[rardiH36]

Here's A Pic From a 1980 Cherubini H36

The attached pic may give you an idea what the raised area looks like (this from a 1980 Cherubini Hunter 36).

Even without a raised area, it doesn't do any harm to drill as others have suggested a (say 1/8") pilot hole in the same area where my raised section is (its the same on both port and starboard on my boat). Its still possible that Hunter put in an aluminum plate without raising the area. There is an appx 1/4"-3/8" void space between the deck fiberglass and the inner liner for an aluminum plate to fit. If you don't find the aluminum, simply fill the exploration hole with epoxy being careful to be neat. Then a little white paint and no one will ever notice.

If you don't have almuminum, maybe others can chime in on this variation: The fiberglass on the cabin top is likely to be at least 1/4". Lots of fittings are screwed into just plain fiberglass. A winch usually has 5 mounting screws = lots of holding power. As long as the winch is used only to hoist the sail and one doesn't crank the tension really hard (use a short lenght winch handle), I would think that a winch would hold just fine without a backing plate?

 

[Ed Schenck]

The Cherubinis are so different. On the H37C the cabin mounted winch is bolted through. There is no aluminum plate. One original cheek block for the mainsheet was screwed into the coring. I have drilled a pilot hole preparatory to mounting another winch on the starboard cabin. I will bolt through that one as well. That depth is well over an inch to get through the liner.

Rardi, are you sure there are not bolts and nuts with a cover under that winch? That is where my mainsheet originally terminated. And a much smaller, non-tailing winch. Yet under it is a nice teak cover over the through-bolts.

 

[rardiH36]

Definitely Aluminum Plate Under My CabinTop Hardware Area

Ed: I'm 100% sure of the aluminum plate under the pot and starboard cabin top hardware mounting area on my boat. Aluminum shavings came up when I drilled the first hole when I repositioned the winch (you can see the original location in the picture which was taken before I painted with a 2-part polyurethane). Also I encountered aluminum when I added the cam cleat and repositioned the rope clutch. With the aluminum plate, Hunter didn't use through bolts with nuts. Instead tapped threads into the aluminum "as the nut".

Very neat looking deck on your boat as you readied for the painting. In comparison attached is a pic I took yesterday of an infrequently attended Cherubini H37 at a dock just up the channel from my boat's location. Big difference in condition from yours! (And the picture makes the boat look better than it actually is.) It been this way for 2.5 years I've had my boat in the area.

 

[jorgefife]

Ed,
I like the egg shell colour you have painted your bot! Do you have the name for it so I can buy something similar to yours?
Did you make note, or have the ticket?
Thanks

 

[J Hunter]

I have a '76 30, original owner. There's no "raised area" and I'd bet there's no plate either. I think you'll need to install a plate on the deck and overhead and through bolt it.