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.