How to replace the rope clutch on a Hunter 336

[SVAngelina]

I want to replace the starboard triple rope clutch on my Hunter 336 (one of the handles broke). I’ve seen videos online on how to do this on other boats and seems simple enough if you can access the rope clutch from beneath, as there are nuts that you need to access in order to remove the old clutch and install the new one.

I don’t see a way to access the bottom of the clutch at all (see pictures attached), so I am wondering if in the case of the 336, the clutch is only glued to the deck….?

There is only small opening to access the winch on both the port and starboard sides, but no access to either rope clutch.

Has anybody replaced this?

 

[rgranger]

I don't know a lot about the construction of the 336 but on the H26 and H260 (also H23.5) the deck was laid with embedded aluminum plates that have been tapped and threaded. So the "backing" plate/nut is actually embedded in the deck. If that is the case with yours, you can simply back out the bolts and replace.

I added clutches and an organizer to my H26... All I had to do was tap and dye my plates and screw in the new hardward.

 

[Hello Below]

So the "backing" plate/nut is actually embedded in the deck.

Agreed but it’s just as likely to have the threads tapped directly into an aluminum plate.

 

[Techstyle]

I have a 336 but have not worked on the specific area you are talking about but generally, for instance all the stanchions, are into a tapped, embedded Aluminum plate.

I did find that one of my stanchions had nuts on the underside but this had been "fixed" and they must have stripped out the plate. be very careful when trying to remove the fasteners, I had to extract one from a different stanchion when I stripped it. now I use a manual impact screwdriver to get the bolts free: Amazon.com

here is Facebook group for the 336/340 which is very helpful

 

[rgranger]

Agreed but it’s just as likely to have the threads tapped directly into an aluminum plate.

That is what I was trying to say. The aluminum plate is the "backing plate/nut"

 

[rgranger]

I have a 336 but have not worked on the specific area you are talking about but generally, for instance all the stanchions, are into a tapped, embedded Aluminum plate.

There is your answer! Good news for you. Should make things simple. Just back out the existing bolts and replace the hardware. If you accidently strip out a thread like @Techstyle cautioned... you might be able to slightly upsize the bolt by switching between metric and "standard" and you can get a new bolt that is only slightly larger than the original... alowing you to get new threads and still have the bolt fit in the deck hardware's pilot holes.

Good luck

Post pics

 

[kloudie1]

A Helicoil is good there too if the threads strip.
the manual impact driver is a real help, as Techstyle noted.

 

[Tally Ho]

If there is no way to access nuts under the clutch, it is a good bet that the screws are screwed into the aluminum plate embedded in the glass.

Try backing out one of the screws and see what happens. Hopefully they used some sort of lubricant on the screws to prevent dissimilar metal issues.


Greg

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Former Hunter dealer who use to sell your boat. @rgranger is correct about the aluminum plate embedded in the fiberglass which is drilled and tapped. Be aware 5200 was probably used as a sealant which is not recommended. 4200 or a good sealant is recommended other than 5200
Crazy Dave

 

[SVAngelina]

Thank you all! I’ll give it a try and report back - with pictures.

 

[Ken13559]

Can't you just replace the broken lever/handle , work all done from top? That's what I did for my h326. There are 2 long smallish bolts that can be remove from the clutch assembly for access to remove levers/handles. The rod holding the levers should be able to be tap out.

 

[SVAngelina]

Thanks Ken13559…. I’ll look for the replacement handle first. The new triple clutch is about $250 at Defender (new model XAS), so I’ll check the price of the handle (legacy model XA).

 

[SVAngelina]

Finally got around to replacing the rope clutches. I decided to bite the bullet and replace both, since Defender had them on sale for a mere $225 each. It turned out to be much simpler than expected. I had an impact driver ready but the machine screws came out without issues using a regular screwdriver. I used a metal spatula to pry out the old one and it came off easily after scraping and prodding it some.

The key thing was to align the screw holes and mark where the new rope clutch sits before applying the adhesive. Once the adhesive is on and you lay the clutch on the surface there is no way to see the screw holes, so it gets messy if you skip that step.

The new clutches did not come with screws, so I reused the existing ones. They were somewhat gunky but nothing a little acetone and goof-off couldn't fix.

I used acetone and a regular dish sponge to remove the gunk from the boat's surface. I had to use the spatula at times as well.
Thank you all for the guidance, and here are the pictures...

 

[rgranger]

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Congratulations on the replacement. If you cannot figure out, Al Fooks and Joe Kerr are former Hunter employees who built your boat now working for the Forum Store on this site.

 

[chp]

I want to replace the starboard triple rope clutch on my Hunter 336 (one of the handles broke). I’ve seen videos online on how to do this on other boats and seems simple enough if you can access the rope clutch from beneath, as there are nuts that you need to access in order to remove the old clutch and install the new one.

I don’t see a way to access the bottom of the clutch at all (see pictures attached), so I am wondering if in the case of the 336, the clutch is only glued to the deck….?

There is only small opening to access the winch on both the port and starboard sides, but no access to either rope clutch.

Has anybody replaced this?View attachment 219437

Just replace the handle. I broke mine on my 280 last year and replace it for 40 bucks. Took about 20 minutes to replace it. A hell of a lot easier than changing the whole clutch.

 

[rgranger]

Just replace the handle.

In post #13 he shows pictures of his newly replaced clutch.

 

[dkinzer]

The key thing was to align the screw holes and mark where the new rope clutch sits before applying the adhesive.

A technique that can help in a situation like this is to get some threaded rod matching the diameter and thread pitch of the fasteners (or some long screws with the heads cut off) to place in two of the holes diagonally from each other. These will act as guides for putting the clutch block in place. This will help you start the remaining screws and then the guides can be replaced by the fastening hardware

 

[AndyL]

Just wanted to thank everyone for a really useful set of posts! I was wondering about access to the clutches on my 2004 36 and I hope/assume they will be installed in pretty much the same way, so this is good info for me. Now I have to think about replacing one of the 3 clutch units with a 4 clutch setup.

 

[George Braun]

Just wanted to thank everyone for a really useful set of posts! I was wondering about access to the clutches on my 2004 36 and I hope/assume they will be installed in pretty much the same way, so this is good info for me. Now I have to think about replacing one of the 3 clutch units with a 4 clutch setup.

Andy - Me too, buying an asym for our 2008 H36, want to bring the spin halyard back to the cockpit. See you on the Bay, we are in Northeast, get down your way fairly often