Installing additional winch on 361 Oceanis

[forte]

I own a 361 oceanis clipper , which is equiped with 1 main winch on portside companion way ( in addtion to the 2 genoa winches on ps + sb near the helm )
On starboard companionway the installation of a winch is prepared from factory, but not installed.
I want to add this winch now and will need acces from below deck in order to install a backing ring support and fasten bolts.
In order to do this some the ceiling plating needs to be removed.
Anybody here som has started such a job earlier ? Where to start removing plating without damaging?

 

[Joe]

You might also pose this question to Beneteau factory customer service. At least to confirm any suggestions you get here.

 

[Jackdaw]

In the standing area of the aft berths there is a small wooden panel in the ceiling, held in place by small screws. Removing this panel will revel the underside of the winch mounting area. This area is solid glass (by design) so you can drill through it without fear of wetting core.

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

In the standing area of the aft berths there is a small wooden panel in the ceiling, held in place by small screws. Removing this panel will revel the underside of the winch mounting area. This area is solid glass (by design) so you can drill through it without fear of wetting core.

Correct! This is the wood to remove.

 

[Jackdaw]

Correct! This is the wood to remove.

Nice, I hoped someone with a 361 would have a picture to suplement my memory.

 

[forte]

All,

Thanks for your replies.
I will get back to this later this week when I am back on the boat, and post some pictures. In my rememberance it was not as easy as you indicate.

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

All,

Thanks for your replies.
I will get back to this later this week when I am back on the boat, and post some pictures. In my rememberance it was not as easy as you indicate.

I have added some extra spinlock clutches so from experience I know it's not that difficult.
I really don't remember if you need to also remove the white plastic around the hatch (if you have one). It is glued with silikon (besides the screws) so be careful not to break it. It's a very thin plastic.

 

[Syversens]

Our 361 had that winch from factory but like Philip I've added another spinlock clutch and access panel made it easy. if you don't have the wooden panel I can see how this would be tricky.... I've also moved my traveler cleats back to the winches so they are not on the traveler itself. that made easier cleating and uncleating of traveler and just a hole thru the dodger window instead of long cut.

 

[forte]

As the weather invited today to inside work it was a good day to investigate further. Removing the plastic around the windows made removal of the wooden plating much easier . Luckily those were not glued and easy to remove.

I opened also up on the portside to see how the original installation was performed. Was a little disappointed to see the size of the washers used. Was thinking to use a bigger size myself, even considering a ring connecting all bolts together. But this might be overkill?

Pictures attached.

 

[suttonski]

Hi, I have moved the Lewmar 30CST winch from port side to the starboard side and installed a new 40CST winch on port side. Not a difficult job, just removed the wood panel and you will have access to the nuts. I have increased the washer sizes just to be on the safe side. You will notice that I have also added Spinlock clutches and change the main sail traveller arrangement.

 

[Jackdaw]

I opened also up on the portside to see how the original installation was performed. Was a little disappointed to see the size of the washers used. Was thinking to use a bigger size myself, even considering a ring connecting all bolts together. But this might be overkill?

Overkill.

Consider:

The glass there is solid, thick, and supported by complex three dimensional structure.

The load on winches is in SHEER, not TENSION. That makes the load mostly horizontal, and not pulling vertical. That matters hugely.

Beneteau had real mechanical and structural engineers that figure out what build is needed based on both loading and structure. They create build policy based on that engineering. Some guy in the shop didn't pick that hardware.

And finally some emperical evidence, Beneteau has makes thousand of boats like that, and has for years. Have you ever heard of a winch pulling out, or even stress cracks? Not me. And I listen. And I've also been under there on our raced First 36.7, which is subjected to much bigger loads than you will ever see Looks like new 8 years on.

 

[forte]

Tks for the feedback all.

To be continued. Hopefully upcoming eastern holiday will give time to complete this long outstanding point on an ever growing todo list.

 

[Randylb]

I also installed a new lewmar winch and spinlock clutches on the starboard cabin top. Might have been the easiest boat project to date. Remove the access plate. Use some masking tape to tape a garbage bag around the opening to collect dust and debris. Mark and drill your holes in the surfaces already laid out by Beneteau. Remove the garbage bag. Lay out some butyl tape. Have someone above and below and install your your hardware.