Keel position from winch view

[Mike25]

If you have a Venture 25 and the keel winch is just inside the companion way how do you monitor the keel position when the winch drum is out of sight? The PO cracked the trunk top by over tightening while raising the keel. I just installed a new dutton lainson 1500 DLB. It was around $100 from Northern Tool. My primary question is how can you know the keel position? When returning to the ramp I want to prevent damage to the keel trunk by cranking the cable beyond its fully raised height. Other discussions include handle clearance and sealing of the cable through hole in trunk top where the wear pin resides.

 

[rgranger]

Paint different colors on the cable to correspond to diff levels

 

[Mike25]

The problem is I cannot see the cable either. The winch and cable are inside an enclosure with just the handle sticking out. Others have said to count turns of the handle. I guess that's all you can do. I'll need to write it on a laminated index card

 

[Tsatzsue]

Just crank till tight. You will know. Release the winch and drop it onto the trailer once Mac bumped. I always had to hit the brakes to get the nose on the rubber v-stop. By dropping the keel onto the trailer you eliminate a lot of stress on the boat. Let the trailer take it. I got the same winch.

 

[HeelBoy]

I share the concerns and it drove me to completely redo that area of the boat with anew companionway cabinet, and a compression post for the keep winch. That thin plywood is not the most structural of materials, and I believe you can get away with cutting a small window to observe your winch cable. I used a dab of bright orange paint.