Repairing Aluminum winch drums?
- Thread starter pateco
- Start date
The surface skin of silicone should come off the deck with firm rubbing & a rag. At worst, you may need to use a brush. As for the silicone in the holes, I too would recommend drilling out to a slightly larger size, but I would fill the holes with fiberglass cloth, rather than just epoxy. I have recently had good results from rolling up an epoxy soaked piece of roving with mat wrapped into the outer two layers. It was a quick & easy one-step process. Regardless of what you choose to fill the hole with, be sure that the inside of the hole is completely dry before you start.
LDPE is generally not the best choice for a backing plate because it lacks structural rigidity. It can be used as an inner layer in a sandwich, if you have something more stiff, like Aluminum, behind it. It is a good insulating spacer material when you need to back up against something like carbon fiber.
LDPE is generally not the best choice for a backing plate because it lacks structural rigidity. It can be used as an inner layer in a sandwich, if you have something more stiff, like Aluminum, behind it. It is a good insulating spacer material when you need to back up against something like carbon fiber.
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jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
Jim This is a good idea. It has it's challenge. You need to be sure and get all of the air out of the roving/mat glass so that you do not create any voids that can draw water into the repair.
I soaked the cloth extra rich, then the excess epoxy squeezed out when I rolled up the cloth tight. I twisted the roll into the hole tight, leaving about an inch sticking out. After it hardened, I then hack sawed off the excess & filed it flush. I did not see any voids in the finished surface nor the piece that I cut off. After the repair, I drilled a pilot hole & put a screw into it. The hold was fully solid. The drill bit did not hit any soft spots. In the past, I have filled holes by building up layers of glass. The results were good, but that was very time consuming.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
I know that experience. When I upgraded my primary winches the hole pattern was different. Had to fill in the holes with epoxy and start over. Delayed my install by a day. Fortunately the new winch base was larger and fit over the old holes so not exposed to the eyes. I made sure that the new winch install had the proper orientation. Andersen's manual had good images to help with proper orientation. Attached is the page that I used.
Good luck
Good luck
Thank you for the Idea. That is exactly what I did
Exactly. After I had the old holes filled, cured, and sanded down I drew a template of the winch base and made a couple of photocopies of it. That allowed my to orient the winch mounting for best fit avoiding the old holes, and getting the winch alignment correct. Thank you for the Anderson Instructions. I took their advise, and placed the gears that contact the winch drum directly behind the loaded face. You can see in my template drawing, how I indicated which way the gear faced. Then once the templates were placed I slowly drilled the new holes so as not to penetrate the inner liner but to be long enough for the screws. I then hand tapped them at 1/4-20 As you can see in the picture below. The Hunter provided metal plate in the deck was actually pretty thick.
Once all the holes were tapped, I filled them with anti-oxidant to prevent seizing, and cleaned up all of the mess (fiberglass, aluminum shavings, and cutting oil) where the winches were going. I then made doughnuts of Bed-It Butyl tape around each of the new mounting holes, and placed the winch bases and torqued tight. I waited a little bit for them to settle , and the re-torqued. They are tight and sealed
I then greased the final outer bearings, and drum gear, and placed the drums making sure to align the self tailing arms to strip the line back into the cockpit.
I am more than happy with how they turned out. They are not new, but they are a crap-ton better than what I had, and can't wait to sail with them at Wednesday nights beercan races.
Thanks everyone for all of the advise.
ps, The old bronze Barlow 28s sold on Friday and are shipping out today, so some of the cost of the new winches has been offset.
I did not mount the Lewmar 16ST winches on the cabin top yet. After taking them to the boat to check fitment, they are smaller than the Barlow 20s that I currently have there, and I am not sure how well they will work for raising the sails. Anyone have any experience with these?
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jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
Current winches are Barlow 20s also single speed.
Barlow #20 Aluminum Winch
Height - 4 5/8"
Base - 5 1/4"
6 Bolt Pattern
I agree, two speeds for halyard winches, if for no other reason to get someone up the mast easier. I wish I had two speed winches anywhere (everywhere) on my boat.
16STs work well for raising my main up my 45' mast on my C30 Tall Rig. Actually, I raise it by hand to about the last 5', then finish with winch. You having a Hunter 31, might be similar.
Jib is a bit tougher but that's only once a year.
Jib is a bit tougher but that's only once a year.
So I got to go sailing Wednesday evening for our clubs beercan races. The Video below shows the mood on the boat. The new winches were awesome.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,145
It looks like you were having fun.
I am confused. Normally in a race there are many boats competing for the prize. Scanning the horizon, bow to stern, your the only boat on the waters. This would lead one to believe you may have missed the start and were just out tipping beers.
LOL, race hadn't started yet. Since moving our dock location, we actually managed to get out a little early. We had just put up the sails, and were waiting for the other boats to make it out to the Atlantic. We use a rabbit start at the local sea buoy so that we have fewer marks to set for these races.
Rabbit Start
Forget about a race committee boat, flags, sound signals, and all that stuff. Just use the “rabbit” system. One boat is designated the rabbit. It sails up to the start mark from the left side (looking to windward) and, after passing below the start mark, steers onto a close-hauled course (i.e., pointing as close to the wind as possible while still sailing) on port tack. The rest of the competitors have to approach from the right, on starboard tack, and sail between the start mark and the stern of the rabbit. That’s it. The rabbit has a slight advantage so, in a series of races, give the last-place finisher in the previous race the rabbit’s job for the next race, as it will give them the best possible start.
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So how have those winches worked out? Have just been sold a pair and at least one person on these boards hates them. Waiting with bated breath.