Replacing Lewmar 30's with ST 30's

[gholker]

Need some advice as I've been looking for a set of pre-owned Lewmar 30 ST winches to replace the original (1984) non-ST winches. I've finally reconciled that I won't find a pair of pre-owned in good shape. I'm looking at the Lewmar 30ST, 2 speed, aluminum EVO series. Added benefit is a 3+ pound weight savings each. Does anyone know if the bolt pattern will be the same or will I have to glass over the old holes and drill new? Where would I find backing plates.

Thanks

 

[Cabin by the Sea]

I have a 1981 Catalina 30 and found some new ST winches earlier this year for about $500 a piece. The bolt pattern looked similar but was not so I drilled new holes. I used washers as I couldn't find a backing plate. Although backing plates are always preferred I figured if the OEM used washers and had no issues for 33 years I would probably be ok. I've had the 130% Genoa out in 20+ knots and not had any issues. It was one of the best investments I could have made and now my girlfriend can run the sheets with no complaints. Good luck finding a good price, I found ours at an awesome sailing store but it was a random sale.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Need some advice as I've been looking for a set of pre-owned Lewmar 30 ST winches to replace the original (1984) non-ST winches. I've finally reconciled that I won't find a pair of pre-owned in good shape. I'm looking at the Lewmar 30ST, 2 speed, aluminum EVO series. Added benefit is a 3+ pound weight savings each. Does anyone know if the bolt pattern will be the same or will I have to glass over the old holes and drill new? Where would I find backing plates.

Thanks

I recently replaced my Lewmar 16 non-ST winches with a pair of 30ST's that I bought, new in the box, from Minney's Surplus for about $475 per winch. They are more than large enough for my fractionally rigged Ericson 26-2 and should be adequate for a Catalina 27 as well. Unfortunately, I believe Minney's sold out their stock.

As for backing plates, you should absolutely install them in order to do the job right. All you need is a piece of aluminum. For my 30's I had a local metal shop cut me a couple of 6" diameter aluminum circles, 1/4" thick. No biggie. Alternatively, you could go with a piece of G-10, which you could obtain from McMaster-Carr, among other places.

 

[woodster]

there is a pair for sale in gear adds

 

[Claygr]

Sorry, the bolt pattern almost certainly will not match. We replaced a Lewmar 30 (non-ST) with an EVO winch on our 1989 C34 and the pattern was different. Filling the old holes with epoxy was simple, as was drilling the new holes. The problem is that it was through-bolted into the cabin so we would have had three empty holes (I was able to re-use two of the old holes, if I remember correctly). I ended up making a backing plate out of starboard that covered the old holes and created a more stable mounting surface for the new winch.