I need to replace the sheet winches on my 23-2. The old winched are through-bolted to the deck, with access to the nuts via small holes in the molded liner, with plastic plugs (see picture). The bolt holes for the new winches will not line up with the old. I was thinking of drilling a large hole in the liner for access, using a hole saw. I could then cover it up with a wood cover or similar. The mounts are down in the the footwells, not out in the open cabin. Any thoughts?
Replacing winches on 23-2
- Thread starter Ziradog
- Start date
The standard procedure for something like this would be to get an inspection plate at least as big around as the circle of bolts you need to access. Cut out a circular section in the liner as per the plate instructions. (Usually the hole cut is the same as the outside diameter of the plate cover, but check to be sure.) Do whatever work you need to do inside the hull, then install the plate to fill the hole. If you ever need access to that area again, just unscrew the plate cover. Question: are winches a typical problem on the 23-2? I think the 23-2 would be a good boat for us, but I am still looking for one in the Northwest. In the mean time, I am collecting cautionary tales. So far I have heard about shroud tangs and main bulkhead. Anything else I should know about?
Someone please educate me here - why couldn't he from outside drill the mounting holes through the outer hull, and through the inner hull and just use fender washers inside? ( possibly adding a little collar bushing between inner and outer hull, if worried about crushing the two together)
Lance, that would work but I think the bushings would be problematic against the un-even surface of the underside of the deck. Plus the new winches have 6 bolts on a different circle than the original 5, so there would be some inference with the original plugs.
I had not thought of using a standard inspection plate, I will measure & see how that lines up.
The bulkheads & deck leaks were the big things I saw when we were looking last year. One boat's mast step was depressed >1/2", check that area carefully. My boat had the Barlow 16's with the snap clip that holds the drum on. When under load in an upward direction (like pulling up while tailing), the drum will pop off. Other Barlow 16's had a screw in the center to hold the drum on that seems to work better. Interestingly, those winches had either 4 or 6 mounting bolts versus 5 mounting bolts on mine. O'day used most any brand of winch so most of the ones you look will have something different.
I had not thought of using a standard inspection plate, I will measure & see how that lines up.
The bulkheads & deck leaks were the big things I saw when we were looking last year. One boat's mast step was depressed >1/2", check that area carefully. My boat had the Barlow 16's with the snap clip that holds the drum on. When under load in an upward direction (like pulling up while tailing), the drum will pop off. Other Barlow 16's had a screw in the center to hold the drum on that seems to work better. Interestingly, those winches had either 4 or 6 mounting bolts versus 5 mounting bolts on mine. O'day used most any brand of winch so most of the ones you look will have something different.