Winch & Rope Clutch Placement on Cabin top (E32)

[markvone]

Ken,

The Spinlock XCS has a metal body. Same rated load in small line size (6 - 10 mm) - 1500 pounds and 2640 pound load for the large line size (8 - 12 mm)about $150 more than a XTS triple from Vela Sailing where I got mine. I would think a triple clutch could get pretty close to your winch and still yield good alignment for all three lines. You should also consider if a modification to your dodger would allow more room. A cutout or bump-out or an opening piece to reach clutches ahead of the dodger? I'm not sure, I don't have a dodger . I fit my new clutches aft of where a dodger would go and still have a decent line angle for the middle four lines even though I only have about 12 inches between clutch and winch.

FWIW, You can just make out the tan gelcoat repair in the non-skid of 5 holes from a previous winch. My color is a little dark but I suspect it will fade to match more closely. Normally there are lines covering this area. And you can't see any of the gelcoat hole repairs in the smooth white gelcoat to the right of the winch.

Mark

 

[bgary]

the grip range is much smaller on the Lewmar DC-1s: only 8-10mm or 10-12 mm.

Generally speaking
8mm = 5/16"
10mm = 3/8
11mm = 7/16"
12mm = 1/2"

I've switched (almost - I have one more to go) all my halyards over to 8mm (5/16") VPC, and very happy with it.

 

[bgary]

I finally got around to taking a close look at the stoppers on Makana.

They're made by Sophos Berendsen (Denmark)

What I like is that they hold solidly and are very compact, both opened and closed.

Bad news is, no clue if they're still available from anywhere.

If anyone has a "triple" like this they're not using... let me know?



Bruce

 

[GrandpaSteve]

Found on Ebay - not a recommendation, just a search result - https://www.ebay.com/i/142390548844?chn=ps

I finally got around to taking a close look at the stoppers on Makana.

They're made by Sophos Berendsen (Denmark)

What I like is that they hold solidly and are very compact, both opened and closed.

Bad news is, no clue if they're still available from anywhere.

If anyone has a "triple" like this they're not using... let me know?

View attachment 23803

Bruce

 

[bgary]

Found on Ebay

Cool, thanks! I had searched for Berendsen, but hadn't found any.

Bruce

 

[tenders]

I like that Plasteak approach. Why not keep its original thickness?

Let’s talk about that AC too. Doesn’t that location risk allowing the cabin to flood if you get pooped by a wave...and doesn’t the AC intrude bigly into the cockpit...and don’t the mechanicals of the AC rust terribly in that location? Don’t get me wrong, it looks great from inside the cabin, but....

------------------------------------------

I thinned the 1/2" PlasTeak mostly for aesthetic reasons plus it made taking the contour of the coach roof more readily/easily was all. ...PlasTeak (https://www.plasteak.com/) is a great product and easy to work with plus planing it down was easy to do - so why not?

As for the AC unit....I installed my first unit back in the mid '70's while still living in Florida. I've been through 2 additional units since that time. They do hold up surprisingly well even in the salt water environment so corrosion and rust have not really been a problem. As for the ability to withstand being pooped or flooded - I've only suffered one knockdown due to my own stupidity of tying off the spinnaker sheet briefly in light air and then getting hit by "Murphy" and a quick heavy air out of nowhere!. The boat went to her far side, filled the cockpit with water to the worst I've ever encountered.

I had built a bridge deck over the unit plus have a locking front cover that helps protect the unit. NO water was able to penetrate the cabin whatsoever. As for cockpit space, the bridge deck has proved to be an asset for easier entrance to the cabin plus an area to set food fare on while cruising in lighter airs. We've never felt infringed on for cockpit space over the years. (The included photo shows a better view of how it looks and works hopefully. (The added "EvaTeak" is yet to be finished in the cockpit sole this spring when it warms up.)

BTW - We did the Trans Erie Race back in '99 and took a 1st in our class PLUS a 1st OVERALL. Funny part was it drove a bunch of them crazy that I'd left the AC unit in as they had pulled everything off their boats including cushions to make their boats lighter for the race. ...Comfort, Cruising and Racing - hard to beat an Ericson!! ;-)))

View attachment 23744[/QUOTE]

That's really nice. Would love to see more pictures sometime of how you constructed that bridge deck, and how it seals, without interfering with the cockpit drains or engine controls. (Perhaps you have a wheel with the engine controls farther aft - my 32 is tiller-steered and the engine controls are pretty close to the cabin entrance.)

I see that our paths have crossed previously through your son, who used to post here when he was rebuilding your boat - I'm still flying your old North fully-battened mainsail!

 

[bgary]

Reviving a thread with a question....

In laying out new clutches and winches, I'm wrestling with a minor dilemma: if I position the clutches in the optimal spots (athwartships), then the winch positions cannot be symmetrical - the port-side winch will have to be a drum-diameter farther outboard than the starboard winch in order to get the best lead-angles. Or, if I position the winches in the same spot side-to-side, the port-side clutch will have to be a drum-diameter farther inboard than the one on the starboard side.

Yeah, I know. OCD.

I'm leaning toward option A, having the clutches in the right places for the best lead-angles, and positioning the winches to suit the lines coming out of the clutches. Option B is, I *may* be able to position the winches far enough behind the clutches that I could center them behind the clutches and still have reasonable angles between clutch and winch. The two cabin-top configurations could be symmetrical that way, but that option (although it "feels good") is sort of a distant second right now compared to making things work right.

Anyone come up with an elegant solution to this? Or is it one of those things that, as someone once said to me, "no one will ever look at this as closely as you are right now, so let it go..."?

Bruce

 

[markvone]

Bruce,

I added a new, larger ST winch to each side of my cabintop. I located the stbd winch as close inboard to the companionway as I could with the line entry side still aligned to the center of my clutch bank. I placed the port winch one winch diameter outboard to align with the center of the new clutches. I added eight clutches to both sides and had space for 10 so I could only move the clutches a small amount anyway. I honestly only thought about the alignment and didn't worry about symmetry.

I never notice the slight difference from side to side. With the clutches installed it looks less noticeable than in these pictures. Winch covers on and lines coiled around the winches hide any differences. I would agree nobody else is going to look at it that close.

Mark

 

[Loren Beach]

When I do a redesign of the aft cabin top winches and clutches I will try align the incoming side of the winch drum with the clutches. And also position this stuff back far enough to allow a (hopeful) full turn on a handle without running into side of the new cruising dodger on our want list.
I have crewed on a lot of boats where the clutches were very difficult to reach from the cockpit because they were against or even under part of the dodger front boundary.