I would love some feedback on a project since my initial plan went awry and hope others can help me from making any more mistakes. I keep making small tweaks to make life easier for short-handed sailing. Since I am usually alone, raising the main is a process. I raise it most of the way by hand at the mast and have a clam cleat mounted there to hold it in place. Then I feed the halyard through the blocks and then though the jammer on the coachroof and clamp it. Then I use the winch to fully hoist and make adjustments. The problem is that the only winch on the starboard side is a non-self tailing Barient 18. Using that without someone to tail can be done, but is not easy and must be one handed.
So I had to bright idea this winter to replace the winch with a self-tailing version to make adjustments easier once the sail is raised. It seemed a relatively straightforward project at the time. I have periodically had those, and I always assume the next one will be. I found a used Harken winch in good condition at a reasonable price on Ebay and bought it and took it to the boat. I presumed I would have to redrill some holes to mount it, but did not realize how limited the space actually was. The new winch is not much larger, but enough to be a problem. Because the winch is at the back of the coachroof, and behind the shower hatch, the space is very tight and I would not be able to fit all the screws of the new base, not to mention I would have to drill a new set of access points in the shower ceiling panel. So two options: 1. Try to find a comparably sized Barient 21 or 22 ST that has a smaller base (none have the same hole pattern). I think one would fit, but have not found any used ones yet so those appear hard to find. 2. Create an adapter plate. My thought was to buy a round aluminum(?) stock plate the size of the new winch base. Drill a set of countersunk holes matching the existing pattern and tap a set of holes for the new winch. The plate would be held by the old through bolts. The new by the tapped holes. This would raise the winch somewhat depending on the thickness of the plate. How thick to make it so the threads are sufficiently strong is a worry. I don’t think the raised angle would be a problem, since genoa winches are much higher than the lead block and work fine. My temptation is to go with option 2. Thoughts? Thanks as always- Dave S/V Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT
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