Installing main halyard winch and fairleads on cabin roof

[Sea Hunt Video]

Tim:

If my good friend Neil starts to get (or tries to get) too "technical" or "nautical" you can always remind him that recently, when discussing removing a line from a cleat someone (I won't mention any names - Neil G. ) called the line a "rope". Oh, Lord, the blasphemy

Hmmm...

But the context of that was in giving instructions to land lubbers! "Don't touch the rope" seems more effective than "Don't touch the line."

Neil:

I give you props for that response. Well done.

I recall when I was young and on a boat for one of the first times I was told "go to the bow". I must have had a confused look on my face because the boat captain then said "go to the pointy end". Message received and understood.

[Steve Bryant]

Roberto,

If you want to thru-bolt all the way through the deck and the liner and forego the large hole and the teak trim piece, you can prevent compressing the space between the bottom of the deck and the liner with a stainless steel spacer slipped over the bolt. You would have to drill your holes in the liner a little larger to accommodate the spacer, but your fender washers would cover it nicely. Then finish it off with an acorn nut over the exposed bolt end.

You can get the spacers from McMaster-Carr. They come in just about any length for any bolt size you can come up with.

Here's a link to the spacer, and a couple of visual aids.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#unthreaded-spacers/=12et026

[tjr818]

...Tim, you are "hands on" with this right now. What are your thoughts about Steve's post and his idea of drilling a 4" - 5" round hole up into the liner

I see nothing wrong with that approach. Some of us are lucky enough to have that dome light fixture in the overhead to provide access, or at least partial access. More on that later.
As for as covering the 4" - 5" hole you could use teak, Starboard, plastic, a SS or brass plate or a light fixture, that is just a matter of aesthetics. Do whatever looks good to you, most of us will never see it. Our light fixture came standard with the 27,it is about 6" in diameter and it is held on with three #4 wood screws into the overhead .

[Squid]

Here is how I did a similar install. If you need inside pictures let me know.

http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33648

[Sea Hunt Video]

Glen:

You have been so gracious with all your photos, etc. I am reluctant to ask but ..............

YES, I would very much like to see as many inside photos as possible - IF you already have them. Please do NOT take a special set of photos.

As of this post I am thinking I will drill a 5"- 6" hole, install a backing plate (either mfg. or just using large washers) and nuts. I'll cover the hole with a 6" -7" teak plate. I think it will look OK but I would very much welcome any and all suggestions of other solutions. I plan to do the same for the deck organizer (rectangular) and the line clutch (rectangular) and the turning blocks (round )

I took measurements today. The space between the coach roof hatch rail and the hand rail is only 10" - so not much room to work with. Also, there is no dome light, etc. so I can position the winch as close to the bulkhead as is reasonable. There is a minor curvature in the roof. I am thinking of installing a teak disk and just sanding it down to conform to this curvature so that the winch sits "level".

I am now trying to decide on make/model of the winch, the deck organizer, the line clutches, etc. I know Garhauer makes quality and I have bought from them. The winch is an issue. While I would like the Lewmar bronze (the two Genoa winches are Lewmar bronze self-tailing) that seems an exorbitant expense for this particular application.

I have said this before and I say it again - this board is absolutely amazing in the ability of its members to help those of us who have so little skills and knowledge. I would NEVER attempt any of this without the above recommendations, "does and don'ts", suggestions, support, etc. Absolutely invaluable.

THANK YOU

[tjr818]

Roberto, here is what I plan on using for the smaller holes that I will need for the line clutch and for a jamb cleat that I will be placing on the opposite side for the lazy jack line.
These come in many different sizes and finishes and they are available at any hardware store, Amazon, or McMaster-Carr.

Hole Plug.jpg

[tjr818]

The winch is installed
I was able to access the bolts through the dome light opening:

Dome Light.jpg

After drilling the holes I could see all of them through the hole that I had enlarged:

Access.jpg

I did have to use a "specially modified wrench" to reach the two farthest bolts:

Secret Tool.jpg

The dome light was then reinstalled and it covered the access hole. If the winch had been any further aft I would have needed to cut new access holes. By the way the overhead is made of some pretty substancial fiberglass. I used a multi-tool to enlarge the opening and it was not as easy as I was expecting. Cover everything and wear a respirator

I tried to attach more photos, but three seems to be the limit. More later.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Tim:

Yes, please, more photos

When I do it I am pretty sure I will be drilling a 4" or 5" hole (cut out) in order to be able to access the 5-6 bolts, nuts, backing plate.

What did you finally decide to use for a backing plate Large washers or some type of metal plate

If possible please post photos and descriptions of how you install the turning blocks and line clutch.

Thanks Tim

[Dick Kobayashi]

Robert,

On my 25D the main halyard comes down to the deck and passed through a stand up block mounted on a spring loaded plate and then through a cheek block mounted flat against the deck and then to a winch on the cabin top. Halyard is tied off to a 6 inch SS cleat also on the cabin top. No blocks of teak - everything is through bolted to the cabin top. A very simple and effective and functional design. It is the only line run to the cockpit.

Seems foolproof, cheap and effective - it came with the boat when I purchased in 2001 - never had to rebed. Sometimes "less is more"

[Sea Hunt Video]

Dick:

I agree with "less is more". I am in many things a minimalist.

Any chance you have 2-3 photos of your set up

I measured the curvature of the coach roof on the starboard side using a wood ruler. There is a slight concave curve. That is why I was thinking of a teak plate for the winch - with the teak shaped to the curvature.

What make/model of winch do you have on S/V Susan B How did the PO deal with the curvature if he did not use a teak plate

My plan was to install (from the mast step moving aft) three (3) blocks at the foot of the mast, then a 3 line deck organizer to bring the halyard straight aft, then a 3 line clutch and finally the winch. I think this is very similar, if not exactly, what Warren K. had on S/V Sine Qua Non. I think Warren posted a photo earlier in this thread.

My plan is to bring the main halyard and the two (2) reefing lines back to the cockpit. To keep it organized I will need a deck organizer for three (3) lines, plus a line clutch for these three (3) lines. The winch will be only for the main halyard.

Dick, I would appreciate your thoughts on this along with the thoughts of the other readers on this thread.

Thank you.

P.S. I am moving forward with the purchase of a Triad Trailer for S/V Bali Ha'i. If all goes well I will haul out in late June or early July and bring S/V Bali Ha'i home for hurricane season (Jul - Oct). While at home I will try to accomplish the above installation as well as remove, service and reinstall four (4) seacocks. All of this when the temps in South Florida will be 94-96 daily and with a heat index (the real killer ) of 110-120 DAILY

[Steve Laume]

After seeing 4 pages of posts on this I thought I might comment on the original set up on Raven.

The CD-30 has several pieces of hardware mounted to the coach top. The mid boom traveler arch, main and staysail sheet winches and their cleats. All of these are original factory installations and they just have 1/4" aluminum backing plates that are drilled an tapped with through bolts from the respective hardware. This makes for a nice neat installation. There are no teak blocks to account for curvature. They didn't cut away the liner and nothing has moved and there are no stress cracks. With the exception of the traveler all of these loads are in sheer on the fasteners, so not much pull on the liner.

If I were to guess, I would think there is a whole lot more strain on the main sheet of a CD-30 than there is on the halyard of a CD-25D, Steve.

[tjr818]

Roberto,
I did not use a teak block under the winch. I did use butyl tape to bed the winch and the squeeze out was even all around the winch. The slight curvature of the deck for the 4 -1/2" of the winch amounts to about 1/32". I had even gone through the trouble of making the teak block, but after checking the fit I determined that it was not needed.

Steve,
Are you saying that all of the hardware is through bolted through the liner/overhead? I really don't see much of a problem with that, for the sheer loads. That liner/overhead is a substantial piece of fiberglass and there seems to be some low density foam between the liner and the deck.

[Dick Kobayashi]

If I am at the boat this weekend I'll snap a few pics...which may be or may not be worth a lot of words, we'll see. My impression and I think this is confirmed by others is that this is simpler than you think. Remember our boats (25Ds) have end boom sheeting so there is not much inherent clutter on the coach roof...and I have thought it is best to keep it that way.

You might think about how often you reef and whether your sail will really drop when you release the main halyard. Only once since 2001 did I put in a second reef. So maybe the third line should be a down haul line for the main rather than a second reef line. Something to think about, anyway.

[Sea Hunt Video]

You might think about how often you reef and whether your sail will really drop when you release the main halyard. Only once since 2001 did I put in a second reef. So maybe the third line should be a down haul line for the main rather than a second reef line. Something to think about, anyway.

Last year I installed (I paid the rigger ) a Tides Marine mainsail track. It seems to work pretty good at dropping the main. That is an interesting idea about the 3rd line being a downhaul. Something else to consider.

Steve, I very much appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. You obviously have a world of experience. I am a rookie. I may be overthinking this but it is all very new to me. Drilling holes in a boat is antithetical to my personality. When others "measure twice, cut once" I "measure 4-5 times, then I think about it some more, measure again 2-3 times and then, maybe, cut or drill". Not much gets done fast that way but ..........

The same with buying a trailer. I have thought about it for the past 3 years before finally pulling the trigger yesterday. My old Sony 32" TV died 6 years ago. I have been researching the purchase of a new one for the past 6 years. During the interim I have been using a small Sony 13" TV that is 22 years old that I used to use to edit my commercial video in the "old days". The Admiral is not amused by any of this but then .........

[Jim Walsh]

The same with buying a trailer. I have thought about it for the past 3 years before finally pulling the trigger yesterday. My old Sony 32" TV died 6 years ago. I have been researching the purchase of a new one for the past 6 years. During the interim I have been using a small Sony 13" TV that is 22 years old that I used to use to edit my commercial video in the "old days". The Admiral is not amused by any of this but then .........

Have to admire a man who has his priorities straight