Teak Winch Base Removal

[John Stone]

As we continue the work to install the new winches and bases we had to remove the old bases. They were not too difficult to remove. I used a Hyde 5 in 1 tool (a great tool as the steel blade extends to the end of the handle so you can use a mallet to drive it in), a Hyde putty knife, and some hard wood wedges. Because we used Polysulfide and were gentle and methodical they released with our damage to the deck or coaming.

I drilled the new holes (the hole pattern did not match) and then oversized them with a 7/8” fostner bit, then dug out the core. Then, I filled both old and new holes with epoxy.

I originally installed the bases with Boat-Life Brown polysulfied and butyl donuts under the bolt heads. I intended to reinstall them with sika 291 brown. But the sika is a polyurethane and has better adhesion than the Polysulfide. I think it’s important to allow some consideration for future removal with almost anything on a boat. So in this case, I will use Polysulfide again for the new bases.