Typhoon - Bent winch base

[g loesel]

A friend had his typhoon on a trailer parked under a tree. A wind storm knocked a limb out the the tree and in falling it landed on the winch. The winch itself is ok but the part that bolts to the deck bent. It is ok to rebend that metal back into position or does it need to be re-cast.

Thanks in advance.....George



gloesel@concentric.net

[Bristol Bronze]

A friend had his typhoon on a trailer parked under a tree. A wind storm knocked a limb out the the tree and in falling it landed on the winch. The winch itself is ok but the part that bolts to the deck bent. It is ok to rebend that metal back into position or does it need to be re-cast.

Thanks in advance.....George

Dear George,

The ability of the winch base to be bend back depends which alloy it was cast from. If the alloy contains a high level of zinc and any lead at all then it will fracture when bent even if heated. If the metal contains no lead and little or now zinc (as any good Bronze should) then it should bend fine. Unfoutunately some manufactures add lead and high levels of zinc to they alloys. This reduces manufacturing cost by quite a bit do to the improved machinability and polishing ability but is detrimental to the end user. Since Cape Dory used any number of different foundrys I have no idea what the alloying elements of this particular part are.

Roger W.
Bristol Bronze



rogerw@meganet.net