Fitting clutch and winch - questions

[neil1967]

Hi

I want to fit a set of clutches to the coachroof of my 1971 Offshore/Van De Stadt 8m, initially just for the reefing lines, but possibly later for the main halyard, in conjunction with a winch. I am not sure how much re-inforcement (if any) of the coachroof is required - the coachroof is approx 3/4 inch glassfibre on the outside, with approx 3/4 inch plywood 'core' layer and then a thinner layer of glass fibre on the inside. I think this is probably strong enough to mount the clutch and subsequently a winch, but I would be grateful for your thoughts.

Additionally, is there anything I need to be aware of when installing the clutch, in particular its relative location to a future winch installation?

Thanks

Neil

 

[yourmomm]

hi neil-

i am no expert but i am doing similar myself at the mo and am using oversized 5mm steel backing plates to bolt the clutches/winch to, through the coachroof-these spread any stresses on the coachroof itself. could you not do similar...?

 

[William_H]

You might find as I did that a cheap winch is not much more expensive than a clutch and much more versatile. So on my 6.5 m T/S I have 4 halyard winches that make reefing a doddle. olewill

 

[john_morris_uk]

I have just refitted a bank of clutches to the coachroof of our boat.

Regarding any special requirements for the layout, the Spinlock booklet I picked up in the chandlers explained it all, and their website spinlock web page is even better. You can even print out actual size patterns for hole drilling and checking fit.

The general principle (from memory) is that the lead from the clutch to the winch should not be more than 10 degrees and make the higher loaded lines the straighter ones. There are tricks you can play with little 'turning buttons' on the deck, but you usually see that sort of thing on go faster race boats. The clutches go as far forward of the winch as convenient for you to reach.

If the deck really is 3/4 GRP 3/4 ply and a thin internal face of GRP, then I suspect you just need a backing plate or even just some penny washers for the loads you are talking about.

With our deck, I had to drill a hole, break up and vacuum out the balsa core around the hole, fill with epoxy, and then finally drill through accurately and mount the clutch using a s/s backing plate. (This was after I has filled all the original clutch mounting holes with thickened epoxy....) I picked up an offcut of s/s plate out of the scrap bin for free and drilled it myself for the backing plate. (Drill very slowly with good quality drills - I use Cobalt drills - and use a cutting fluid if you can.)

Bottom line is to consult the Spinlock site if you are using spinlock clutches as its all there. The online e-mail advice service is also very fast and good I have heard. (Haven't used it myself, so this is only second hand advice.)

 

[charles_reed]

William H

How do you find the room?

I've got 12 strings coming back to my 2cockpit coachroof winches and I'd like to have another 2, if I could find the space.

I assume your 4 winches are all self-tailers?

 

[ex-Gladys]

Re: William H

Back to the original part, apart from how you back the bolts, you need to drill very oversize, fill the hole with epoxy, then drill your "proper" hole through the epoxy. This will stop water ingress into the polywood core and the eventual rot that will cause....

 

[William_H]

Re: William H

hi Charles sorry there just seems to be room side by side between the edge of the cabin and inside edge of the hatch. No they are not self tailersjust very plain single speed. I use horn cleats on the bulkhead for the halyards. Its 25 years since I fitted the additional winches but well worth it except I think the cheap winches are wearing out. olewill