[FloridaBoy]

Hello All! Mounting some new to me, Lewmar 43st's. Should I use butyl tape or 4200 or what? Thanks for your input, it is always appreciated. Kevin

 

[MarkSF]

Butyl tape is easiest to deal with. No mess, easy to apply, no clean up.

If you ask me, all the sealants work, in terms of keeping water out.

The most important thing to do is to seal the core so that, even if you develop a leak, it does no harm. This is done by drilling the holes over-sized, filling with epoxy, then drilling a new hole through the epoxy. A countersink at the top helps the sealant work. See the write-up by Mainsail.

 

[Skipper Jer]

BACKING PLATES!!!!!!
I used the tape.

 

[MarkSF]

I make the backing plates out of stainless steel plate from McMaster Carr. Cut with jigsaw, file smooth, sand from 120 up to 2000 grit, then polish. Takes a little while, the sanding and polishing is best done in front of the TV.

 

[overbored]

best backing plates are made of G 10 they don't need to be polished and never corrode, easy to cut and drill. glued in place with thickened epoxy. if you are replacing winches on the old winch pad it should be solid glass. either sealer will work but make sure you read the DAM instructions and do not seal the drain holes, only the bolts .

 

[FloridaBoy]

You guys are talking about a backing plate inside the hull, where the nuts go on? Not a plate under the winch, top side? Right? The reason I ask, Is MarkSF talking about polishing a plate nobody's gonna see for the next 20 yrs. Kinda confused my poor little head. It did have little dinky washers on 5/16 bolts. Surprised it lasted this long with no apparent damage. And, of course, I'll seal the holes with epoxy! Who wouldn't? Don't say it! I've seen it before, too. LOL! Thanks guys, you are always helpful. Kevin

 

[MarkSF]

Ahhh yes, the stainless plate is for use in the salon where it would be visible. I recently changed my main halyard winch, which is visible inside the salon. Sorry for the confusion.

I also would use G10 for primary winches and elsewhere, where the cosmetics aren't important. I would epoxy it, like overbored said. I did this recently for the backing for some jackline anchors. It's a really strong solution.

Jamestown Distributors sell G10 pre-cut into a range of sizes, which is handy, although it isn't hard to cut - just wear safety glasses and a dust mask.

 

[Skipper Jer]

And we all know to mount the winch in an orientation where the pinon gear is adjacent to the line load.

 

[MarkSF]

Well, I do now.

 

[Stumble]

You guys are talking about a backing plate inside the hull, where the nuts go on? Not a plate under the winch, top side? Right? The reason I ask, Is MarkSF talking about polishing a plate nobody's gonna see for the next 20 yrs. Kinda confused my poor little head. It did have little dinky washers on 5/16 bolts. Surprised it lasted this long with no apparent damage. And, of course, I'll seal the holes with epoxy! Who wouldn't? Don't say it! I've seen it before, too. LOL! Thanks guys, you are always helpful. Kevin

Florida,

Stainless is corrosion resistant in direct proportion to how smooth the finish is. The higher the polish the longer it will last. Marine gear should be electropolished if at all possible. Often it isn't.

By preference these days I use G10. Stainless plates are slowely disappearing, and it's about time.

 

[MarkSF]

Is corrosion below the ceiling of your salon a big problem? G10 would look absolutely crap in that application.

 

[FloridaBoy]

Yo, Captainmeme, No pinion gear listed in schematic for 43st. Which gear are you talking about, Please? Kevin

 

[FloridaBoy]

In my 35 Morgan, the winch access is a 4 inch hole in the ceiling of the quarter berth on the port and via the engine room on the starboard. Nobody is going to see it unless they are replacing winches, like me. Kevin

 

[aloof]

Backing plate and sealant depends somewhat on whether the winch can be serviced from the top or not. Does it need to be removed from the deck to service the bottom bits? Butyl tape it the way to go for most everything. A properly made boat may not need a backing plate if the layup is designed for a winch. Stainless is too heavy for the stiffness in my opinion, but cruisers here love a low riding slow boat.......

 

[Skipper Jer]

Yo, Captainmeme, No pinion gear listed in schematic for 43st. Which gear are you talking about, Please? Kevin

Maybe its called output gear. Its the gear that drives the drum. I started a thread, http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/174418-winch-mounting.html asking about bolt material and as threads do, it drifted a bit.
Take a read on what Jon Eisberg had to say about the gear that engages the drum and loads. After he pointed that out, I re-read the instructions real hard and ta-da there it was.

 

[Stumble]

Is corrosion below the ceiling of your salon a big problem? G10 would look absolutely crap in that application.

Unless the sealant on the winch base is perfect, and if that's true then core rot should no longer be an issue either, yes corrosion is an issue.

As for G10 looking terrible... Paint it, it's just fiberglass after all. Same stuff the deck is made of.

 

[FloridaBoy]

So, one is mounted. Used the butyl tape I bought from Mainsail several months ago. Used it on the stanchions. Good stuff, sticky. I didn't know about orientation of gears. I think I got it about 45 degrees, if I remember correctly. Cool, now I have a self tailer on the port! Gonna mount the other one on Saturday. Can't wait! I've been sailing so much that it hurts to do work like this cause I miss good days of sailing, doing the work. I got the bug! And, tweakers syndrome! Thanks for all the input. Kevin

 

[Skipper Jer]

"So, one is mounted. Used the butyl tape " Kevin I think its going to take more than butyl tape to hold the winches down. Maybe bolts?

 

[FloridaBoy]

How about 38.13 $ of stainless bolts, nuts, washers and lock washers on my WM gift card! I kid you not! 10 of each. 38.13! Kevin