[Edit: I am not suggesting what I did is best practice, just telling my story in case others may find it useful somehow.]
First, I was going to cut the anchor-well hatch in half, still have the back half in place but totally strengthen the front half and put the winch there. I even started shaping some hardwood. Then I took the hatch home to do some repair on it, finding it surprisingly thick and solid and I read (Precision Marine website) that fibreglass hatches that are 7mm or thicker are strong enough to handle a winch. Windchasers hatch was thicker than that. So I changed my plans.
- After hatch is off.
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I mounted the winch on an epoxied ply sheet on the hatch with epoxied ply 'washer's underneath. The well was not deep enough and I wanted to make it deeper. The problem was that a permanent drop down section would prevent me from getting up into the bow inside, where I needed to reach the bowspit bolting points. The addition had to be removable.
- Fabricating well extension.
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I cut the bottom out of the anchor well, glued on an epoxied wooden rim. Made a 35 cm deep well with no bottom out of ply. Put a rim around the top which would sit on the rim inside the anchor well. Four coats of epoxy on the inside where it would get more wear, three on the outside. Shaved a fraction off the floor section I cut from the anchor well and epoxied it to the bottom of my well-extension. Used fibreglass strips and epoxy fillet inside the extension.
- Hole cut in well, edge frame in place.
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Couldn't find a flush fitting drain for inside the well so used a standard plastic thru-fitting but the problem is that it sits slightly above whatever surface it is on and a few mils of water could sit there. Made a depression with ply and epoxy, fashioned so the fitting sat down in it and glued it on underneath. This means any water in the well can drain out and is not stopped by the lip of the fitting.
The well-extension slide down into the hole cut in the original anchor well and butyl mastic sealant on the contact surfaces will hopefully keep water from leaking into the interior but still allow, if needed, removing the insert. The lip is so that a little water dripping into the original section is kept away from the seal and it can flow around to the original drain which I left in.
A block of epoxied wood was glued to the side of the original well and a stainless steel rod was glued into it. This rod goes through the hatch and bolts it down. I think I should put in a second one to add strength but need to think about that more as it may not need it.
- New well in place, easily holds 10m chain, 50m nylon rope.
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With wiring, I calculated what size was needed and it was what was recommended by Southpacific so I was happy with my calculation. Some old wiring from its previous installation is so thin in comparison that I started to wonder if that was the reason the previous owner thought the winch was no good for his boat.
- New wiring is much thicker than old
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Under the hatch, I joined the winch's own wire onto the other wire using ring terminals and bolts, covered with insulating tape. This means if the winch ever needs to come off, I don't cut the wires just undo the bolts. The wiring runs down the port side of the boat - under the v-berth, under the sink, under the side seat and out the back under the steps to the battery which I have installed under the cockpit where the rudder tube comes up.
For control, I bought the hand-held switch on 5 metres of cable. This connects into a solenoid box and other switches can be installed if need be. The solenoid box is screwed up to the underneath of the cockpit floor along with a fuse. Rather than use a manual switch for the main power, I used a large solenoid switch I had lying around at home. This made it easier for me with wiring as to activate the switch, I could use thin wires and just run them to a simple switch which is just inside the cabin under the cockpit floor but reachable from the cockpit. I did have to add some three-core wire to the hand-held so I can comfortably reach right up to the bow. Spare bilge pump 3-core was exactly the right size.
I have used it about a dozen times since installing it. So far no major problems. The little switch I put in to turn the system on, a push-pull one, is good except when I first used it I pulled too hard and the knob popped off in my hand. That's fixed now. With the long cable, I can start pulling up the anchor, go back to the cockpit and motor up to the anchor if need be and go back up the front, all the time running the winch. While the winch should not be used for breaking out the anchor, I (cough cough) just pull the anchor right up and usually all I notice is a slight change in the motor noise as the extra load goes on then it speeds up as the anchor is free. Doesn't seem to be stressing but I will be using the boat motor (and anchor rode around main cleat) to break out the anchor if I think it is really buried.
I put a cleat beside the winch motor to run the rope around to the main cleat for being at anchor. However, I started just running the rope around the side of the motor to the main cleat. The side is smooth enough that I don't think there will be much chaff on the rope. Also there is only a small deflection from the bowroller to the winch motor and to the main cleat so not a huge pressure on the winch.
- Winch in place getting test run
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So far the winch has met my expectations. Not having had an electric winch before I don't have anything to compare this one to but already it has saved me heaps of effort.
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