Interesting X-Winch install

[HH565L]

Fitting drum winches to American built boats is never easy, but when the boat is a completely foam filled 19ft Boston Whaler Dauntless, some ‘outside of the box thinking’ is required to make it all happen.

These first series of pics show some of the modifications required to fir and secure the X-Winch Small inside the anchor locker which doubles up as the forward casting deck. There were 2 significant modifications required here.

The first was to create a mounting position of sufficient strength. This required the inner bulkhead to be cut away, the foam fill removed and a composite of timber and fibreglass to be added.

The second was to remove a portion of the inner skin and foam fill to allow the winch to sit as low as possible in the anchor well, thereby eliminating any obstruction to the forward casting deck.


http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/photo3.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/photo1.jpg

Needless to say, the whole lot was strengthened through the addition of the several layers of fibreglass before it was finished off with a fresh layer of gel coat.

Winch temporarily bolted to newly strengthened bulkhead, access hatch placed over the whole lot.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1801.jpg

The winch lowered into position and temporarily mounted. It was later removed to enable the entire anchor well to be properly faired and prior to the application of a new layer of gel coat.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1779.jpg

The next issue was removal of the old bow sprit, and installation of a new SARCA winch rated sprit. To access the mounting bolts it was necessary to create a yet another new access port and remove a small portion of the foam fill.

The following pic show new SARCA sprit installed. This includes an additional roller which takes the place of a deck roller in a more typical installation.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1786.jpg

The circular access port which gives access to the mounting bolts for the sprit is clearly visible here.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1804.jpg

The next step was to fabricate and mount a custom roller. It's purpose is to ensure the rope and chain hug the contour of the boat, again to minimise any disturbance to the forward casting deck.

After a bit of mucking around, we decided utilise the studs from to forward ‘D’ tow hook as this eliminated the need to bore any additional holes in to the hull. A custom roller 'dubbed the shovel handle' was created to suit.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1789.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1790.jpg

As stated previously, the entire hull of the dauntless is foam filled. As there was no cavity between the winch and the console to run the cables, the decision was made to run them under a fabricated stainless steel duct. A piece of rubber matting sits over this area, thus eliminating any trip hazard.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1799.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1800.jpg

With all the hard work now completed, the rest of the installation was pretty straight forward.

The solenoid was mounted on the underside of the center console. The control switch was located on the console and positioned such that it would not be accidentally knocked whilst the boat was in motion. Needless to say, the circuit breaker was positioned close to the batteries, to provide the best level of protection to the winch motor and cables.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1798.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z14/HH565L/XWBWD/IMG_1792.jpg

Sorry, no pic of the battery compartment and circuit breaker!

This install was completed approx 18 months ago and whilst it is a little bit out of the ordinary, it continues to work extremely well.

With installs like this, it's all about the planning!

[Argle]

Looks very neat, I have been thinking about a power winch set up for my 580BR Signature - thats given me food for thought cheers!

[Crocodile]

Hello HH565L,
Great post, very interesting.
That bowsprit/ roller setup appears to have only three smallish bolts, is that strong enough?
What sort of backing plates are under that deck?
Imagine gunning the motor to yank out a reef pick, that would be a huge strain with a sideways component as well.
I see that there is an access port under the chain, did you access the three bolts through that?
How waterproof are those winches? What happens if the drains in that anchor well clog and it sits in water?

[Jarrah Jack]

Hi Spiro I like the little moulds for the winch motor. Very smart idea.

[HH565L]

Hello HH565L,
Great post, very interesting.
That bowsprit/ roller setup appears to have only three smallish bolts, is that strong enough?
What sort of backing plates are under that deck?
Imagine gunning the motor to yank out a reef pick, that would be a huge strain with a sideways component as well.
I see that there is an access port under the chain, did you access the three bolts through that?
How waterproof are those winches? What happens if the drains in that anchor well clog and it sits in water?

Lots of good questions.

The bolts holding the sprit in place are actually 8mm. Aside from the 3 visible in the picture, there were another 2 placed further back towards the rear roller when the install was completed. That area of the deck comprised a glass composite approx 19-20mm thick. Even still a small backing plate was installed to help spread the load. As stated in the thread, these boats are completely foam filled, therefore we had to fit that circular access hatch and remove the foam fill directly below the deck to access the mounting bolts for the sprit.

Gunning the motor to release a fouled anchor without tying off to a bollard is a costly mistake some people have made.

The winch motor has an IP67 rating. That means it will run submerged for short periods of time if need be although we wouldn't recommend that situation be allowed to occur. In my own boat for example, I have oversized the original anchor well drain and have installed another of the same size on the opposite side of the boat. Back to the motor, the reason we select this specific type is because they are proven in the marine industry. The company where they originate from has been in the business for over 40 years.

Hope that answers your questions.

[HH565L]

Hi Spiro I like the little moulds for the winch motor. Very smart idea.

Yeah, they work extremely well Terry. They allow the winch to sit low in the anchor well so that the lid which doubles up as the forward casting deck can be closed withe without obstruction.

[HH565L]

Looks very neat, I have been thinking about a power winch set up for my 580BR Signature - thats given me food for thought cheers!

Bow riders are always a challenge. Have done a couple before but unfortunately don't have any pics to share with you.

Anyway, I'm glad the post has given you some things to think about. IMO, sharing knowledge and ideas is what these forums are about.

[OPTI]

great job spiro ,i bet it took some hours to do all that ,but great result.

[HH565L]

You're absolutely right Dave. A typical install would take somewhere between 6 and 10 hours subject to accessibility etc. This one would have come closer to 20 hours due to all the thought and fabrication that went in to it.