Winch Mounting

[casual]

My present Winches are Lewmar 40's ST. The bolt pattern is appx 4.75 ". I have a pair of Barrient 28's never used. The bolt pattern is appx 6".The larger bolt patter is too larger for my winch base to fit.My idea is to make a 3/4 thick appx 6 " round plate from aircraft gage aluminum center the Lewmar winch base drill the holes affix this to the winch mount by thru bolting 5 5/16 appx 2" bolts. I will then bolt the Barrient 28 onto the threaded plate using 6 3/8 x 16 bolts x1 " long bolts.
Does my idea sound solid? Thanks for all opinions.

[Krogensailor]

Nope. Why not drill new holes for the new winch? The reason I say no, is the backing plate, (you are using a backing plate?), needs to be at least an inch+ larger than the winch base. Using the bolt pattern of the smaller winch is a bad idea too boot.. you want to spread the load as much as possible.

[casual]

Would love to.Existing winch mounting is not large enough to fit Barrient winches to. Thus the plate.

[Roy M]

Make the base larger. Sand the existing base, add epoxy putty and form it to shape, and and paint it. Drill new holes, install backing plates inside. No big deal.

Here are some pics of a recent electric winch installation I did. First, I removed the existing pad, and discovered a base plate for attaching the original winch. Then I filled the void with epoxy putty, then formed a new pad, with the hole for the winch drive. I had to fill an air void between the deck and the molded interior of the cabin, in which I used mixed foam to achieve a solid bond between the two layers. Then, with a chisel and a straight edge I matched the non-skid, then primed and sanded to perfection, then painted with Linear Polyurethane, blending the grey and white to match the existing deck color. Voila!

[Krogensailor]

Is there an internal backing plate?

[casual]

Thank you all for commenting. None of the options are available as the winch pads are molded into towers along the cockplt coming. The base is appx. 3/4 thick fiberglass and after 28 years shows no signs of weakness.I figure if 5- 5/16 bolts held the Lewmar 40 that long securing a plate to the present holes will be ok.Then I thought the new winch is appx 3" higher than the old winches. This will create more torque being applied at the affixing points. Thus my question as I am not a mechanical engineer just an old man with less strength.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by casual

Thank you all for commenting. None of the options are available as the winch pads are molded into towers along the cockplt coming. The base is appx. 3/4 thick fiberglass and after 28 years shows no signs of weakness.I figure if 5- 5/16 bolts held the Lewmar 40 that long securing a plate to the present holes will be ok.Then I thought the new winch is appx 3" higher than the old winches. This will create more torque being applied at the affixing points. Thus my question as I am not a mechanical engineer just an old man with less strength.

This is the sort of question / post where pictures really help folks give good answers.

[Krogensailor]

Hey 'old fella' , send some pics of the tower and the winches. Theres always more than one way. Plus where will you be sailing the boat?

[Blue Stocking]

Casual, I used your method to fit larger winches to my cast bronze bases, which are bolted to deck and teak coaming. No problems. Loads are not increasing, and IMHO the 3" difference in height is insignificant.