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Photos - Tillerpilot and Winches installed

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/20/2004 : 00:43:30

Over the weekend, I finished the installation of the tillerpilot and new self-tailing winches. Here's some photos:

The tillerpilot is a Simrad (formerly Navico) TP-20, with a 6" pushrod extension.

I mounted the connector socket inside the portside coaming box at the aft end.

The tillerpilot came with a handheld remote; I installed the connector plug for it next to the lavatory sink door on the upper right. From this location, I can operate the pilot from anywhere on the boat, including the foredeck, by running the cord in through the foredeck hatch or either of the head compartment windows.

The next series of photos details the winch installation.
Step 1: Remove old winches. These were Lewmar #7, held down by phillips flathead machine screws. Getting these screws out required banging them with an impact driver and small ball peen hammer; they were installed at the factory with silicone smeared all over the threads. The winch base had also been set in silicone and I had to pry it off with a winch handle, pulling almost as hard as I could, but after several heaves, it finally popped loose.

Step 2: The winch pad has been cleaned of old sealant and the new bolt holes marked in pencil. Unfortunately, the new Lewmar #14 winches have a base plate bolt circle diameter about 10mm (3/8") larger than the old #7 winches, requiring 5 new holes.

Step 3: The C-25 Mk. IV uses a 3/8" thick aluminum plate embedded in the fiberglass to mount the winches, instead of through bolts with nuts and a backing plate. This photo shows the process of thread tapping the new bolt holes with a 1/4-20 hand tap (holes made with 13/64" drill). The top surface of the embedded plate is about 1/4" deep below the surface of the gel coat, but this varies a little, a couple of the holes were about 1/2" deep before I hit the plate. The screws used were mostly 1" long, with 1-1/2" screws used in the deeper holes.

Close-up of typical bolt hole. You can see the aluminum plate under the gelcoat and one or two layers of fiberglass

Step 4: New winch base installed, using 1/4-20 stainless hex-socket flat head screws instead of the original phillips heads.

Step 5: Final assembly. The new winch is designed for 5/16"-3/8" line size, so I will have to replace my 7/16" genoa sheets that I just bought a couple of months ago (darn). As the photo indicates, the 7/16" line is too big to feed into the top jaws properly.

Other boat upgrades to be done over the winter:
1. Unisolar 32 watt Solar panel (required at Folsom Lake, as there is no shorepower to run a battery charger).
2. New outboard; either a Honda or Yamaha high-thrust 8 hp with electric start, I haven't decided which brand yet.
3. Install cutouts in the seatbacks of the port and starboard settees to open up the dead space behind them for storage. See my posting of the photos from "Toy Box" to see what I have in mind. I want to use Bomar 8" x 12" inspection hatches intead of an open cutout, however.
4. Stereo. I will install a CD/MP3 stereo with Bose speakers as soon as I find the time to go shopping for it.
5. Queen size bed conversion. This is just a matter of cutting the plywood and making a cushion to fit. I figure on using three 16" wide boards to span the space between the settees. This will make a 4' x 6" bed, sleeping athwartship (not actually queen size, but big enough for me).

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

"You might get there faster in a powerboat, but in a sailboat, you're already there"

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Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2004 : 12:33:11

Nice installation and photos. Very informative.
What are you going to do with the old winches and sheets?
My boat currently has no coaming winches so a nice used set would be just the ticket for me.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2004 : 14:12:01

Wow Dan... SN 29 ! That's the earliest SN I've seen posted anywhere...

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Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2004 : 18:33:09

I also thought it was one of the earliest, but the owners directory shows several older than mine!

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gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2004 : 23:30:54

Larry, nice installation of the tiller pilot. I also installed one awhile back and the photos are in the tech section. Maybe I should put the waterproof plug inside the coaming box instead of where I put it....

I remember that I looked at that location and decided to put it inside the gas locker for some reason but cannot remember now why I chose that place instead. Also, look at where I put the mounting bar....which meant I needed to locate the attachment to the tiller UNDER the tiller instead. I guess I wanted to have the pilot located "inside" the perimeter rather than partially hanging over the edge of the boat. Maybe. It has been a long time since I did the job.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/25/2004 : 11:47:28

In addition to mounting my waterproof plug inside the coaming box, I also mounted a waterproof on/off switch alongside the plug. With this arrangement and my autopilot stored in a tube sock in the cockpit seat compartment, I can retrieve, install, and turn on my autopilot without leaving the tiller.

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