As an amateur boatbuilder I’ve spent a fair amount of time working with epoxies, and have had my best results with System Three Silvertip. It penetrates the surface of wood better than competitor products, is easy to thicken with cab O Sil or wood flour, and cures at a consistent rate. Whoever suggested nibbling back the plywood core was correct - rout out the core about on quarter inch, tape the underside. fill the hole with epoxy thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise, and come back in 24 hours to redrill the files.
Simply painting the edge of plywood with epoxy does not seal it very well. Practical Sailor looked at epoxy penetration several years ago and found they don’t soak very deep into the wood surface. This would be a particular issue with plywood core, as the epoxy might soak into end grain pretty well, but not into the bias plies.
As thick as the deck is (and, likely, the ply is fir and it can survive being soaked and staying that way), would it be wiser to epoxy ANOTHER thickness of ply under the deck surface to beef up the surface of where this powered windlass will be bolted ??
Just my two bits worth Ernie, but I think the deck is plenty strong enough as it is.
No windlass manufacturer that I know of recommends using it to winch the boat to the anchor against wind force nor to forcibly extract a deeply buried anchor.
That is what the motor is for. Generally the only force a windlass will face is the weight (in water) of the anchor and chain and the force is in shear, the deck’s strongest component.
So even when we do pull the boat a little or dislodge an anchor a little it’s not going to be much more than that. The deck is way stronger than that.
Just my opinion …..
A bit more progress before I have to await warmer temps for gluing everything down.
Foot switches installed
Windlass in place for wiring (but no glued down yet)
Grip mat on foredeck
Note for others: The deck thickness at the front of the windlass is 1" thick, however it’s 1.5" at the back.
So “discovery”…the foredeck is a wedge in cross section…
Just enough that the stock Lewmar mounting studs are too short with the lift pads.
I’ll have the guys in the yard do the wiring. Then apply adhesive in the spring.
Hi John,
" The standard 8 mm (5/16”) threaded mounting
studs supplied suit deck and packing thickness
of up to 76 mm (3”). These are adequate for most
installations." - from the install manual.
The stud lengths are 4" stock.
The front one protrudes through 1/2" which ia perfect to fit the washer and nut…nothing to get caught on the chain.
The rear two (at 4" are just visible flush with the fiberglass), another 1/2" would have been fine. I’ve had to buy 2x 250mm M8 ss304 studs on AMZ to replace the rear two.
