Greasy winches

Blimey, moving winches is a messy job! Spent the whole weekend on Maggie getting a few jobs done.... I've removed a three winches from the port side, along with 2 cleats and 2 jammers.... I then relocated the middle sized winch to the coachroof, and the primary 3 speed right back by the traveller.... This means that I am now commited to the clutches... shame really, as Saturday morning post delivered a letter from the supplier saying that they are out of stock, and will be in mid March...... :( After I had filled the multitude of holes left by removal, I realised that in order to refit the winches, I needed to take them apart to use the base as a template for the mounting holes..... so after removing the drum, I was pleased to see that they had plenty of grease in them, and on inspection seemed to be in good nick still. The grease however was showing the odd sign of being a bit wet in places, so a good wipe down (with a lint free cloth), and then a good allocation of new grease didn't do any harm... but what a messy job..... got through two complete rolls of kitchen roll trying to keep clean! The result however, is a huge seating area recovered...... with which I am delighted.... the mess of holes left over will be easily covered with a small sheet of treadmaster to match the original used elsewhere on the deck.... I had to take half the rear end of the interior apart to get at the underside of the winches.... so it took a good chunk of the weekend to do just this one side.... trying to hold the load spreading plate below the deck in place, and tighten the bolts with just one person is a challenge..... extensive use of gaffer tape to hold spanners in place, while working above deck, until the things had pinched up enough to just use the spanner normally below..... challenging enough, bit then add in the fact that you are working on your back, in a space measuring no more than 24" square...... I ache this evening! I also took the opportunity to remove the knackered old rope tidies and winch handle pockets..... got some nice new ones, donated by a friend after the proved surplus to his requirements on his shiny new boat! Just got the Starboard side winches and cleats to do as well..... shouldn't take as long as access is a lot easier as they are over a locker...so will be able to reach both sides at the same time... I also fitted the Navtex..... following advice, I tried it first with the aerial below... worked a treat... no point in putting the aerial on the pushpit..... got a really good signal with it by the chart table.... Finally, I used a roll of wallpaper backing paper to make templates for the cushions for the berths in the forepeak... now I can order the foam, start cutting them, and get them made.... As an aside, I took one of the cushions I have recovered down (so that I had somewhere to sleep!)... looked great... really pleased with the result....