We love our C34 and as we age we're looking for upgrades that make it easier for us to keep sailing. We have a 1994 C34 wing #1289. I'm considering electrifying the Lewmar 48's that control the Genoa. Has anyone done this? Will all motor components fit under the deck? Any feedback and advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
You might take a look at the power winch handles on the market first. If it works for you it could save a whole lot of hassle and money, replacing current winches, mounting the more involved electric wenches and switches, and running power lines for the new winches. The electric winch handle is portable, easy to use, and only takes power when being charged.
Thank you Kevin. Yes, I have a winchrite and have been disappointed in it. I've had it rebuilt once already and the rebuild isn't much better. It struggles to pull up the main and can't pull in the genoa when on a tight reach. Hence, considering the electric winch.
Selden makes a 3-speed electric winch with the motor in the drum—not below deck. You might take look into that. They say size 40 but not sure how that crosses over/compares with the Lewmar 46s that are standard on our boats. Might be big enough? Not sure if power draw compares to other electric winch models. But power draw/management is something I would check and be aware of, across the board.
Thank : Have you tried the Milwaukee 1/2 drill with a stud you can put in a winch? Cumbersome, but it does the job!
A thought
As far as electric winch handles go, have you checked out eWincher: https://www.ewincher.com/en/ Expensive, but seems to do the job. Might be cheaper in the long run than installing electric winches and less to worry about as far as on-board power management goes.
Sorry to hear the WinchRite didn't work out for you, however it is significantly less expensive than the ewincher which looks like it's gotten good reviews from boating mags on bigger boats. They raised an interesting point, you'll have to replace every winch that you want to be power, that's at least 2 to 4 winches or more, with an ewincher every winch on your boat is powered. Another thing, the powered winches draw power off the boat batteries while the ewincher has a separate power source which can be renewed either at the dock or when under power.
What I like best is you're just bringing a new tool aboard as opposed to installing a whole new system on the boat to accomplish the same thing.
My gut reaction was you would "probably" need to replace all winches to get electric. However, from very brief looking online, I believe Lewmar make electric conversions for all of its winches.
Noah,
I think you're right, if you go the power winch route you probably wouldn't need to convert all winches so you'd have to do figure out which ones you'll really need to convert, like the winch for the main halyard and possibly the primaries.
Ron's idea is also interesting, it might be the way to go for a poor man's power winch handle.