Venture 17 - new keel winch support

[wespiece]

How thick is the keel winch support board supposed to be? I bought a new piece of 1 3/4" mahogany stock. Just wondering if i could plane it down some to make it less intrusive in the cockpit. Send pics or measurements or ideas of what you have done. Thank you in advance.

[Wyb2]

For $30 you can get a pretty hefty piece of aluminum. That would be plenty strong enough and last for decades with zero maintenance unlike wood.

https://www.mcmaster.com/6546K24

[wespiece]

I was thinking of metal as well but was concerned about it bouncing around against the fiberglass hull.

[Wyb2]

You will want to anchor it somehow either way. If not it will slide out of place when you are sailing and there is no keel weight pulling down on it, and the boat is heeling.

You could make it long enough that you can bolt down on either side (red). Alternatively you could make it a little shorter and use a pair of L brackets underneath, and bolt through the vertical walls of the seats.

With the second option, it can still bear on the corners of the seats, the brackets will just lock it in place.

[wespiece]

I dont see any holes anywhere in that area. How was the original piece of wood secured to the hull? Maybe just some 3M 5200 type adhesive?