snakes on an albin

[tomcat rio]

..gonna stick an anchor winch on the point end of my '93 28 te.
....
...i'm thinking i can put two large leads to the winch in parallel with the thruster wiring. will use separate fuze protection, of course.
i have a contactor that is switched by low amp 12 vdc. it will be in the same compartment as the thruster.
...
to run the low amp lines back to the instrument panel, i got a $6.95 plumbing snake, attached the wires to the end and snaked it aft along the port side. came out just aft of the reefer. the battery switch has a small void which i was able to feed the lines through and up to the panel. used plastic tie wraps to keep everything neat.
...
has anybody got any tips on drilling the bow sprit and deck for the anchor line and winch mounting hardware? the bow sprit is aboiut 4" thick.
the winch is a horizon 700 with the motor above deck.

[chiefrcd]

You'll love having a windlass. My bowsprit is grooved and the anchor hangs off the end. In lieu of drilling it could you put a piece of stainless channel on it to hold the anchor? As far as the hole for the windass, I'm not sure...I do know I have a feeding issue with my anchor rode so you do need to put it where the line will drop down and coil as best as it can.

[Mariner]

"I'm tired of these mother____ing snakes on this mother____ing Albin!!!!"


But seriously, I guess a plumbing snake would work, but to run electrical wires through confined spaces, I've always found that an electrican's snake line works best. It has an end that is designed for taping wires to it, and a handle on the end that make pulling the wire much easier.

Not sure about the holes and stuff, as I'm not familiar with your boat.

[TonyAmalfitano]

I would start with a drill and a really big hole saw? Rotozip? C-4 maybe? A little shaped charge would punch through a nice hole.
<This guy admitts he's a smartass> LOL

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The same project is on my "To Do" list. I'll be watching this thread.

[zelatore]

You'll find there is no easy way to drill the chain-fall hole through the pulpit. When I've had to install windlasses on Albins, I've used a hole saw to cut down as far as I can, then a chisel to knock out the wood, then the hole saw again, etc. It will probably take 3 shots with the hole saw to make it all the way through the pulpit, depending on how deep your saw is.

Once you've done that, you've done the worst part. You do want to be sure you seal the sides of that opening really well or you'll find your pulpit is completely soaked in a couple years. One trick I've used is to epoxy a piece of PVC pipe or exhaust hose into the hole in the pulpit ... that way you don't have to try to fiberglass the full thickness of the pulpit.