Winches don't usually come with backing plates or base plates. First,
unless the cabin top is relatively flat you heed to fabricate a base to even
it out. I cut a plywood disk the same diameter as the winch base and
wrapped in in poly sheet. Then I taped the cabin top about 1" wider than
the base and laid a blob of epoxy thickened with silica and milled glass in
the middle. Pushed the disk into the blob and sculpted the edges with a
plastic spreader. Tried to get it level so the inboard side was even with
the deck and the outboard side had a low rise. After the epoxy cured I
sanded it smooth and set the bolt pattern template on top. After removing
the liner inside I drilled about 1/4" wider than the bolts, closed the
bottom side of the holes with good masking tape and filled with unthinned
epoxy. After that cured I drilled the final holes to fit the bolts and
painted. Keep the drill straight up and down or you will have trouble
fitting the backing plate.

I then cut a square of 1/4" 5086 aluminum plate about 2" wider than the
winch and drilled it to the bolt circle. I spread a layer of 4200 on the
flat and with a volunteer down below to hold the plate and start the nuts
fed the bolts through the wench base, the deck and the backing plate and
tightened them down just a little past finger tight so the 4200 squished out
a little. A couple of days later I finished tightening the bolts and
replaced the liner.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in message
news:rcjzf.585$Iw3.64@trndny06...
How to go about attaching two winches to the top of cabin. These winches
would be for spinnaker halyard and headsail halyard.

Do the winches come with a base plate? How do you attach the plate of
support for the winches? When the bolts, screws, or fasteners come
through the cabin top there is a ceiling liner under. Do the fasteners
come right through the liner? And then is there a back plate you attach
to the inside on the liner?

Also ,,, a block tack track. ? Attach?