Fulton winch replacement question

[bjrow]

Hey guys, just wondered if anyone has replaced the stock winch with an upgraded Fulton one that is enclosed?
Bit worried about the open frame on the standard one and my daughter getting fingers caught while operating it.
The standard one seems low in its rated load, although I know I'm not dangling the boat vertically from it the steep ramps must put a bit of a load on it. I've also noticed that the strap gets twisted when said daughter is not paying attention so need to have a talk to her about that, needless to say it looks a little stressed at the folded edges. Most of the Fulton winches I've looked at have 3 securing screws whereas the standard OEM one has two so this might complicate things more than necessary. Has anyone done the swap and drilled new holes or is the idea of a big washer for the lower central hole do a good enough job?
Thanks for your comments in advance.
Cheers BruceR, AUS Melbourne.

[jmvotto]

my replacement was pretty straight forward on my 2012 , don't remember drilling any new holes

[996scott]

I switched mine out to the Fulton and it is so much better than the OEM one. I highly recommend changing it out. I did have to drill one hole in the trailer post but it wasn't that hard to do. There are a couple of threads around that talk about it if you do a little searching.

[996scott]

this has some good info.

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?25731-Winch-and-Bow-Roller

[bjrow]

Thanks guys for your replies.
I read a few threads that I found thru searching however I was left wondering if the washer idea for the bottom bolt hole was not strong enough and if most folk drilled x2 new holes to suit the winch mounting pattern. Not sure I want to drill new holes but perhaps I can get away with the washer idea on the F2 1600lb winch?
Cheers BruceR, AUS Melbourne.

[bjrow]

Well, bit the bullet and bought a Fulton F2 1600lb single speed winch.
Quite cheap here really and for the protection, added pull force, longer (much linger) winch strap and handle arrangement should do well enough for our intended purpose. We don't skull drag the boat onto the trailer but rather poke the nose in and clip the winch on. If needed a little throttle used to get up the last bit.
No modification to existing holes needed, just used some s/steel M8 bolts a tad longer than the originals (6mm or so). The bolts have a large domed head with a square shank at their underside followed by the usual thread to their ends. Re-used the original washers where the bolts exited from the rear of the mounting post and secured with M8 nylocks. Seems all sturdy, guess in a couple of months we'll see but all seems positive atm.
Cheers BruceR, AUS Melbourne.

[bjrow]

Oh, should point out the new bolts with the domed heads are quite large in diameter at the head end, enough so that the head amply contacts the metal around the Tee slot mounting at the bottom end.
Cheers BruceR, AUS Melbourne.