Mitch,
Removing old winches is relatively easy, but the method differs from brand to brand.
Lorelei has Lewmar winches, which has a circlip that retains the winch body. Removing the circlip allows access to the heads of the mounting screws (see image).
You can usually get at least one hole to line up, as long as it doesn't cause the winch to be too badly offset from the center of the pedestal, which of course is ideal.
Helpful tools are a mirror, sockets and a proper driver for the head of the mounting screw.
Placing a pillow case sized cloth under the winch will help catch any washers and nuts. Using something like that (a kitchen garbage bag?) is better than chasing fasteners in the bilge.
BTW... wasps absolutely LOVE to build their nests in the hollow, pedestal underside, so you might want to CAREFULLY use the mirror to glance in there first.
If the holes for the new winch don't line up with the old ones... well, that is a bit of a problem. There's a lot of load on those pedestals and numerous holes will weaken the mounting surface. A single, large, metal backup plate with a matching hole pattern for the underside might suffice, but a properly scarfed, fiberglass repair would be the surest bet.
One of my pedestals failed on a windy day and there's an article in the ECA website library about the repair which you might find useful:
Best of luck! I hope your winch replacement is super easy.
Bud Brown
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