Removing engine while on the hard

[BBill]

Ive done 3 out and back in while on the hard and in the water. Used forklifts with extended booms and a travel lift with jib crane. In the water was way less drama and no worries about boats getting knocked over. All I did was pull the engine with trans fwd on the cabin sole and hook the chain up. The tedious part was tilting the engine to clear the hatch without damaging anything.. Way better than a home made deal.

[Dave9111]

>>>Doing it yourself, you might get the engine out...and then what ??? Just leave it next to the boat ?? <<

Just an FYI - if you ever have this issue, buy a folding hydraulic engine hoist that can be disassembled with pull pins. I have two of these. I can break the crane down into pieces in about 10 minutes and put it back together in another 10. They can lift a 1000+ lb engine into a pickup truck without difficulty. Tie the engine down, disassemble the crane, put it in the bed as well and off you go. When you get wherever you want the engine, assemble the hoist, lift the engine out of the bed.

They are also handy for moving machinery where there is no access to a forklift or mobile hoist, crane, lift, etc.

A decent one can be bought for less than $300. Used, a lot cheaper.
Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc sell them.

Oh, and my opinion on the engine pull... Rent a crane or forklift at the marina. Life's too short to endanger yourself or your boat lifting an engine out of your boat on the hard. Your engine rebuild will cost a lot more than the cost of renting their lift.

[StoneCrab]

I removed my Perkins with a manlift. I positioned the manlift basket over the companionway and used a chainfall for getting the engine out of the engine coffin. Once it was hanging, I only had to fired up the manlift for an up and out. I had an Astro van at the time and was even able to get the engine onto a piece of plywood inside the rear doors without repositioning the engine below the manlift basket. I only had to push it forward a bit to close the doors. It was one of those times where you stand back and remark that it went easier than imagined.

You could do the same thing with long forks on a forklift. Personally, I wouldn't use the boom. I was also lucky in my case in that I owned the equipment.

[MicHughV]

I can remember well, when I pulled my engine while in the water.

I had built this wood sled to put the engine on.

The dock itself was maybe 5-6' wide....and old homemade rickety wood dock at that, with 6-8" gap between the short floating sections.

Keeping that sled centered on that dock was a mission. To one side or another quickly put an alarming tilt on the dock, with the engine perched like a queen on the sled. We had two guys pulling the sled and two guys pushing the sled. It was a lot of weight for that dock. We were maybe 6" above the water. One wrong move, and the engine and four people would be in the drink.

I had to traverse about 100' of this dock before I could step on land. I won't soon forget it.

Then I had to repeat the process back with the new engine.

I have photo's somewhere of the expedition.

Looking back, it was a miracle it all went without mishap, but I'd never do it again.

[Cheechako]

Having a yard lift it out for what... $150? would be far easier, less damage prone and safer. Do you even have enough boom rotation from the "mast location and boom length to engine" to get it over the side and not scar up the boat? A boom supported with a halyard or topping lift is very hard to rotate very far.
What's the boat beam?
So say 800lb engine, levered out maybe 7 feet from boat centerline (?) is a force of 5600 lbs right? What's the cost of a boat on it's side with a yard support impaled through the hull?

[Distant_Shaws]

If you place some a tubular scaffolding tower at the side of the boat such that it supports the outer end on your boom you will be able to hang the engine from the boom at it is now supported at both ends.

You can then swing the engine from the companionway to the side of the boat supported by the boom and then to the ground without undue tipping load on the boat supports

[Mickeyrouse]

I can’t imagine many things more risky than using a sail boat’s boom to lift an engine of the size in discussion. There are too many weak points that could fail at critical moments. I have had more than one mainsheet tackle fail while in normal use with supposedly properly-sized hardware. There is very little about a main mast rig that would be rated for a 500 lb. load. Don’t do it. There are too many safe alternatives. Trying to save a few bucks or a little time can be very expensive.

[sailingunity]

I hadn't considered that the forces of the engine would be multiplied since the weight is transferring to the topping lift and then pulling at the top of the mast.

I've asked the yard for an estimate to pull it, now we wait...

[wyb2]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Having a yard lift it out for what... $150? would be far easier, less damage prone and safer. Do you even have enough boom rotation from the "mast location and boom length to engine" to get it over the side and not scar up the boat? A boom supported with a halyard or topping lift is very hard to rotate very far.
What's the boat beam?
So say 800lb engine, levered out maybe 7 feet from boat centerline (?) is a force of 5600 lbs right? What's the cost of a boat on it's side with a yard support impaled through the hull?

No arguing with your larger point but:

5600 ft-lbs of moment or torque. To get back to force you have to divide the distance back out to the support.

Say the load is taken by a single boat stand 4 ft from the center line. It would carry (5600 ft-lbs / 4 ft =) 1400 lbs.

[Mango51]

Not comparable to your situation. Mine was in the water.
That was a 400 lb gen. Lifted with the boom. Mybe you can take the engine out and leave it aboard. Remove it when it’s in the water. No risk for everyone else.

[Rightbrainer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsYOnM4UNMQ&t=331s

Sort of a home made video, but this guy just goes straight at his problems.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

For a few reasons we're going to be removing out Westerbeke W80 while on the hard. Engine weight according to mfgr specs is 943 lbs, but that is with transmission and accessories installed. Access is easy via removing the cockpit floor, and we have a very heavy duty boom crutch we can use to lift out and stage in the cockpit temporarily.



My question comes with getting it over the side. Logic would dictate that using the boom would be ideal, I can move the topping lift so it's closer to the engine hoist attachment point. By all accounts, the 9/16 diameter rope should be able to hold the weight of the engine (esp. minus accessories and transmission).



But does anyone have any qualms about hoisting it over the side while on the hard stands? It *seems* like it should be safe to do with say 700 lbs, as this isn't much more than a couple of fully grown adults and some gear.



I can think of a few ways to build a boom support that could support the weight as it goes over the side. Or maybe counterweight the other side of the boat with water jugs.



Or maybe I'm overthinking all of this. Do you have success stories to share?

Hire a small crane..
Your topping lift will thank you for it...

[RaymondR]

I have done what you propose, both in and out of the water, a number of times without problems. If your rig will not sustain the forces involved you probably should not be out there with it.

[sinnerman]

I "think" the question is moving the engine athwartships with the boom while the boat is on the hard and blocked (hull supports0.

The long moment arm of the boom with close to 1000 lbs hanging off over the side could cause the boat to shift on its supports and possibly roll over..

Why risk damaging then boat or injuring someone...?

I would use the boom to raise the engine on deck, then hire the yard crane to lift it off of the boat.

my two cents

cheers