Engine out with no crane

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charlieharper

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Hi everyone, as a novice to this game, I'm looking for any advice on how to get my old seized engine out of my 32' sloop using the boom and of course, how to get the new one in. It's a Bukh DV 20. I know I h to get it out through the companion way........
Thanks in advance...
Charlie
 
charlieharper said:
Hi everyone, as a novice to this game, I'm looking for any advice on how to get my old seized engine out of my 32' sloop using the boom and of course, how to get the new one in. It's a Bukh DV 20. I know I h to get it out through the companion way........
Thanks in advance...
Charlie
Click to expand...

Support the boom well using main halyard and topping lift, one at the end and the other directly above where you are lifting the engine. Move the mainsheet and hang it off the boom above the engine. Use the mainsheet to lift the engine. You may have to do it in several stages. Make sure that the engine is fully supported between each stage - you don't want it falling on your toes! Once you've got it up into the cockpit, you may need some other method of getting it off the boat. On the hard I paid the yard a few quid to come along with their forklift.
 
Remove as much as possible from the engine to make it lighter; alternator, starter, engine oil, gearbox, flywheel, cylinder head if possible, etc. Have one more person to assist and take some of the weight. Avoid swinging the boom with the engine on it; put a few planks of wood on the cockpit to lay the engine on before lifting the engine by hand (two people job) off the boat. Lowering a new engine its a much easier job. I removed a heavy 2.5 litre off my previous boat and installed a Yanmar 3 cylinder, using this method.
 
I don't know how yours will go, but I lifted mine thro the hatch - it wouldn't go thro, but I dropped the tackle to it that way to support it, then pulled it forward into the cabin, where I sat it on a plywood board. I then brought the tackle in thro the main hatch & lifted it up & pushed it into the cockpit (having replaced the engine hatch first!)

as already pointed out, the key is to fasten the main halliard to the boom directly over the tackle lifting the engine, that way the boom is in compression & there is no bending force on it. I have used the boom as a derrick to swing the engine over onto a work boat, but see what other options might be available, at one location I was able to use a ships derrick to lift it out of the cockpit into my car boot on the dock. It then took 3 days of driving around with the engine in the boot before I could find an engine hoist strong enough to get it out again.
 
Im just doing a re engine project on my Moody 33. I looked at the boom and gooseneck and at the weight of the old Thorneycroft engine,

The crane is booked for next Tuesday,,,,,,, :)
 
I got theboatyard to lift the engine out. I got the engine ready by getting the engine completely disconnected, ropes fitted for the crane. The crane took about 5 minutes, lifted straight into the new owners van. Easy peasy.
 
Lifted ours out with a truss "goalpost" over the boat and an Aldi 240v winch. Mast was down for varnishing so couldn't use the boom.

Pete
 
Within limits, the boom is a good idea. I follow the line of thinking that the size of the boom on a boat would be commensurate with the probable size of the engine that is fitted. I know that this is not a scientific decision but it works; I have fitted several engines using that method.

However, I would strongly recommend against using the mainsheet as a tackle. Borrow (or buy; not very expensive) a small chainblock. Even a little 500Kg one should be sufficient in most cases. The reason is that you can release the chain at any time and the engine will stay put and not come crashing down as would happen if the mainsheet slips through your hands. When it comes to lowering, the chainblock gives you much more control.
 
Inspect your boom and all the gear to be used in the lift carefully. My boom snapped in two without warning one breezy day. Unnoticed by me (and a surveyor) it had corroded under the kicker attachment. If I had been using it to lift the engine and it had given way there would have been some grief!
 
See the home page of my website. The Volvo engine that Owen and I are shown lifting was getting on for twice as heavy as your Bukh. We tied off the halyards at the point of attachment of the chain block to ensure no bending of the boom. It went surprisingly easily.

Last season we watched a man replace his four-cylinder Mercedes engine using the same method while afloat.
 
Niander said:
Chainblocks are not expensive and a strong frame rigged over the boat...be safe!
Click to expand...

I agree.The gooseneck will be under compression if the boom is used and the Bukh weighs 220kgs.I've done it with the boom with the engine (a Bukh20)in pieces but I still didn't like the creaking coming from the rig.
 
Don't think the compression of the boom is a problem. Working the % of the angles with the forces, a 220kg engine will probably only exert 3 or 4 to one, so 50/70 kg on the gooseneck.
I pulled an Onan 7kw Genset out with a ratchet hoist (rated 1 ton) using the main boom on a ketch. Split the engine and alternator, but still pretty heavy. Careful planning and no stress or tears.

More recently, I hoisted a Ford 1.6D with a chain hoist off a tube over the companionway. It was only to spin the engine for access to the drive plate. But again, no stress ( for us ) or creaks from the cabin top.
 
Last edited:
charlieharper said:
Hi everyone, as a novice to this game, I'm looking for any advice on how to get my old seized engine out of my 32' sloop using the boom and of course, how to get the new one in. It's a Bukh DV 20. I know I h to get it out through the companion way........
Thanks in advance...
Charlie
Click to expand...

I have just done this charlie.
what i did was strip the flywheel off along with the other bits, alternator, starter etc.
In hindsight i woud have left them on bedause it balances better with the ancillaries left in place.
Have your boom supported by the main halyard etc to take the strain off the boom gooseneck fitting.
To get it out of the engine bay use a chain blocks with a4x4 over the hatch area.
 
robertj said:
I have just done this charlie.
what i did was strip the flywheel off along with the other bits, alternator, starter etc.
In hindsight i woud have left them on bedause it balances better with the ancillaries left in place.
Have your boom supported by the main halyard etc to take the strain off the boom gooseneck fitting.
To get it out of the engine bay use a chain blocks with a4x4 over the hatch area.
Click to expand...

Surely the Land Rover will get in the way?
 
We (by which I mean the guys who were doing this job for me) used a fork lift. Strapped the engine and then used the forks to lift high enough to clear the cockpit and then the driver to reverse and then lower to the ground.
 
charlieharper said:
Hi everyone, as a novice to this game, I'm looking for any advice on how to get my old seized engine out of my 32' sloop using the boom and of course, how to get the new one in. It's a Bukh DV 20. I know I h to get it out through the companion way........
Thanks in advance...
Charlie
Click to expand...
Last year I exchanged my Bukh 20 on my Sadler 34 lifting it out with main boom supported by main halyard and topping lift and a 1 ton chain block.
I had to first raise the boom to an angle of about 30 degrees above horizontal to achieve both adequate clearance above coach roof of the lifted engine and position chain block vertically above lifting point. I also used horizontal braces on end of boom to hold boom in position during lift. I attached chain block To the boom end with two wire strops and protected boom from damage. I also secured strop in position using hook end fittings to stop it moving under weight down the angled boom.
The whole job from running engine to having it on jetty was 55 minutes. I could have stripped engine to make it lighter but as I was replacing like for like I wanted to prove the method before replacing with a complete engine.
It is worth padding or protecting varnish.
The whole procedure was easier than anticipated and I had the confidence to do it from reading here how others had done it. I hope it goes well for you!
 
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