Lifting Engine from Yacht??

[zal2137]

Hi there, can anyone give me any advice as to wether It would be posible to attacht a block and tackle to my Boom and use this to lift my old 300kg Volvo engine from the boat up onto the deck. Its a 38ft Yacht, Boom looks big and strong enough, just worried about it bending!!!

Any adice would be great ..thanks

 

[Rick]

You can remove the bending issue by bringing a halyard down to attach to boom at point where you attach tackle to lift engine (ie transfer the load to the masthead and rig via the halyard). 300kgs is still a fair lump - can you remove the gearbox and ancilliaries before hauling it out to reduce weight somewhat?

 

[john_morris_uk]

I used exactly that method to lift the Volvo 2040 out of our boat last year. Support the boom at the point of lift with a halyard.

 

[boatmike]

Was going to say exactly that myself!

 

[Blueboatman]

Or use a staging/workmate/padding between the sides of the coachroof and the boom, as near to the point of lift as poss.

 

[zal2137]

Thanks for the great advice

 

[Poignard]

Last summer my ali boom snapped whilst sailing. It had showed no signs of weakness before and had been passed ok by a professional surveyor the year before. No harm done but think what might have happened if I had been using it to lift an engine. What you could do is to make up a temporary boom out of a new piece of steel scaffolding pole.

 

[wooslehunter]

What have you got in there? 300Kg sounds a lot for a 38' yacht engine.

Anyway strip down as much as you can before the lift: gearbox, heat exchanger etc etc. Not only will it reduce weight but will make the lump you lift smaller and easier to handle. Also take off anything you can that could be easily damaged. Think about what wopuld happen if you bounced a 300Kg weight against parts of your engine. It's the same thing if you bounce your engine against something else that doesn't move.

As a safety against snapping. Lift in stages & make sure the engine is supported with blocks of wood at each stage of the lift. If the lift gives way, the block will only fall as far as the first support. BUT 300Kg is a hell of a lump to drop any distance.

Last thing & maybe obvious. Don't get anywhere near where the lump would fall if everything gave way. I've seen people "guiding" from below & it scares the s..t out of me.

We lift a 330HP diesel out of a big RIB once a year. We have a chain hoist in a boatshed build specifically for the purpose so eveything's as easy as it's going to be. We take all of the precautions above except blocking off during the lift as the hoist is certified for the lift.

Let us know how you got on.

 

[jerryat]

Contrary to some on here, I wouldn't dream of trying to lift that sort of weight on the boom, even assuming your topping lift/main halyard is adequately sized.

I agree with those suggesting that either you split down the gearbox/engine/ alternator etc or use a 'properly' constructed lifting rig. Several good ideas above and FWIW, this is the way we did it a couple of years ago.

The thought of the boom/halyard breaking and dropping something that heavy with the associated damage doesn't bear thinking about!!

 

[Lakesailor]

No chance of a boat yard crane next to the jetty?

I don't know your circumstances.

 

[fisherman]

Sheerlegs under the boom?

 

[fisherman]

You've pointed out the main problem with ally, it gives no warning, doesn't bend, just breaks. That's why we never use it for lifting gear.

 

[fireball]

I have lifted a volvo MD5a with an engine hoist to a height of around 12 foot ... suspended by a (thick) boom resting on 2 domestic scaff towers .. I wouldn't worry about lifting 300kg with your boom, providing ....

you use spare halyards to the lifting point on the boom (strap it aft as well, cos otherwise it can slip forwards!). strap a bit of 4x4 or 4x2 wood to the top and bottom of the boom first (spreads the loading). Make sure your gooseneck is up to the job, if doubtful or uncertain, prop it up with another length of wood, tighten the genny halyard (or better still remove the genny and tie off the halyard) along with any other spare halyards you may have. If you have a fractional rig you'll need to re-look at the geometry ..

 

[Guest]

Lot of yachts have done it ok ...........

But suggest a couple of changes ....

a) Run Main-halyard down to boom instead of topping lift - unless TL is of reasonable size rope.
b) Turn mainsheets upside down if you can .... I know it puts tackle to disadvantage - but is easier with you pulling down the haul rather than up.
c) Try to stop the mainsheet jammers jamming the sheet rope.
d) Take a rope to either side of boat from boom end - to act as guys.
e) Top the boom so that end with tackle is directly over lifting point .... using the main-halyard or topping lift. Make sure that this is secured and easily slacked / taken up without risk of letting go .... ie via halyard winch.

Some people I have seen have tried lifting at mid or somewhere along the boom instead of the end ... this is a recipe for disaster and is placing strain where there is nothing but the alloy of the boom to resist. Keep all weight / strain balanced at the end of the boom with other ropes / guys etc.

You will be amazed what weight you could lift with it ....

 

[john_morris_uk]

1. Check the breaking strain of the halyard. I think you will find that the halyard that I used to support the boom at the point of lift has a breaking strain many times that of the weight of the engine.

2. Make sure its the halyard that is taking the weight.

3. Think about the forces on the boom when you are sailing. They are huge and dynamic compared to the forces that we are talking about here.

I am still very happy to lift my engines in and out this way. I have done it before with different yachts, and many others have done it as well. What is the problem?

 

[roger]

In our club yard one member had a scaffold system built specially for the purpose then lifted out the engine with a good quality hoist. It worked very well. If this could be done it would be the scaffolders risk from insurance point of view.
Incidentally are you proposing to swing out the engine onto terra firma using the boom? You will have the devil of an overturning moment.

 

[Guest]

I would only consider putting the topping lift at a mid or other point of the boom if absolutely necessary.

Keeping the topping lift connected at the boom end - possibly beefed up a bit and not just trusting a swivel plate etc. - is that with the boom topped to put end over weight ... the boom is now acting in compression in length and not across its section ... Force across the section means boom at its weakest. It also gives you that wonderful opportunity to swing the lift out over boat side and lower to suitable point .... Lifting at another point on boom means shorter radius etc.

 

[Birdseye]

You might well be OK using your boom but if it all goes tits up what is the replacement cost of a boom? or a deck if you drop the engine, or the gooseneck, or even your foot?

For the sake of a few quid to a crane operator, I wouldnt dream of using my rig. And I had the engine out of my last boat more times than I care to remember.

Whatever you do, stripping off the gearbox, starter, alternator etc makes sense and if the engine is going for a recon you can remove the cylinder head as well to get the weight down.

 

[catmandoo]

I would concur . Even with the load transferred with the halliard the boom still carries a shear load . Remember that it is a hollow aluminium X section and any distortion in section , load slip or non alignment could change the shape of your boom considerably

 

[dickh]

I got the boatyard to just lift it out with a JCB after I'd loosened evrything and tied a heavy rope round the engine. Only took 5 minutes and then straight into the buyers van. Mind you - not had the bill yet!!