Need to raise new engine on existing bearer brackets

[Baggy]

Iam in the process of having a new engine installed at the moment.
in my westerly.

The engine needs to be raise approx three inches to align with the prop shaft.

Rather than have a metal bracket fabricated and all it entails

It has been suggested that inserting a block of Iroko,
onto the existing bed bearers, for the new engine feet to sit on.

would this be ok ?

 

[Tranona]

Three inches is a lot for one block and it would probably have to be laminated. Assume the current beds are glassed in wood, in which case you will need to think carefully about how you attach the blocks as you won't want screws that long going into the original beds to hold the engine mounts down. I raised my beds about 40mm by screwing and epoxying iroko to the original oak beds and then using 50mm coach screws for the engine mounts so they go down into the original beds.

You may well find having steel brackets made up to mate with your existing engine mount holes easier. If you are fitting a Beta they may well have brackets already designed for the job.

 

[alahol2]

I used 40 - 50mm of oak through bolted to the original angle iron beds to raise my new engine. I guess it depends on how well you are able to fix the block to the existing bed. Through bolting would be fine but just screws I would be wary of.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

If it is the usual Westerly set up then you will have two angle irons, what about just turning them upside down and left to right.

 

[Baggy]

Thanks for the replies chaps..

The angle irons, are already in the upper position, on which my Merc OM 636 sat on.

The new Beta fits fine on the iron beds but needs to be raised about 21/2 inches.

Its has been suggested to use Iroko blocks on the angle beds, which will be bolted through.
as apposed to a metal fabrication siting on top of the angle beds

I myself cant see any problems using Iroko.. ?

 

[single]

Would it not be easier and better to take the engine mounts and have 3'' fabricated on?

 

[Tranona]

Use countersunk coach bolts to attach the iroko to the angle iron using the original bolt holes and then 50mm long stainless coachscrews for the mounts to the iroko.

 

[maxi]

My new Beta also necessitated the raising to the engine bed by approx 2.5". I used solid nylon blocks which have been fine for the past 600 hours of use. However the blocks imparted a small misalignment in the flexible mounts & I have subsequently had the nylon blocks machined to give exactly the correct angular alignment (not expensive).

 

[oldsaltoz]

The last time I did this I glued hard wood blocks on top of the existing mount blocks with epoxy resin and Micro-fibres, then drilled holes in the now higher blocks and inserted nuts with an inch clearance under them, then screwed the bolts in after covering them with a light oil, the holes with nuts and bolts inserted were then back filled with epoxy resin and more micro-fibres and left to cure.

After curing, the bolts were removed and new hard wood blocks were glassed over using an epoxy resin and 300 gram bi-directional cloth (4 layers) and added gussets to the bases and added 3 layers of bidirectional cloth at stagered sizes to spread the load.

A stainless steel strip 3/8 on an inch thick was then glued to the top with Micro-fibres and epoxy resin to spread the bolt head load and all tightened up and aligned.

That was several years ago and no hint of any problems since. The only thing left for the client was to continue his bilge paint up and over the new work.

Good luck and fair winds.

The greased bolts and Micro fibres eliminates problems with screws allowing moisture into the block and screws have a tendency to come loose in timber when exposed to vibration as it's only the tip that has a grip.

The epoxy around the bolt grips the timber but not the bolt from top to bottom but can still be removed later if need be.

Good luck and fair winds to all.