New Engine Compartment Project Ideas

savageseadog

savageseadog

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I need to refurbish/remake my engine compartment. The yacht is a conventional behind/under companionway steps arrangement, currently made from plywood with wood moulding trims. Some of it was secured with screws which made engine inspection and servicing awkward. Stainless steel toggle snap fasteners have been used in a couple of places but can't easily be used where the cover forms an inside right angle join unless I'm mistaken. Has anyone got any ideas for better materials, ie grp and removable tightening fastenings?
 
Not sure what you are describing, perhaps a picture or drawing would help. Plywood seems like the right type of material. If you want you can seal it with epoxy and even coat it in GRP but I am not sure why you would bother. There are thousands of different fasteners that could take the place of screws including a threaded knob but I can't quite work out what the problem is from your description.
 
There are loads of ways of achieving that. As I said you can simply replace screws with screw knobs thus removing the need for a screwdriver. Alternatively you could add toggle catches on all 4 sides. Or you could have the bottom of the panel slide into a groove and the top secured by catches of various forms. You can use recessed catches such as those used on RIB watertight hatches. You can use a hinge and a catch creating a 'door'. The options are too numerous to list and what is best really depends on the specifics of what you are doing and where you are doing it (clearances etc).
 
I rebuilt part of Ariam's engine bay, in 12mm WBP ply with a cherry veneer (custom job as nobody seems to stock cherry-faced ply any more). Outside varnished, inside painted white with generic spray paint I happened to have on the shelf. The opening part is a pair of conventional hinged doors with bolts on one side and locker catches on the other, and an overlapping strip of ply on the inside for it to close onto and prevent noise leaking out. I was originally going to apply a thin foam-rubber gasket here but never got round to it. Opening the first door gives immediate access to the fuel filters and water strainer, and also (via a "cupboard door switch") turns on a strip of LEDs along the top of the bulkhead above the doors. Opening the second door gives wider access, and the hinges are the lift-off type so I can clear the doors right away for more serious work.

I think GRP would be much more effort to build, and if it also forms the companionway steps then having the required stiffness will make it very heavy, more than a plywood version.

It's hard to advise on a detailed design including catches without seeing the thing.

Pete
 
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Would be good to have photos..... either downloaded on here or on somewhere like photobucket and you post a link.


I have had 2 boats set out in that manner. Both had drop in and around ply with hardwood edges which all slotted together.

Big problem with this arrangement is..... in serious conditions and you have a knock down..... it would all fall apart following gravity..... an easy

solution of either pegs/pins/straps/clips may suffice though.

S.
 
Stainless steel channel around the base, 4 sides that fit into said channel with the front and rear boards sliding into channels on the side panels, with a lid that overhangs all four sides, just lift the lid and the panels on both sides fall away and you then one or all 4 panels for full access, no catches required.

If you also run a 6 inch pipe between the box and a dorade vent you will reduce the engine smell inside the boat by 80%

Good luck and fair winds.

By the way, on the Cat we have the fuel under the bench seats in the cockpit and the engines (one in each hull) have fully sealed bulkheads fore and aft, air via a dorade vent and not the slightest hint of diesel or oil on board. Access is via a large hatch above each engine.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
One tip I would say is think carefully about things such as insulation and fire fighting. If you are redesigning the compartment now is the time to plan ahead for stuff like that. There are some great noise and heat insulators in the auto industry now such as Dynamat which are very thin and resistant to oils but give much better insulation than old foams. Flaps for firing off extinguishers is also something to think about.
As for fasteners. Go for something that will make life easier even if more time to fit initially such as fitting captive nuts into the plywood by cutting them in and securing with fibreglass so as you can use allen bolts or similar to secure the panels but that can be removed in seconds with a power drill with an allen key or even just manual keys.
 
I'm just engaged in a similar exercise.
Use Dzus clips for closing (they've been around for 85 years and still going strong) and Dynamat for sound-proofing (20mm as good for deadening as 100mm of foam/lead) which has been around for 8 years and close to getting OEM status with VW Group.
 
Thanks guys for the heads-up on Dynamat - never heard of it before. Ariam has minimal soundproofing, which is something I'd really like to improve, but fitting the traditional sheets looks likely to be difficult in places. This stuff may be the answer.

What variety of mat did you use (they seem to have several different types), and is the surface suitable for an engine bay (wipe clean, light-coloured) or more like the car boots they advertise it for (black, fuzzy)? Is it stiff sheets, or a flexible fabric? How do you fix it in place?

Cheers,

Pete
 
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