New engine-crane or manhandle

[vic008]

Pull out VP2003 replace with Beta 30. Crane essential or could you get away with manhandling. If so, would 3 guys do it, or 4?

 

[ridgy]

Given how much money you're already spending it would just be a crane?

 

[Tranona]

Crane every time, or you could use your boom and a chain hoist. The latter is the essential bit for precision getting the engine onto its beds. Our club has a forklift with a frame that fits on the forks with a hook to take the chain hoist. Lifting in my Beta 30

 

[KevinV]

Trying to coordinate 4 guys to lift and put down an awkward, hard item into a small awkwardly shaped space surrounded by expensive-to-repair finishes and bits sounds a bit bonkers to me

 

[Macka1706]

Power or sail. I've changed several Yacht donk's the heaviest being a Perkins 3 pot.
Boom. double Halyards to point around where you put the chain blocks ,and listen to mast. It'll tell you whether you can or not.
Multi persons WILL. 98% of time stuff it up. Without an A frame over cockpit entry and rope blocks. for even lift.My Last one. Yanmar 29QM out. Ford 25hp 2 pot in.
2 boats on clup marina. His eng out with his boom. My Yanmar into his engine bay with my boom. New (rebuild) Ford in and installed with My boom and the chainblocks. I then lifted up Yanmar /gearbox and slid into 6x4 Trailer.Around 160kg.

 

[ChromeDome]

Just give a thought to the risk of a couple of hundred kilos slipping and tumbling down on people, GRP, wiring and what not.

Safety first! Proper slings and reliable lifting power every time.

 

[gavin400]

I replaced my old engine with a frame and chainblock
Yard forklift lifted engine into cockpit but couldnt access the engine bay because of the wheelhouse

 

[38mess]

I'd go for a crane. I recently changed my Perkins M30 and I used the yard forklift, so much easier, we were going to manhandle it out but one slip and it's a lot of damage done

 

[dankilb]

Also as people have alluded above - the manhandling will be required once through the hatch anyway (and continuing during dry fit/alignment etc.) so save your muscles/mates for that!

 

[jamie N]

As others have stated, having replaced engines twice now by myself, it requires very tight control that only a chain hoist, or similar can provide, be it a fork lift or whatever, by being able to 'hold the load' for a period of time. The idea of having 3-4 mates manhandling would strike fear into me!
In my mind (after a career in the underwater/oil & gas industry), I do a risk assessment and imagine having to explain it to a a safety bloke from Shell/BP/Total etc,
It really helps me to keep it on the straight and narrow!

 

[jwilson]

Many people heel a boat to try and reduce draught when aground by having one or two persons sitting on the swung-out boom, which is more weight than most small diesel engines. Use boom and halliards and re-rig mainsheet as tackle. A chain block is better but blocks and tackle will do it.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I removed my Perkins 4 236 by my self by using a chain block and a support frames across the companionway slides and an A fame in the cockpit.

I then rigged a frame scalfold with the same chain block to lower the engine off the side deck down to the ground

 

[geem]

We lifted our Yanmar 3 cylinder (150kg) out of the old boat a couple of times using a chain hoist and the boom. Pretty easy job.
Not sure I would do that thet with the current engine weighing in at 500kg

 

[john_morris_uk]

This is the fourth time I’ve slung an engine into a boat. No crane, just a chain hoist and the boom.

No assistance from anyone else.

Why pay for a crane?




I greased the scrap bits of ply to slide the new engine back into the engine bay and had to pull hard on it to stop it sliding too far. (It slid so easily!) Bits of timber from round the boatyard served as a ramp for the ply to sit on for engine mounts to slide down.

 

[vyv_cox]

On this page Engine faults there is a photo of us hoisting an old Volvo engine into a boat using a chain block hung from the boom. This engine was extremely heavy, such that two of us could not lift it off the ground. We placed two halyards about half way along the boom and lifted with no problems at all

 

[penfold]

This is the fourth time I’ve slung an engine into a boat. No crane, just a chain hoist and the boom.

No assistance from anyone else.

Why pay for a crane?

View attachment 157201View attachment 157202View attachment 157203View attachment 157204


I greased the scrap bits of ply to slide the new engine back into the engine bay and had to pull hard on it to stop it sliding too far. (It slid so easily!) Bits of timber from round the boatyard served as a ramp for the ply to sit on for engine mounts to slide down.

Please move the halliard to alongside the chainblock if doing this, it gives the boom an easier time of it. As everyone has said; don't try and do this by hand, it will go wrong and someone or something will get hurt. Chainblocks and slings are readily available to hire and not expensive to buy if you prefer.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Please move the halliard to alongside the chainblock if doing this, it gives the boom an easier time of it. As everyone has said; don't try and do this by hand, it will go wrong and someone or something will get hurt. Chainblocks and slings are readily available to hire and not expensive to buy if you prefer.

Agree that it’s better that way and I’ve done that on previous boats. Except our current boom is so oversized that it hardly noticed the weight. I tested it and it barely moved with my 90 kg hanging off it.

What I did do was use webbing straps so that there was a very much reduced chance of any part of the boom moulding being crushed.

The chain hoist is a life changer. I picked it up gratis as it had failed it’s inspection for 1 tonne loads and was about to go in the skip. It’s perfectly fine for my use for one or two hundred kilos.

 

[Mudisox]

Just done it, last week with the Beta 14.
3 different places for pulleys to take the weight through hatches, using doubled halyards, but best to wrap the engine with soft furnishings,[an old duvet] to save the inside woodwork.
I also removed the alternator and other heavy bits to lighten and shrink the load.
Also done with the boat aground.
Hardest part was how to get it home, solved by lowering it into the dinghy alongside using the boom and main sheet, and then floating the dinghy on to the boat trailer.
Although possible to be done single handed, it would be much easier with a helper.
Intend to offer beer tokens to get it back on and in.

 

[penberth3]

This is the fourth time I’ve slung an engine into a boat. No crane, just a chain hoist and the boom.

No assistance from anyone else.

Why pay for a crane?

Tested, insured, trained and competent operator etc, etc...

 

[Refueler]

Tested, insured, trained and competent operator etc, etc...

Pal of mine with his B31 - had the old Yanmar lifted out and then contracted yard 'crane' to lift replacement in ... yard guys installed it. All went well until 'crane' when manoeuvring out after punched a hole in the side of the next boat ....

Not a pretty site. My pal is really upset even though not his fault.

I had offered to help him do the job with his boom and a tackle .... but he insisted on 'not straining' his boom .....