possible bargain Targa 34 with newish engines

I fully understand what the penalty is in the 34 foot class. I have a friend with a Princess V42 with KAD44's in. His engine room is palatial. Mine I can get to all belts and general service items easily enough. Now lets talk about steering fork grease nipple. Or trim sender pot or heaven forbid ram pins. Putting in davits nearly ended a friendship.

Easy from the front. The back, it's a pig. This photo after 4 months of digging round the back I was so relieved and pleased to be done. 1am in the morning, 6 weeks behind schedule, lift-in in 7 hrs. Pure torture :(

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As you've just finished, I am annoyingly late saying this......

If you can get the outdrives off (ie you are out of the water) it's easy to slide the engines forward on a sportcruiser.

Undo the 2 bolts into the transom plate, 4 into the engine bearers.

If the engine is fully accessible from above then put a stout wooden plank (railway sleeper stout) across the cockpit, side to side.
Put a trolley jack on the sleeper, and put a chain across the trolley jack, shackled to the engine lift points. Aim to have the centre of lift just aft of the centre of gravity.
Jack up, the rear of the engine will lift and the front will have the weight taken off. Tap the engine forward with a mallet, and put a block under the rear of the bell housing, bearer to bearer.
Slacken the jack, move it forward, take the strain again and repeat until you have enough room. I've done this 3 times that i can remember and it works a treat.

For a boat like this, do as i did on my S37 and drill 2 holes for the chains in the locker above. Use a board to spread the trolley jack load and place that on the floor of the locker. Your centre of effort will be a little further aft than ideal, and the extra weight on the front mounts will require a bigger mallet.

Still easier than 7 hours behind the engine. I changed the S37 transom plate without removing the engine. (the S37 has a bonded in area of deck aft of the engine hatch that can be removed for getting the engines out. I didn't cut that out either)
 
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Thanks for the tip. I may give it a go next time round if I can get the trolley jack aft enough to be behind the CoG. Not sure how the pro's would do mine as my "locker" is actually foldaway space for the lower cockpit seating and the floor of it is way to thin to support an engine at about 3mm glass mouldings.

Not my boat and slightly smaller but shows the seating folded away. Note the engine bay hatch hinge point between the two pictures. The engines pass behind that and the seating into the integrated platform where the transom sits half way

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Thanks for the tip. I may give it a go next time round if I can get the trolley jack aft enough to be behind the CoG. Not sure how the pro's would do mine as my "locker" is actually foldaway space for the lower cockpit seating and the floor of it is way to thin to support an engine at about 3mm glass mouldings.

Not my boat and slightly smaller but shows the seating folded away. Note the engine bay hatch hinge point between the two pictures. The engines pass behind that and the seating into the integrated platform where the transom sits half way

102540447gallery_wm.jpg

yeah its easier in a locker as you dont have to worry about cosmetics as much.

As for 3mm you spread the load with a long bit of wood so no point loading and you take the load to the edges - you dont take the whole engine weight just a tad over half.

Having said that if you take that hatch off wood from side to side will be far enough aft anyway by the look of it? I take it aft is top left of the pic??

edit i can see the geography now comparing it with the engine pic..

the jack could be bit far forward.

whats behind that bulkhead just aft of the engine hatch? Just integrated platform or a little locker? May have to put a hole in the platform. Lift a teak plank? Lift a dinghy support?
 
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Thats the thin 3mm moulding I was refering to. See the screw holes under the seat? They stow the bench seats. That moulding fits on to the hull topside and that at the back is non load bearing and structurally weak. It is not part of an extended transom. I could get a beam along the hatch hinge line. That is an inch plus thick and very strong. However I would need to pick up from a spreader bar with a counter weight. What that might be Im going to have to give some thought as I dont know how much counter weight is needed. Maybe adapt a barbell and weights....??
 
They are 2016 spec as they have the later sea water pumps with the strainer before the pump, the control Is the EVC D version , working at the back of the engines looks bad as they are a tall block compared to the KAD series .
Good set up for long term ownership.

I am not sure I agree the D4 are better then a Kad42/43 or 44 for long term ownership. The drives are surely much worse, even though they are made to stay much more in the water.
Props I think I should not even go there...
Engines, while nicer in performance and less in smaller headaches, they certainly love to entertain giving bigger ones.
Also as a last statement each part for a D4 does cost double or triple to a Kad43 or 44.
 
:D :encouragement: Well I will concede you have it better than me. +1 for the S34. Dont rub it in though :p

Well to be fair the space at the front of your engines is good and better than an S34 with six pot lumps. The four pots makes it work for us :)
 
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