Use boom to crane new engine in?

contessaman

contessaman

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I used a dockside crane to remove my old engine. Keep trying to book it to put the replacement engine in but a combination of work, weather and towboat ( to move my boat to the quayside) keep letting me down. I could get the engine to the marina and on the pontoon next to my boat in slowtime in just about any weather conditions. Problem is, am I going to overstress or break something if I use my boom to lift the engine in? The boat is a rassy 38 so the rigging is pretty stout. Engine is a lancing ford 1.8 litre. I guess the engine weighs about 200 kilos. I can just about pick it up with another large bloke. I'm pretty strong though so that doesn't mean it's light.

Thoughts? Yes, no? Guidance if yes?

Cheers
 
contessaman said:
I used a dockside crane to remove my old engine. Keep trying to book it to put the replacement engine in but a combination of work, weather and towboat ( to move my boat to the quayside) keep letting me down. I could get the engine to the marina and on the pontoon next to my boat in slowtime in just about any weather conditions. Problem is, am I going to overstress or break something if I use my boom to lift the engine in? The boat is a rassy 38 so the rigging is pretty stout. Engine is a lancing ford 1.8 litre. I guess the engine weighs about 200 kilos. I can just about pick it up with another large bloke. I'm pretty strong though so that doesn't mean it's light.

Thoughts? Yes, no? Guidance if yes?

Cheers
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Could you and your mate hold the boom in place with the mainsail drawing without the mechanical advantage of the mainsheet? Of course, you couldn't - the sails are exerting a LOT more force than you can without mechanical advantage. If you and your mate can lift the engine, it's nowhere near the limits for loads on the boom etc. of your rig.
 
The thing to consider is not so much whether the boom and its ancillaries can take the load so much as what would happen if something goes awry. The effect of a 200kg lump dropping freely into a boat would be quite spectacular. Another factor worth considering is the heeling effect of that lump hanging from the end of the boom while outboard; picture two large men hanging from the end of the boom while dangling over the water.

I would wait for the crane but it's your boat... and your decision.
 
I would certainly hesitate to swing the engine in with the boom, unless some strengthening mods made, and even then with some trepidation. If it is possible to sledge the engine from the dock, on to supports over the engine area first, using the boom to lower it should be possible, as extra supports as close to the method of lowering could be employed, otherwise wait for the crane.
 
You should be fine, Make sure you hang the engine on the boom so when swung on board it is in the correct position to lower to it's intended position BUT take the main halyard/topping lift to the point where the engine is hanging from the boom. This is so the halyard takes the majority of the weight and the boom just facilitates swinging it into position. You may have to take a line from this point to the end of the boom to prevent the halyard sliding along the boom when the engine is lifted. Also rig safety lines so the boom does not swing out of control!
 
See the home page of my website. The boat is about 30 ft, not a big strong rig. The engine was hugely heavy, we couldn't lift it between us and had a real struggle even to drag it across the ground. We lifted it in as pictured with the halyard at the point of attachment of the chain block.

Last year I watched a man lift a Mercedes 4 cylinder engine out and back in using his boom, which he rigged in the same way.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
picture two large men hanging from the end of the boom while dangling over the water.
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Which I imagine, on a Halberg-Rassy 38, won't even cause enough heel to spill your tea :)

If the lift point is going to be in the middle of the boom rather than near the end, I'd probably take the halyard and topping lift to a strop around that point rather than to the end, thus putting the boom in pure compression. But even that's probably not really necessary, just think how much load there is in the kicker of a 38-footer.

Pete
 
Big strong boat. Obviously I would want to use the main halyard rather than the topping lift to support the boom (both - one as backup?) and make sure any splices were up to the job. Maybe tie the halyard right round the boom end to take strain off the boom end fitting. Have you tried to lighten the engine at all? Various bits could come off easily to reduce the weight, like starter, alternator? When we swopped engines in our Maxi 100 we took the flywheels off, but that may not be so easy on the Ford.
 
Yes, I agree with using the boom, should be fine. Have you thought about using a couple of scaffold board from the pontoon to the coaming (remove guard wires obviously) and walking the engine across into the boat. Then use the boom just for the lowering of the engine into the cabin? I just walked an MD7 engine (weight 175kgs) about 100 yards using scaffold boards a glass of lucozade and I was ready for another 100 yards if required.
 
OK, not as big an engine as you're moving but if watched the mechanics working on the Sailingholidays fleet switching engines on their boats using the boom to lift the engine off a high quayside and then down into the boat. They left the topping lift in the usual place and used the halyard above the attachment point for the tackle to take the main lifting strain. The topping lift wasn't used to lift but as a back up/safety rope.
 
Yes, it's possible, but it's not particularly easy. The boat will heel when the engine's hanging from the boom over the pontoon, so you'll need good lateral restraints on the engine otherwise it'll swing away from the boat. And you'll need very secure lifting arrangements; the possibility of your new engine disappearing into the water doesn't bear thinking about.
 
We have lifted a 175kg engine out a few times in the past. We used the main halliard attached to the engine via a shackle and strop. We fitted a line from the halliard to the outward end of the boom so all the boom is actually doing is acting like a compression strut. All the weight is taken on the main halliard.
 
Agree with attaching the topping lift above the lift point for the engine. A chain hoist is better for lowering, but you might get away with the mainsheet. Take guys from the end of the boom so that you can control the swing.
 
Last month I lifted out my old Volvo MD11D (weight approx 238kg according to the manual) using the method recommended by PetiteFleur, Vyv Cox and Duncan99210, and using a half ton chain hoist. As long as the boom is secured from swinging laterally and then is moved in a controlled fashion, it is a relatively straight forward operation.
 
StormNorm said:
Ok, so I know it can be done, but isn't the load on the masthead sheaves huge? A break or a jam doesn't bear thinking about.
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The load wil be less than that of a nicely tight main but the angle will be all wrong when the boom is swung out. But it can be done especially in a 38 footer with a beefy rig.Just swing the boom out slowly,use the halyard and tie it around the boom at the same point as the engine,And of course tie the halyard around a cleat at all times.
I've hoisted a Bukh 20 in large bits of at least 180kgs out of a Fulmar once.There was some creaking from the top sheave but the boat didn't heel much.By comparison a 200kg weight on the end of a 38ft heavy boats boom is nothing.
 
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