Engine Removal

The engine room is amidships, underneath the floor of the main salon.  The salon is furnished with a leather sofa, two recliners, a coffee table and a couple stools, all on top of wall to wall carpeting.  While we could shuffle stuff from one side of the boat to the other to expose one engine hatch at a time, this all had to be removed and stored elsewhere for full access.  Elsewhere for the furniture turned out to be our living room, and we found room for the rolled up carpet and pad up on the bridge.  Here are the Perkins engines under the removed hatches.  The difference in appearance is due to the missing intercooler on the starboard engine.  The intercooler on these engines are salt water cooled, and their purpose is to cool the compressed air from the turbocharger before it enters the engine for combustion. Back in 2005 this one sprung a leak due to corrosion, and eventually took out a high pressure oil line before it was discovered.  The oil line got repaired, but the intercooler was not fixable and no replacements were to be found.  We substituted the straight pipe to route un-cooled air to the engine.  At our typical cruising speeds it didn't present an issue.

These engines are large, and removal from the area through a conventional opening, such as the door or even a removed window, would require disassembly - and even then I'm not quite sure the engine block would fit through the doorway.  The only way out for them is via the way they came in 40 years ago - through the roof. 

The salon ceiling is upholstered with a headliner, which in turn is trimmed with mahogany slats across, and thicker mahogany trim pieces along the sides.  Removal of these pieces exposed the raw edges of the headliner, and the staples that hold it to the ceiling.  We carefully removed the staples from one section of the headliner, and rolled it up onto a boathook as we progressed.  I left one edge attached in hopes that that would aid in keeping the alignment when it comes time to reassemble the ceiling.  With the one section of headliner removed, the ceiling hatch where the engines came in years ago was exposed.  We could see where the cross ribs had been cut, and were held together with steel braces through-bolted to the ribs.  We could also see wires, air lines and lights that would have to be removed or rerouted before the hatch could be opened.

Ray and I began clearing out wires that pass through the hatch we’ll be removing from the ceiling. Some we rerouted and others we cut and will reattach later when we put it back together.  One that can’t be cut is the lead from the radar array down the mast and into the radar CRT display at the helm.  It’s a thick cable, nearly ½” in diameter with, as it turns out, 19 individual wires within the sheath.  We both got up on the roof with the idea of disconnecting the lead from within the radar unit, as the terminal at the other end was big and fat, and would also involve more un-snaking and snaking of wire.  Once we got the radar apart, we found the spaghetti bundles of wire going to three different plastic plugs, all bigger than the hole they needed to go through.  We put it all back together and changed our focus to the terminal at the CRT end.  It was housed in a metal casing held together with a bunch of screws. I removed about 6 screws and the housing fell off to either side, revealing a single plastic plug with 19 pins coming out.  The pins could be individually removed, but only with a special tool, or so we thought.

 We headed off to Ballard to the marine electronics store to inquire about a tool to take out the pins.  “You don’t want to do that”, the service guy said, “You can snake the lead at the antenna end through any hole that the wire can fit through”.  We objected, pointing out that it ended in plastic terminals much wider than the hole, whereupon he brought out a cable just like it, and showed us how to twist the terminals 90 degrees and tape them so they’d pass through the hole.  We were both like the proverbial carpenter’s helper trying to walk through the doorway holding the 2x4 across the opening.  Tomorrow we’ll put the CRT end terminal back together and re-disassemble the radar array to extract the wire down through the ceiling.

The CRT end of the radar terminal went together surprisingly well and, after plugging it in, I turned on the radar to make sure everything was working before we removed the array unit.  It was.  We staged all the tools we thought we’d need and  a few more before Ray and I both climbed up on the salon roof to dismantle the radar.  Four bolts hold the top cover on – once the bolts are loosened we pulled up on the cover until it came free from the rubber seal and it opened forward on a hinge, exposing the electronics inside.  We unplugged the connectors, twisted them 90 degrees and worked them through the opening in the bottom of the housing.  We then removed the radar unit completely and set it aside.

The wires to the weather system components as well as the radar cable passed through the mast and we knew we’d have to remove it from its mount on the roof in order to work both ends of the passageways.  We removed the weather station wires first – they’re like telephone cables, and we pulled them up through the salon ceiling and through the mast, working the connector clips past the radar cable until they were all free.  This gave us a little more room for stuffing the radar connectors into the top hole of the shaft and snaking them down through.  Once the cable was free of the mast and also snaked through the opening in the ceiling we coiled it and stored it inside the headliner in the aft section of the salon ceiling.  The mast itself we put in the back cockpit and the radar unit is resting comfortably on the bunk in our stateroom.

 

Ray brought along a small tubing cutter, and used that to cut the sections of copper tubing that supply air to the air horns.  The horns are directly ahead of the hatch the engines will pass through and don’t need to be moved, but these supply lines pass through the ribs of the hatch.  They are connected with compression fittings, and even though we could back off the nuts holding the sections together, the compression rings themselves would have to come off before the tubing could pass through the ribs.  That wasn’t about to happen and it was easier to cut them.  When we reassemble the ceiling I’ll either use some new copper tubing or a length of the high pressure plastic tubing that could link to the copper.

The hatch is now free of all wires and tubes that were encumbering it.  What remains to be done to actually open it is to cut along its perimeter from the topside with a circular saw set to the depth of just the thickness of the ceiling plywood.  We’ll drill some holes up from inside to mark the corners, then measure from those holes so we can make our cut along the ribs so there’s still some support holding the hatch from falling through.  We probably won’t make those cuts until just before we’re ready to hoist the engines.

Next we turned to the tasks of preparing the engines for removal.  All the wiring and hoses must be disconnected, as well as the engine motor mounts loosened.  We disconnected the exhaust pipes from the turbochargers and also removed the cross pipes down to where the exhaust goes through the engine room bulkhead.  Because the exhaust pipes exit the transom at the waterline we wanted to make sure that water didn't enter the boat through the open exhaust, so Ray made some plugs the same diameter as the exhaust hose and we clamped them into place in the engine room to prevent any wave action from find its way into the boat.  We also didn't want any fuel coming out of the disconnected fuel lines, so again Ray made some plugs that we could clamp into the ends of those hoses as well.  Those plugs were fashioned from the shanks of some bronze bolts that had been removed from the boat when we replaced the chine log the year before. 

The hot water tank for the boat's fresh water plumbing system is situated directly in front of the starboard engine, no more than an inch or two in front of the crankshaft pulley.  It is heated by the starboard engine's coolant as well as electrically when connected to shore power, so those hoses were removed once we had drained the coolant from the engines.  The tank had to be drained of fresh water as well, as it holds 30 gallons, making the tank weigh well over 250 lbs. when full.  We disconnected both the inlet and outlet fittings and let the tank drain into the bilge, where the bilge pumps in turn pumped it out into the lake.  We then moved the tank forward a foot or so to get it out of the way.  I didn't want to leave the water system shut off, as we definitely needed to wash up quite frequently after working on the engines.  I used a length of hose to connect the hot water inlet and outlet pipes together, bypassing the empty tank, but allowing us to turn on the pump and use the faucets in the boat.

The engines are cooled via heat exchangers that are in turn cooled by raw water, which is supplied via thru-hull fittings in the bottom of the boat.  These were shut off and the hoses removed from the engines' raw water inlet pipes.  Wire nippers and a hacksaw came into play here, as these hoses were wire reinforced. 

Once removed, the engines would need something under them so I picked up a couple wood pallets that were in the free section of Craigslist.  Ray had some plywood scraps, and we covered the pallets with solid plywood, both for added strength (these engines weigh a ton apiece) and so we wouldn't spill any left-over fluids while the engines were awaiting their final disposition.

 

As our scheduled "crane day" neared, we turned our attention back to the roof of the salon.  Although we had stripped out or otherwise re-routed all the wires and tubes from the ceiling hatch area, we had yet to make the actual cuts to the exterior of the roof that would allow us to remove the hatch for access.  I had already drilled some pilot holes up through the roof from inside to indicate where the corners would be, so I first outlined the hatch area with masking tape.  This would minimize any frayed edges from the saw blade as we made the cuts.  Ray brought his chalk string and we snapped lines from corner to corner.  The cuts from side to side would be centered over the ribs supporting the roof, while the cuts fore and aft would be open.  There were battens screwed and glued into place under the previous fore and aft cuts, and they were so secure we just made our cuts a couple inches outboard of those.

Mike lent us a cordless Skil Saw for the job, and Ray made the initial cuts.  He only got about 8 to 10 inches with it before wearing out both batteries.  We either had a tough roof or some weak batteries.  I returned the saw to Mike that evening and  exchanged it for a corded model to finish the job.  I felt like the proverbial comic tree trimmer sawing off a limb from the wrong side as I made the cut directly in front of the windshield, but kneeling in the center of the hatch was the only position for that side.  It wasn't going anywhere, though, as it was still bolted in place with steel plates.

 The blade on Mike's saw did a fine job of cutting through at least a couple dozen brass screws along the way as well.  For the most part, our line closely followed the cut made forty-some years ago when the Perkins were installed but we occasionally wandered into the screws that sealed it down to the cross ribs years ago.

We had quite a mess of sawdust by the time our cuts were finished.  Most of it was confined to the roof although some also entered the cabin during those fore and aft cuts.  We vacuumed the boat inside and out.

Back inside the salon we could now finish the job of disconnecting the hatch from the rest of the roof.  The bolted steel plates were removed, and we also had some residual screws continuing to hold the hatch section down against the cross ribs.  I have a Fein Tool - an electric multi-purpose tool that oscillates just a few degrees at high speed with a variety of blades that can be attached to it.  We used this to put a blade between the plywood roof and the cross rib, severing the remaining screws. In the photograph below you can see where the steel plates held the cross ribs together and also where the battens from the previous cut still remain.  Visible through the propped up hatch are the air horns mounted on the roof.  Because we had the overlap with the cross ribs, the hatch was supported from falling through even with the steel plates removed.  But, definitely no walking on it allowed while in this state!

The old engines will eventually have to go somewhere, and I listed them on both Craigslist and Ebay in hopes of finding someone who would want them, either for their parts, or perhaps as a running engine with the other one as a parts supply.  I clearly listed all their deficiencies in the ad so there would be no surprises or disappointments for anyone who was interested.  I received one reply to the Craigslist ad - it was from a mechanic who recognized the engines.  He had worked on them 20 years or more previously when one of them had a fuel pump problem.  The pump was obsolete even then, but he lucked in to finding some parts at a small shop that now no longer exists, somewhere up the Frazer River from Vancouver, and managed to get it repaired.

The Ebay listing got more interest with several watchers, and I exchanged emails and talked with one fellow who was especially interested.  Coincidentally, he was located in Florida, not far from where we would be ordering our replacement engines.  He bid on the engines on the last day of the auction, and won them for the opening bid of $1000.  But, he hadn't done his homework, and when he discovered that it was going to cost him a lot more than that to ship them, he wanted out of the deal.  That was fine with me - don't want an unhappy customer so we canceled the sale and my Ebay 'final value fee' was refunded. 

I relisted the engines on Ebay, and this time the auction ran its course without a bid.  But, a few days later I received an email via Ebay from an interested party who was rebuilding a boat that had originally been equipped with the same model Perkins TV8.510M engines.  When he acquired this boat it had just one of the engines; the other one was missing.  His hope was to use one of our engines in his boat, and the other for maintenance parts.  He was located in Saint Fons, a small town in France, a hundred kilometers or so up river from the port of Marseille.  We exchanged many messages and it eventually came to pass that he did purchase the engines.  I'll add more details about this transaction later.

After a couple delays due to logistics with other boats we eventually got our turn at the crane for the engine removal.  We had some additional onlookers for this occasion, as our friends Trav and Barb, and Jim and Barb Jorgenson, the previous owners of Potentate, came to watch the event.

First, the boat had to be moved from our slip around the docks down to Gallery Marine’s work area.  Since everything was disconnected from the engines beforehand and they were no longer operable, this was done by pulling the boat with ropes and long poles to get it into position.  The boat was backed into their lift, not to lift it, but to position it so that the crane had access to our roof hatch.  I launched our dinghy, mostly because they wanted to reduce the length of the boat as much as they could – I thought it might also be useful in case the boat needed a nudge here or there, but they had everything under control so I just hung back and took a few pictures.  Here Irv checks the alignment.  The mobile crane can just be seen protruding from the left.  Irv will drive it out onto the dock to make the lifts.

Chains are attached to the four lifting eyes on the engine, and two come-alongs are used for some more precise maneuvering.  Once the weight of the engine is supported by the hoist, they bring it forward a couple inches to get it off the spline from the transmission.  The transmissions remain on the boat.  Ray and I both took a supervisory role.

 

The port engine came out first without a hitch, squeezing past both sides of the hatch with perhaps an inch to spare.

Once clear of the floor hatch, the engine has to be rotated 90 degrees before it'll fit through the hatch in the ceiling.

Here's the port engine lifted high in the air.  A battery cable is dangling from the starter motor.  It was too awkward to reach so I just figured that we'd get to it once the engine was out on the ground.  Once it's clear of all obstructions, Irv rotates the crane so he can set it down on one of the wood pallets we prepared.

The starboard engine was next.  It wouldn’t fit through the hatch until the raw water inlet pipe was removed – it needed that extra inch.

That pipe had already been removed on the other engine to get access to a motor mount so the problem wasn’t encountered there.  The pipe is attached with a 4 bolt flange, and of course 3 bolts came out nice and easy.  The 4^th bolt was blocked by a motor mount bolt, and that bolt wasn’t budging.  The mount itself was already loose from the stringer, so it just needed to be further disassembled to gain access to the last bolt.  In progression, they used a socket, an electric impact wrench, and then an air impact wrench to try and break it loose.  A Saws-all finally solved the problem in a couple minutes.

Here you can see the starboard engine being lifted through the roof.  You can also see here how the cut over the middle of the rib left a surface for the hatch to rest on, and to fasten to when it's time to go back together.  This turbocharger is mounted on the custom exhaust collector box that Ray fabricated when we couldn't find a replacement part, or even a reasonable alternative.  That nice piece is now in France, along with the engine(s).

Watching the action next to Ray are Jim and Barb Jorgenson, the former owners of the Potentate.  They came up from Gig Harbor to see the spectacle and view the engines up close.  They look bigger sitting on a pallet than they do down through the hatch in the engine room, that’s for sure.

Surprisingly, the boat didn't list much to the side while one engine was in and the other was out.  Now that they're both out, we can see from the line of drying Lake Union slime below the boot stripe that we're riding at least a couple inches higher in the water without the two tons of iron.

Ray checks out the engines while they lay on the pallets.  We picked up a couple of 5 x 7 blue tarps at Harbor Freight Tools the next day to cover them and prevent rainwater from rinsing any grease off and into the lake.

Once the engines were on the ground, the Gallery folks walked and pulled the boat back around to its moorage, negotiating what was essentially a dead stick landing back into our slip.

 

It’ll be a few weeks before our new engines arrive, but in the meantime we have plenty of work to do cleaning up the bilge, removing old wiring harnesses, prepping the transmissions and reduction gears and many more tasks that will surely befall us as we make progress.