Know These Repowering Basics?
Careful!
These audio interviews are candid conversations with highly experienced staff from our shop—people who have worked on boats for years. However, the content of these interviews does not imply any particular result on your boat nor extend our warranty in any way. Please contact us directly for specific project questions or bring your boat to the yard for a consultation.
Listen to “Know These Repowering Basics?” now.
Replacing old or failing engines can be a daunting task. In this interview, Leif Erickson discusses what many consider to be one of the most complicated refits.
Basic # 1: Removal
Removing old engines on sailboats is usually relatively simple. On big motor yachts, engine access is frequently covered by carpeting, plumbing and wiring. Our 15 ton overhead crane is critical to getting 6000 lbs of engine and transmission out of engine rooms easily. We try to minimize hole cutting by bringing engines up to the salon level and setting them on tracks, so they can be slid out to the after deck on some yachts. This way we avoid cutting a big hole in the flybridge.
Basic # 2: Other Tasks
Modern engines produce more power for a given displacement than older ones. Consequently, new engines may require shafting and other running gear to be re-sized to handle additional loads. Alternatively, shafts can be upgraded to a stronger alloy without changing the diameter. While the engine is out, this is an excellent time to “tidy up” the engine room and take care of all those maintenance tasks that are harder to deal with when the engine is in the way.
Basic # 3: Reinstallation
When we’ve repowered a motor yacht, you can’t tell we’ve been there. For example, we’ll search for existing openings to fish cables from the crane through. When we’re done we can cover the hole and no one will ever notice it. On a metal boat, we might take the engine out through the side. Then we repair that side and refinish it to like-new condition. Before anyone tears a boat apart a plan for reassembly needs to carefully thought through.