It looks like the cooling hoses for the manifold/risers block the front 4 plugs. Any tips to make this easier? I'm thinking I need to remove the hoses for access.
Well not the answer I wanted but it is what I expected. Still saved me an hour of standing on my head with a mirror in my hand and getting in and out of the boat trying to find a combination of wrenches and sockets that would work around the obstruction.
Nope, all the plugs are accessible as is in most cases. You need to grind down a sparkplug socket and use either a 3 inch or 6 inch extention in 3/8ths drive
you don’t need to remove anything to get the plugs out. Just the patience of a saint and move the hoses out the way for the awkward ones. A standard medium extension on your ratchet will be all you need.
From memory, the forward most 2 plugs on the starboard side and the 2nd most forward on the port are the buggers. Persevere and you’ll get it.