replacing wood under front of engine

[CHEVYV8]

hello all. first let me say that i have been lurking around this board for about a year. finally bought my first boat. now i have a question:

i will be replacing the soft wood under the front of the engine. can i place my engine hoist inside my boat to lift and support the front of the engine? i would have another board underneath the hoist so the load is spread out as opposed to just the wheels on the deck. i will be pulling the outdrive to replace the gimble bearing and complete the needed repair on the rear mount. the front mount needs to be serviced also. however i'd rather not have to pull the motor out of the boat for the wood repair.
1987 wellcraft 190 classic merc 470

thanks for your input

 

[blousteau]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

In order to repair it correctly you should pull the motor out of the boat. If there is rot in the front of the motor mounts there is probably rot making its way to the rear. Plus the motor mounts on each side can't be any more than 3 ft long. You would be safer to cut them out and reglass in new ones. I don't think you can make a 100% safe and durable repair to that area without removing the motor completely.

 

[salty87]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

i agree...it will be in the way at best and your grinding/fiberglassing will suffer AND you'll likely find more than you planned on when you open it up.

 

[CHEVYV8]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

thats kind of what i was thinking. i was talking to a gentlemen that has been around boats for 60+ years fixing and restoring, buying and selling, keeping and using. He told me (well before i found and bought this one) that the wellcraft 19'-21' boats were his favorite of them all. Recently he was saying that raising the front of the motor with the outdrive off will leave enough room to get in there and do what i need to do. i've never done anything on or near a boat before so i'm trying to get as many different opinions as i can. this gentleman was not the first to tell me to do this way either.
i'm not fond of the idea of the hoist in the boat itself though. if i go this route (which is unlikely) i will raise the front and find another way to support it.
i hope there is no more soft wood or rot, the rest of the area around the mount and the entire floor under and behind the engine is rock hard. when i was looking at the boat my friend and myself tried to jab a seal pic through the floor, transom, sides, everywhere....this was the only spot that was a little weak.

 

[danond]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

By the time you raise the engine and screw around with trying to keep it still and safe you'd be better off removing it.

You're going to need to bite the bullet and just get it out of there. It's no big deal, boat engines aren't hard to remove. Nothing like car engines.

 

[CHEVYV8]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

well that was the other thought in my head. being safe under the engine and having enough room under it work. i'm leaning more toward just pulling it out.

i have an engine hoist, but the boat is on the trailer. how would i go about pulling the engine out to clear the back of the boat. i'm uncertain if i have the height clearence to pull it out.

paying someone is out of the question!

 

[Bondo]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

Ayuh,... Got a Big ole Tree branch,..?? A tall Garage,..??

 

[CHEVYV8]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

neither, i'm on the coast in florida, the only trees i have are palms. my garage is barely tall enough to fit my yukon and its an add on, so i wont trust the frame to pull a motor.
is it possible to get the boat off the trailer and on the ground safely?
how would i get the boat back onto the trailer once off?

 

[blousteau]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

Check out a rental place, they will sometimes have A frames you can rent and use a chain hoist to pull the motor out. Some have wheels on the A frame others don't, either way you can just pull the boat out from under the motor, lower the motor, attach it to your engine hoise and move it for storage. Of if you know someone with a backhoe or front end loader that would probably work too!!!

 

[danond]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

A few ways to get it out:

• Rent an A-frame hoist
• Forklift
• Front-end loader
• Bobcat
• Big tree branch and a come-along or pulley
• Garage with hefty rafters
• Disconnect EVERYTHING except the mount bolts, take it to a shop, pay them 1 hour of shop labor to lift it out and drop it into your pickup.

 

[Revenge]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

I replaced the legs on my kids swing set to add an additional 2' in height to remove mine.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

A few ways to get it out:

• Rent an A-frame hoist
• Forklift
• Front-end loader
• Bobcat
• Big tree branch and a come-along or pulley
• Garage with hefty rafters
• Disconnect EVERYTHING except the mount bolts, take it to a shop, pay them 1 hour of shop labor to lift it out and drop it into your pickup.

My solution: Buy a scrap trailer under a vintage boat, cut the trailer up so you have plenty of metal to build a hoist, and place the boat in your garage for future restoration

 

[Bondo]

Re: replacing wood under front of engine

Ayuh,... Or disassemble it,+ remove it piece by piece,.... Great time for a Rebuild,..??