When Batteries Go Bad

When it rains, it pours.  And when marine batteries go bad, they go bad pretty quick.

When we were in St. Maarten, Scott noticed that our battery voltage was low.  Like, really low.  For the record:  we have had two 12 volt 8D AGM batteries as our house bank.  They were reading 11.4 in after a night at anchor when they should have been reading in the high 12 range.  Much to his annoyance, I had been telling Scott each morning for days that our refrigerator didn't seem cold (I am ever fearful of wasting cheese!) and now, it seemed, we knew why.  Our batteries were dying a slow and steady death, and taking our cheese down with it.

Since we have a generator on board, this was by no means an urgent matter - or so we thought.  We continued on our normal course south, figuring this was nothing more than a minor annoyance, and that we'd replace our battery bank once in Grenada.  Our batteries, of course, had other ideas.

Each day our battery voltage dropped lower and lower, quicker and quicker.  We started going into energy conservation mode, turning off all systems at the breakers, and finally shutting the refrigerator off at night.  This attempt to tourniquet the outpouring of energy from our AGM's did next to nothing for the health of our batteries.  They continued on their downward slope, slowly draining a little more life, each and every day.  I was getting worried.  We ran our generator more to keep up with our energy needs.  While this charged our batteries for a spell, they just couldn't hold on to it.  Almost immediately after the generator stopped running, the voltage would drop.  I watched our Victron battery monitor religiously, hoping to see something positive.  It never came. Our fridge began to smell.  Food began to rot.  The mood on the boat drained along with the battery acid.

Then we couldn't start the engine, and this is when I began to cry.

I know we are a sailboat, I know that sails don't require power - but to me, an engine represents safety and when, after running our generator for thirty minutes, we still couldn't start our engine, I got very nervous.  We had a problem. (Note: our engine starter is tied to our house bank.  I know that this is not ideal, and it's not the way we would have set up this boat - but it's the way it was - we are learning there are LOTS of things the previous owner did that we would not have done).

After more generator running and some desperate pleas to the Universe to "please let our engine start one more time" our trusty old Perkins laboriously coughed to life.   And then I smelled sulfur which, unless you are near Old Faithful, is not a normal smell.  New smells on boats are bad and require investigation.  I did some quick Googling and after reading words like "over charged batteries" and "explosion", it was an easy decision to limp into a marina.  Which is exactly what we did.

Within an hour we located an electrician.  He went in the engine room and told us our batteries were "hot"...after which he smiled and shook his head "too hot".  They needed more ventilation.  We took note.  And he continued to poke around.  After a spirited "discussion" with Scott about what the problem might be and what, exactly, this "electrician" was doing (he never told us anything we didn't already know) - I decided to take a walk with Isla to give the men some room to work.  When I came back our 12V 8D AGM batteries had been replaced with 12V 4D wet cell batteries.  Not ideal, but they should get us through.  Thanks to the advice given to us on our Facebook Page, we changed the settings on our charger from 'AGM' to 'wet cell' and have added "check battery water" to our list of weekly chores.  We are also going to be much more cognizant of voltage and battery monitoring moving forward.

Neither of us feel entirely confident that our problem is solved - we're not entirely certain that we don't have some other electrical snafu that might have caused this in the first place.  But for the meantime, we have put a band-aide on the problem.  Hopefully, this band-aide sticks until we get to Grenada.  In the meantime, I'm going to eat me some cheese.

Keep Your Senses Keen and Your Mind Sharp

One practice that is wise to get into the habit of when cruising is the art of being observant.  Your senses will undoubtedly become heightened on a boat.  You will immediately notice an altered cadence, a different odor, a strange vibration... Depending on how complex your boat is, you will either have a lot to keep tabs on, or a little.  Regardless, it pays to be observent and hone in your senses because - on a boat - what you don't know can hurt you.

Yesterday we ran our generator to put a little juice into our batteries.  As we do whenever we start a mechanical system, we watched and listened for anything out of the ordinary.  Thanks to this habit, Scott was able to notice a steady stream of water dripping out of the bottom of a bolt on our Westerbeke.  Where it was coming from he had no idea (we're new to this whole "generator" thing, after all).  So I shut of the generator and Scott went in to investigate.

What he learned was that the leak was coming off our heat exchanger and that inside that heat exchanger is a small sacrificial zinc.  Initially, we thought that perhaps a bad zinc was to blame for the leak, so Scott decided to swap that little baby out.  Luckily for us, I had ordered a nice arsenal of spare parts from Trans Atlantic Diesels for both our Westerbeke generator and our Perkins engine so we had what we needed to accomplish the task.  When you change a zinc however, it's also wise to clean out the corroded remnants of that zinc that might still be in the housing, which Scott did.  And that is when he noticed the crack in the heat exchanger cover.  Leak source:  discovered.

The only problem was the fact that in my awesome arsenal of spare goodies, I did not have a heat exchanger cap. Gasket, yes.  Cap, no.  What to do?  We pondered...

Turns out we did have a spare heat exchanger cap for our Perkins engine so Scott decided to try that on for size.   We fired up the generator again and this time, no leak.  It worked like a charm.  Problem: solved.

So...if the first habit to get into is observation, the second habit to pick up is creativity.

*Huge props and thanks to "Maine Sail" for creating THIS SITE and the fantastic tutorial of the autopsy of a Westerbeke.  If you have not visited this page, you should.  It is a WEALTH of awesome, first hand knowledge and Maine sail is a true expert on all things boat.

That bolt on the left is where we noticed the dripping

So we decided to change the zinc and clean out the heat exchanger a bit.  This is the old gasket. 

Gnarly!  Cleaning out the bits of corroded zinc.

All clean.

The old zinc and bits of dead zinc removed from heat exchanger

 New zinc

Perkins cap

Voila! Problem, solved!

Engine Woes

Changing the oil and the filters.  It sounds like such a simple maintenance task, and on our last boat, it was.  On this boat, however, we had forgotten to add the necessary time to compensate for a learning curve with a new engine (which is a Perkins 4-236, fyi).  Yesterday, this little operation took a whopping eight hours.

I won't go into boring detail, but when you change oil and filters on an engine, you introduce a bit of air into that engine.  Engines do not run with air in their systems, so it is imperative that you bleed that air out.  Turns out, this "bleeding" process was the tricky part on this engine and it took three very skilled boat guys to figure it out.  Basically, because our priming lever was not working properly (which took a while to diagnose) it did not bleed all the air out of the system like it should have.  As a result, we needed to prime the entire fuel line manually by tracing the diesel from the tank to each of the injectors, venting the air out as it went using a wrench and closing those valves when the fuel got to it.  This was a two person job with one person cranking the engine and the other following the fuel while opening and closing the injectors.  Good times.  On the bright side, Isla slept through the whole thing so it doesn't seem that the engine running will be a problem for her.

Shane and Scott working in tandem to bleed the air.

Travis, working away

Anyway, we got the engine running and now she has nice new filters, slick new oil and is purring like a kitting.  Huge thanks to our friends Travis and Shane for their painstaking efforts in helping us.  It was a long night.

While Scott worked away in the engine room all day I finished up the provisioning and purchased all our fresh food as well as wine and beer.  The boat is now fully loaded and we are now (dare I say) good to go.  I'll share my provisioning list soon so you can see what we've jammed into this beauty.  Believe it or now, we even have a couple inches of waterline to spare.  Plans are written in sand over here, but we are still on track to head to the Bahamas by the end of the week...fingers crossed.

More Surveys...

This is not 'the' engine, but one of the many we inspected during our search.

The engine survey came in yesterday.  If you are keeping track, that is a total of three very thorough surveys we have had done on this boat we're looking at.  One survey to look at the rig (because 'regular' marine surveys do not go aloft).  Another survey to look at the boat in general (aka the 'standard' marine survey).  And another survey still to test the engine (because, again, a regular survey will not analyze oils and run compression tests and whatever the heck else they do when they do an involved engine survey). That's a lot of investigating.  It is also a lot of paperwork.  We are nothing if we are not thorough, you gotta give us that.

Luckily, the engine - despite being the original Perkins - has relatively low hours and is in good condition.  Phew.  We were kind of holding our breath after our last survey.  Regardless of the decent engine survey, this whole "boat buying" thing is hard.  Really hard. The decision is not an easy one - there are so many variables and scenarios.  More than once Scott and I have considered throwing in the towel.  We keep going back and forth, back and forth.  Add to that the mind boggling logistics of the whole thing and our minds really start to spin.  And now, because Scott's gone back down to the islands to skipper the boat he works on, all of this is going to be decided by text messages between us.  Furthermore,  I am now the point person in the whole deal.  Not that I have a problem being the point person, but I was more than happy to give Scott the reigns on chasing down quotes and brokers and yards while I sat back and played with baby girl and blogged.  Sigh.  I sure miss him like crazy.

Either way, there is an acceptance date looming over our heads and a decision will have to be made one way or another, sooner than later.  This saga, despite how it might seem, will come to an end!

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Top 10 Tuesdays: Top 10 Oh Sh** Moments

These are the moments where our hearts skip a beat, the moments when we realize we're in a little deeper than we liked or when we've bitten off more than we can chew.  This list will most certainly grow and change and we continue to cruise - but for now, here it is! Hopefully you can learn a thing or two from our mistakes, or - at the very least - laugh at our expense.  Enjoy!

1)  Our first overnight of the trip when we got caught, totally unprepared, in a gale that lasted over 12 hours. 

Lesson Learned?  Pay close attention to the weather and make sure you can properly interpret a weather map.  This will greatly reduce your chances of getting caught like we were.  The lessons we learned during this storm, however, were critical.

2)  When we hit a rock in the Erie Canal. 

Lesson Learned?  Do not cut the corner.  That buoy is there for a reason.

3) When we stepped into water in our boat in Lake Erie.

Lesson Learned?  No matter how good of a bilge pump you have - it always pays to check the bilge and test the pump from time to time to make sure it's working.

4)  When we pulled into the fuel dock in Annapolis and realized we hadn’t reeled in our fishing line and discovered it was sufficiently wrapped around the prop. 

Lesson Learned?  Do not forget to reel in that line before you come into a dock/mooring/anchorage.

5)  When our engine transmission died. 

Lesson learned?  Your engine won't just keep running if you don't monitor it.  Have a mechanic walk you through the various parts of your engine and how to check them, the oils, the belt....etc. 

6) When we were pinned to a dock in Beaufort, South Carolina and managed to get off anyway (...by the skin of our teeth - this one still makes me shudder)

Lesson Learned?  Tides and their associated currents are real and they are dangerous.  If you are pinned to a dock, don't try to fight it - have a beer or take a walk and wait for slack tide.  The only reason we can tell this story is because we have a 53 hp engine.  No joke.

7)  When, in the Erie Canal, we flushed our toilet one too many times only to burst the top off of our holding tank and have the contents overflow into the locker and our bilge.

Lesson Learned?  Make sure you either a) can monitor the fullness of your holding tank or b) you know roughly how much waste it can hold.  When in doubt?  Pump it out!!

8) When, along the East Coast, we found ourselves in a Force 8 Gale with winds blowing a sustained 35 knots for hours. 

Lesson Learned?  The weather people lie.  If they tell you it's going to blow 15 knots, it might just blow 35 knots so it's always best to be prepared.  That - and the East Coast in November/December is gnarly!

9) When we realized the bottom of our dinghy was coming off.

Lesson Learned?  Invest in a decent dinghy (and outboard)!!!  This is the ONE area we completely overlooked and paid little attention to and we are suffering because of it (but, not for long - thanks to our new sponsor Island Water World!!).  Honestly, your dinghy is your freedom and we have been nothing but a slave to ours.

10) When, very early on, we realized during an overnight shakedown cruise (when our old engine surged and died) - that Scott had topped off our fuel tank with GASOLINE and not DIESEL.

Lesson Learned?  We were lucky.  We only topped off the tank with 5 gallons or so.  Much more and you can kill your engine.  Always double check that the attendant has handed you the fuel that you need (we always ask twice) and then smell it to be sure (diesel and gasoline smell different).

So, there you have it folks!  Our learning curve was steep, but looking at it in Top Ten form, it's not so bad, right?  

Love,

Brittany & Scott

Thank you to our avid follower and reader, Paul Ouellette for the inspiration for this post.  :)

On the Road Again!

Stepping the mast.  

On our way!!

The engine is purring like a kitten again thanks to our new transmission (which, ZF said they did "nothing" to aside from change out some clutches and some seals...hmmmmm) - either way, the tranny must have been the problem* because the dreaded clunking has ceased!  Hip hip, hooray!

We woke up bright and early and motored over to Rich Marine where they stepped our mast...and at a discount!  Thanks RM - we owe ya' one!

Anyway, we are en-route to Lockport, NY - LET THE LOCKING BEGIN PEOPLE!

Love,
Brittany (& Scott)

*Although the fact that there is not a single "A-ha!  That was the issue!" moment, we are a little apprehensive.  ZF claims there was nothing out of the ordinary with the trans, other than the slightly over-warn clutches.  Nothing, they claimed, that would warrant the noise.  Nothing like a problem that somehow got fixed, despite not knowing what exactly was wrong.  Who said sailing around the world would be care-free anyway?  Psh.

Tranny's are Confusing

Extra Credit:  Anyone know what is missing here?  Hint: The shortened version rhymes with "granny".

Long story short:

We heard a "clunk clunk" in our engine.

Two mechanics came aboard and were...for lack of a better word, stumped.

We found no issue with the engine, so we collectively figured it was the transmission (which we affectionately call "the tranny" for his/her ambiguous ways).

We made probably 50 phone calls back and forth between our engine mechanics, the Yanmar people, and the ZF people (ZF manufactures our tranny).

We removed the tranny and overnighted it to Florida, where it went to the 'doctor' at ZF. (Overnighting a 40lb transmission, btw, is NOT cheap.  Cha-ching!).

The 'doctor' saw nothing really wrong with it (sad face).

Scott dove the boat to check the prop and shaft zinc, found nothing amiss (sad face).

Scott removed the damper plate to see if anything was amiss, found nothing (sad face).

The tranny is now being overnighted BACK to us (Cha-ching!).

The clutches (which had some unusual wear, but nothing, ZF says that would warrant the dreaded "clunking") are being sent to Italy, to determine if the issue was a "warranty issue" or the alternative: our big, fat, fault.  Gulp.  (Determining this will take 2-3 weeks)

In addition, if Italy determines this is not a warranty issue, we are out about 1K.  This fact makes me want to throw up in my mouth. (Cha-friggin'-CHING!)

So, we are sort of back at square one.

Maybe, just maybe we'll get the new tranny back and all our engine issues will magically disappear.

Maybe.

Sad face.

Love,
Brittany (& Scott)

The Joys of Engine Trouble

We're back here again, are we?

It was bound to happen, right?  I mean - we couldn't possibly get all the way to the ocean without any engine trouble, could we?

I think not.

So we'll just consider this little debacle we find ourselves in a "right of passage".

Because, alas, we are down a transmission.  Yep.  You read that correctly, our transmission is shot.  Ugh.  For those of you who aren't mechanically inclined, the transmission is essential for the engine to work.  That's all you need to know.

This morning, we awoke - chilled and chipper and ready to take on the day (and take down our mast) in preparation for the Erie Canal.  After last nights episode, we treated ourselves to a little sleep-in, and then roused ourselves at 9am to make the 10 mile jaunt to the marina where we were scheduled to de-mast our boat.

The Universe had other plans.

I pulled out of the slip and we began to motor out of the marina.  I gave the engine a little juice and we sped up a hair.  And then we heard it.  A random, jarring and VERY distinct clunk clunk...clunk clunk...."What the heck is that!?" I ask Scott.  "Throttle back" he says.  I do, and the sound goes away.  "Throttle up again" he says.  I do.  Clunk clunk...clunk clunk...clunk clunk.  So we throttle back again into idle.  We do this several times, every time with the same result.

Houston, we have a problem.

We decided to limp back to the marina and assess the problem from the safety of a slip.  As we pulled in, I distinctly remember thinking, "I'll bet we meet an engine mechanic on the dock".  A weird thought, for sure, considering there were about 5 other boats at this marina, which had well over 200 slips.

We pull in, and sure enough, a guy pops his head out of a sailboat across from us as we are docking. "Hallo!" he says in a German accent.  "How are you?"

"Oh, okay.  We'd be better if we didn't have any engine problems" I replied.

"Really?" he asks "Well, I happen to be an antique diesel mechanic." No kidding.

Our engine is by no means antique, but the words "diesel mechanic" were music to my ears.

Our new friend and fellow cruiser, Stefan

His name is Stefan, and he is from Nuremberg, Germany.  He's actually making a similar trip to ours with his fiance, so we'll probably see him along the way.  Lovely man.  Anyway...

Stefan tinkered around in the engine room with Scott, myself, and our friend, Bill Flemming (more on him later!) and after about 2 hours - we determined we were at a loss.  We called a Yanmar diesel dealer here in Buffalo.  Bill drove us to their yard, we told them our tale of woe, and they said they'd send a guy over later in the afternoon.

Andy arrived a few hours later and after about 20 minutes, he said, "Well, this is too bad.  Looks like you're going to need a new transmission.  This happens time to time, but not a lot.  I've seen three like this before".

Again, ugh.

Basically, we are stuck here for a few days (at least) while we go through the motions of getting a new transmission under warranty.

Before he left, Andy looked around and then popped his head back into our boat, "You should really think about moving your boat" he warned, "it's going to get nasty tomorrow and this harbor sucks when it's out of the North, plus - this harbor closes tomorrow."  Well, we know how that goes, don't we?

So, Scott and I get ready to move the boat, but it's not so easy because we have 20 knots of wind blowing us INTO the dock and we have to head back INTO the 20 knot winds to get to the other marina, and we can only get about 2 knots (max) of boat speed out of our poor little engine.  Will that be enough to power through the wind and waves we all wonder?  What's up nerves!  Haven't seen you in 12 hours!  Welcome back!

Scott puts the boat in gear (reverse works just fine, go figure) and we slowly pull out and head the boat into the wind.  She moves, ever so slowly, chugging along.  Scott, with great foresight tells me to ready all the jib lines in case the engine dies and we have to sail.  Thank heavens for heavy boats!  We limped all the way to this marina, where we are right now...and where we most likely will be for the next 3-5 days.

We're checking out what movies are playing in town and maybe we'll just treat ourselves to a nice dinner tonight.

We'll keep you posted!  For now, we are safe and sound and thankfully NOT banging around.

What in the heck has the Ocean got in store for us?!

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!!

RASMUS IS HOME AT BELMONT HARBOR! 

I REPEAT:  THE MIGHTY RASMUS IS HOME AT BELMONT HARBOR!

We're baaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaack!

This is one small step for a boat, one GIANT LEAP for Scott and I!

I honestly do not know how to appropriately convey the excitement we feel that:

a)  Our boat is sitting at it's dock, tied up snug as a bug in a rug...
b)  Her brand new Yanmar engine purred like a kitten the ENTIRE 5 hour journey down the Calumet river and up the lake to Belmont Harbor (it's about a 25 mile trip)...
c)  Running said engine at a comfortable and recommended 20 RPMs gets 7 knots out of her...
d)  Her brand new Edson chain and cable steering WORKED like a charm...
(for those of you just joining - we previously had faulty hydraulic steering which took anywhere from 15 to 20 rotations of the wheel to turn the boat, and we *never* quite knew if and when we were "hard over" - this is NOT comforting when coming into a busy harbor...or ever for that matter.)
e)  Did I mention how much we love our new engine? Like, LOOOOVE it...
f)  The bilge remained dry - meaning, we are not taking on water - further meaning there are no holes in the boat - further meaning we did a good job replacing all the hoses and all the seacocks....Phew. (a "seacock" is essentially the 'hardware' for any 'holes' in our boat - of which there are 6 - think of it like a shut-off valve).  Non-sailors giggle at the term "seacock"...
g)  Rasmus is FLOATING.  In WATER.  Floating....in WATER....at the SLIP.  The slip that is a FIVE minute bike ride from our APARTMENT.  FIVE MINUTES.  BY BIKE!!  We can work on her WHENEVER WE WANT!!! (for newcomers to our site, she has been a 45 minute drive away for the past 5 months and we have only been able to work on her on weekends).

Click here for pictures of the delivery

Ladies and gentlemen - it's GO TIME!

Love,

Brittany & Scott

PS -  I will be posting a more detailed account of the river trip and say a few much deserved "THANK YOUs" to some key people soon!  Stay tuned!

The Engine is IN!!

This is a VERY big deal.  It makes us giddy with excitement.  To put it in perspective - I guess it's sort of like getting a new car.  Or maybe a really souped up washer/dryer.  Or a riding lawnmower.  Or a puppy. Whatever, you get the point....Christmas has come early!

To quote Scott directly:

Check out the pics! I think this is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen… after you of course!

Vroom vroom!!

Brittany & Scott

Is there a boat contractor out there?

We are in the process of re-powering with a new engine (Yanmar - uncertain of model).  Our 35 year old Volvo Penta was just not going to do the trick.  So my dad has offered us the new engine as a wedding/ "get the hell off the dock and outta my hair so I can focus on my own boat" present.  Yeah, he's pretty awesome.  However, buying a new engine for a sailboat just isn't that easy.  First, there are engine mounts (where the engine bolts onto the bottom of the boat - everything on a boat needs to be secured TO the boat in the event of a knockdown) - each engine has its own "foot print" and adjusting these mounts for a new engine involves more than I care to get into in this post.  Then there is the exhaust; currently our exhaust is on the starboard side - but our new engine has a port side exhaust manifold. Then there's prop shaft rotation.  Ours is left, new engine is right.  There's more, but you get the point.  These "little" issues aren't impossible, they just make things more complicated.  Nothing (and I mean nothing) on a boat is turn key.  Nothing.  But, this is what makes it more fun.  Kindof like a rubix cube.  And boy are those fun! ;)

Numerous times, Scott and I have dreamed how nice it would be if there were a general "boat contractor" - someone you paid to execute the project at hand and put the right people in the right place.  We watch a lot of HGTV (home and garden television) and like to watch those shows where they flip houses.  Not to say that flipping a house is easy, but the fact that you can find people who can do whatever work you need through a simple Google search makes us a little jealous.  There are experts EVERYWHERE.  But then we realize that landlubbers will have those same people at their disposal if something goes wrong.  And herein lies the fundamental difference between those at sea, and those on land.  We will not.  If our plumbing fails - we're going to have to fix it.  If our engine dies, we're going to have to service it.  If our boat leaks, we're going to have to find it and plug it (*universe, please don't let our boat leak! Thanks!*) There is no 24 hour service in the middle of the ocean.  We will have to be self sufficient and, most importantly, we will have to be the experts on our boat.  On everything.

While this fact is sobering - it is exhilarating at the same time.  We are going to learn so much.  We are going to be challenged in SO MANY ways.  We are going to see what we're made of.  And, as an added bonus, we'll know exactly what our boat is made of. 

Love,

Brittany & Scott

To Do List - Good GOD.

Well – here is a list of what I can think of that we need to do to our boat this winter/next spring. Is there anything I am missing!?! For the love of Jesus I hope not. Krikey.  I am posting it here so we can add to it and check things off as neccessary.

Functional:

1. Replace/rebuild engine
2. Replace engine mounts
3. Replace Seacocks to Gate Valves
4. Replace ALL hoses
5. Figure out steering system – hydraulic vs. cable!?! And fix or replace (currently hydraulic)
6. Install 2 self tailing winches
7. Reconfigure propane tank in forward locker
8. Buy/Install windlass
9. Rewire all electric to single panel at nav station
10. Install outlet system according to ABYC E-11 standards
11. Replace GPS/Chart-plotter
12. Replace/fix instruments (wind speed, boat speed...etc)
13. Fix FM radio
14. Make sure we can shower in head (bilge pump in proper position - does it even work?)
15. Fix leaky faucet in galley
16. Water-proof the engine hatch
17. Fix boom vang
18. Fix DC outlet in cockpit
19. Forward light doesn’t work in v-berth (figure out what kind of bulbs we have throughout might need to replace as I feel they are strange and European)
20. Figure out why the autopilot has a life of it's own - fix or replace
21. Strip and re-paint the bottom (anti-fouling)
22. Replace forward hatch?
23. Zincs?
24. Life lines?
25. New sails??

Cosmetic:

1. Replace curtains
2. Sand/Varnish – Bright work
3. Carpeting cleaned
4. Build additional teak shelving for galley/v-berth/saloon

Financial:

1.  Win lottery or actually run into a legit Nigerian banker scam thing

Mental:

1. Remain sane

For the love of all things holy,

Brittany & Scott

Engine Haul Out 101

You will need:

a) A lot of time (approximately 6 hours, give or take)
b) About 4-6 able-bodied (and patient) people (In our case, us, my Dad, my uncles Bill and Bob and my two cousins Austin and Zack)
c) A litany of tools including (but not limited to):  Every size wrench (original and socket), every size screw driver (both flat head and Phillips), hand saw, heat gun, label tags and electrical tape (to label the hoses and wires you remove - do NOT make the assumption that you will remember, because you will not), digital camera (to take photos as back up to the labels you create), 2-3 feet of pipe (to use as a handle extension/lever when dealing with very stubborn bolts), a hammer (regular and sledge), extra line or "rope", 5+ feet of chain, at least 2 VERY STRONG straps (1000+ lb weight), tape measure, cardboard (to cover seats and surrounding area), duct tape (because what job doesn't require this!?), WD40 (to loosen stubborn bolts and screws), ratchet, wire cutters, pliers (needle nose and regular),  and lots of ziplock baggies.

I am probably missing a few things here - but you get the idea.  Basically, you need a local ACE Hardware's worth of tools.

d)  Coffee, donuts and bagels

e)  A giant "cherry picker" crane capable of lifting thousands of pounds (this is ideal, you can remove an engine without this - but I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy)

f)  A few pre-cut 4x4 pieces of wood to place over engine compartment for safety (once the engine is out)

g)  A skid to put the engine on once it is out of the boat.

h)  LOTS AND LOTS of paper towels, a bucket, sponges, scrub brushes, rubber gloves and grease-combating soap (we like Simple Green) to clean up afterward.

i)  Beer.  Don't ever forget to bring the beer.

What to do:

Step 1:  Remove all doors, panels and associated hinges that encase said engine and cover surrounding area with protective layer (like cardboard) - secure with duct tape.

Step 2:  Get down and dirty in the "engine room" and unhook all hoses, electric wires and pipes.  Be prepared for interesting liquids and goos to come from the cut hoses. (It is highly advisable to have a very flexible person do this as Cirque du Soleil type moves are required in order to get to some bolts)

Step 3:  Depending on your engine and engine compartment - remove all extra "things" that make the engine "big" (like the prop shaft, cooling compartment, fuel filters, throttle cables, gear box...etc)*

Step 4:  Remove all the engine mounts (ours has 4 - waaaaay down under the engine)

Step 5:  Position hoist above the engine and gently lower crane down

Step 6:  Place at least 2 VERY STRONG straps around the engine, both forward and aft (the engine will pitch one way or another)

Step 7:  Secure straps to the crane (this might need some creative engineering as every engine and engine compartment are different - we needed to lift ours out awkwardly because it was bigger than the actual engine opening)

Step 8:  Hoist engine from its housing (this might require some elbow grease and nudging to get it off its mounts - especially if it has been there for 35 years as ours has)

Step 9:  Lower engine to the skid

Step 10:  Clean up the bilge and engine room.  You will have dropped MANY tools, bolts, screws and washers down there and you DO NOT want to find them clogging the bilge pump next season.

*If you do not know your engine like the back of your hand and don't have your engine manual on hand (wince), be prepared to spend over an hour trying to remove something that you discover cannot in fact be removed at all. This is an exercise in patience.

Piece of cake, right?  We simply can NOT wait to put it back in!! (Insert huge toothy sarcastic smile)

Getting closer!
Brittany & Scott

PS.  This is NOT an official engine removal guide.  Please DO NOT treat it as such.  Thank you in advance.