Removal of A4 from C-30
 

I am removing the A4 from my Catalina 30 this weekend to work on it over the winter and was looking for some general handling suggestions/ideas. Watched few random videos online but they hardly go in detail of how to handle this hunk.

The engine is now sitting free on its mounts but completely unbolted and all hoses and wires disconnected. I purchased a 1 ton chain hoist which should be plenty for this 350 lbs. The boat is currently in the water (it will be hauled out next week..let me know if I should wait). Here is my plan:

1) Use main halyard to support the boom. I have spinaker halyard too which I can use to back up the main.
2) Use heavy webbing to attach chain hoist to the boom about 3/4 aft.
3) Using the hoist, lift the engine making sure it does spin and hit anything.
Swing the boom past the side and lower it on the dolly prepared on the dock.

I did a pretend test run and this last bit seems tricky. As the boom swings the load will heal the boat, which is fine but also it will transfer the load to the shrouds..no? Should this be a concern?

Should I watchout for anything else?

I've seen several videos where the engine gets out of control as soon as they start to swing it off of the centerline. In one in particular, disaster was narrowly averted as the boom & engine took off, the boat heeled, the engine hit the dock, the hook they were using popped off, and the boat righted!

I would definitely try to do something to control the heel. Two things that come to mind are:

1) Have a few extra people as counterweights, moving to the opposite rail as you swing out the engine.

2) Use your spinnaker halyard to attach to somewhere on the dock on the opposite side from where you're unloading the engine.


I would also rig a preventer from the boom end to the opposite rail. This way you can use it to control the motion of the boom, keeping it from going into a positive feedback runaway.

Mast Crane available.
 

Well, if the boat is coming out do you have a mast crane available. We lift out engines with the mast crane quite often and it's a piece of cake. If a mast crane can lift a large mast it will handle an engine. Takes about 10 minutes with a couple of guys helping so that the engine is kept away from the companion-way as it is lifted...so easy it's not funny.

The only thing we ask at the club is that the engine is ready to go as soon as the boat comes to the mast crane. Usually tow the boat over with a zodiac, lift it out and lay in a truck bed if you can get a truck close...otherwise, lay it down in a dual wheel (two wheels on front) wheel barrel and off you go with it. Done it lots of times...too easy.

Excellent point..i did not think about the engine swinging the boom out of control.

Crane is available but a steep fee is making me seriously consider doing it myself with help. It seems not an impossible task with a reasonable risk involved.

I have lifted and installed A4's three different ways. Listed here in my preferred order:

1) mast or other type crane

2) 3 strong guys. And some added creativity. Well, they weren't really all that strong because I was one of them.

3) Standard boom method

All methods done on C30 with no resulting damage. Boom method was the least favorite. But the good thing is the C30 is just about the best sailboat there is for engine R&I.

lighten it as much as possible
 

If you're worried about the 335 pounds lighten it as much as possible
Take off the starter, the manifold ,alternator , flywheel and anything else thats will be coming off as you overhaul it, You can get down to 250 - 260 pounds.
Watch your fingers

I agree with mast crane.
Have done 3 that way and it is easy both out and back in.
Of course there is no charge for using our mast cranes.
Good luck.

I pulled one out of my C&C 34 using the boom/vang with the halyard for support. I had a couple of friends to help me guide it up and over to the dock.

The yard crane was available to re install, so I went that route. Very simple and quick.

The hardest part in both directions was guiding it in/out of the companionway and under the bridgedeck/cockpit sole. Needed good communication with the crane operator (or block and tackle operator).

Either way, its pretty straight forward.

Chris

Admittedly it was many years ago and I'm sure the cost would be greater today but nearing the end of the construction of my previous boat the time had come to install the engine. I called a local crane company to do the lift and also lift the mast in place so I could measure the standing rigging while it was hanging. Total time on site was less than an hour, total cost was $200, their minimum.

About seven years ago I refurbished Kalina's mast. The crane fee at a commercial boatyard in Los Angeles harbor was $150 each way.

I felt the ease and safety was well worth the modest (in my opinion) expense. If doing the lift yourself please be very careful, nobody in a vulnerable place under the lift, plenty of safety and control lines, no manhandling. Three friends as rail meat will be a sufficient counterweight as you swing the engine over the side.

As per what Neil said. It's too bad they charge to use the mast crane because it's all part of being a member here. 350 lbs is really not that much swinging out on the boat...just need to control the speed of the swing and allow the boat to heal if it wants to. Once in over your set-down area gently lower it...whether to boat is healed a bit shouldn't matter as it is just going to be a foot or two less that you have to lower it. It's not going to knock a C30 on its side or anything like that.

Anyway Val, use good rigging techniques and blocks and line. As people said, safety first but you will likely find it goes really smooth. Always found it harder moving the engine out of its compartment than the actual lift. Might be putting one in a boat in a day or so myself...will use mast crane for that and it will be a piece of cake.

A Preventer will work
 

Val, have you ever sailed with preventers instead of a boom vang? If so you can use those to control the boom~works really nice. I've done it this way a couple of times with friends. Not really a big deal just go slowly.

Dave Neptune :cool:

If you use your boom for the job, you certainly do not need to worry about the shrouds. They can easily handle the weight as having the mainsail up in even a light modest will put more than 350lbs of tension on them.

Said Another Way
 

If your rigging can't handle 350 pounds of load it was way, way past time to replace it.

TRUE GRIT

Pulled the A4 in my friends pearson triton. We essentially lifted in out of the boat onto a cart dock side. Use the rig as a back up in case your muscles fail and go for it, or pay for a crane. Either way I think you have this, just strip the engine down to the block, and do it.

Val, One more thing not mentioned yet.

Do not rely solely on the lifting eye on the head to hoist the engine. There are past accounts of cracked heads from exerting all of the force on this area. It seems the plan would be to use webbing slings...I would rig these to a single point to take 95% of the load (tied to themselves around the front and back of the engine so it they can't slide together...the engine mounts should keep them from sliding apart), and then I'd still have a strong point as a backup connected to the lifting eye for the last 5% and to handle any tipping loads (in case of sling failure or movement too.)

On our C-30's, getting the slings around the engine will be tough, but not too bad...you should be able to get a couple of slings under the oil pan just in front of the aft motor mount. As the engine comes up out of the box, you can secure the anti-slip straps around the flywheel & tailshaft area while everything is stable.

The main halyard should be attached mid-boom, at the same point as the lifting tackle, to support the middle of the boom..however, the C-30's telephone pole mast & boom should easily tackle this job without much help..the main halyard is really backing up the boom topping lift on our boats...and preventers to control boom swing are a great idea!

If you get lucky you can get the boat next to a bulkhead and swing the motor right into a truck or dolly, etc.! :cool:

Oh...and if you do this in the water (which involves much less up & down distance), don't forget to secure the prop shaft inside the boat..like a couple good hose clamps or something until the boat is on the hard..I would not trust the coupling to hold it, although in reality, you'll likely have to press the coupling off the shaft if your boat is anything like mine.

No, I actually never used preventers. My plan is to use main sheet to control the swing and use chain hoist for the lift.

Excellent point about not relying on the lifting eye. I'll think of another way to secure the hoist.

You right I am just worried the weight being in one spot on the boom instead of distributed across the whole sail...

Use some pieces of wood, like 2X4s, to spread the load along the boom to avoid the point force.

TRUE GRIT

Edit: You can also use the main halyard or topping lift to the boom at the point of attachment of the chain lift to keep the boom from buckling.

In a properly rigged setup, there should be NO vertical loads on the boom to distribute!!

The halyard should be attached to the boom at the same midpoint as the hoist. Do NOT attach the halyard to the boom end! You risk damaging the boom.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the placement of the hoist on the boom that is needed to lift the engine out of the companionway hatch leaves it too close to the mast to be able to swing it out over the dock. In that case you'll have to rig some kind of temporary support in the cockpit the set the engine down on while moving the hoist and halyard attachment point further out on the boom.

It can start to get complicated. But it's doable, and many have done it.

This is why I paid my yard to do it with the crane.

If you're not going to use the lifting eye, do NOT use the standard web straps that come with your ratcheting tie-downs. They can get cut and will part quickly if cut. DAMHIKT (which stands for Don't Ask Me How I Know This).

There are commercially-made lifting straps designed specifically for lifting heavy loads, that will not part the way a flat nylon web strap will.

And however you do it, make absolutely sure nobody puts any part of their bodies, appendages, heads, whatever, underneath the engine once it's lifted off the beds and until it's safely set down on the dolly. Anything slips, and it's easy to lose a finger - or worse.

Yeah, it's not a huge thing, lots of people have done it, it's not like lifting the whole boat, but still, it only takes a second to really ruin someone's day.

Be careful!

My best deadlift was 375lbs at a body weight of 178lbs in 1982 - last February I deadlifted 315lbs for reps at a body weight of 195lbs.

350lbs is not a lot of weight - unless it is concentrated on the "lifting eye"...just sayin'!

;)

C 30
 

I removed my A4 from my C 30 last Thursday. I was on the hard and used the fork lift at the club to pull it up. 2 guys 10 minutes. I am in a private club in Sarnia Ontario so all the tools are free. A lot of guys use the mast hoist or soling lift.

There are doer's and then there are good intentions. Attaching a pic of my sail drying hangers....that's all it gets used for and that's the truth. I definitely can't lift anywhere near 300 lbs...probably couldn't push it...LOL