E-27 A4 removal to repair valve #4 cly

[rsanburn]

Has anyone out there tried to lift up and slide the A4 forward, on plywood etc, while in the boat. 1974 Ericson 27. Not enough room on port side to make repair on #4 intake valve? Rod S

[Kelly]

Rsanburn,

I just did this in my Choey Lee Bermuda Ketch but I suspect my case may be a little different from yours.

I have access to the top of the motor from a hatch in the cockpit sole. This enabled me to lever the A4 off the engine mounts with a chain attached to a large lever-arm beam placed lengthwise in the cockpit.

Once "airborn", I was able to block the engine on large planks at a level where the engine mounts were no longer in the way. From this position, it was relatively easy to pull the engine into the cabine with a come-along.

Getting from the cabine down to the ground and into my garage is another story involving a large supporting structure I put together from fairly light planks and beams. A chain pulley allowed me to raise the engine while my wooden structure pivoted fore and aft for lateral movement. I got the engine from the cabine to a small trailer in two steps as I had to move the wooden structure once to cover the lateral distance safely.

I hope this helps. I think every boat owner has to come up with his or her own solution depending on circumstances and boat design. If you do like me, just glean as much as you can from the experience of others and build your own system.

Good luck,
Kelly

[timday5]

Have you done this yet? I may need to do the same thing. My boat is 1 1/2 hrs away, so I have to use my imagination / memory to try and figure out the geometries. If you get any input or flashes of insight, please post them here.