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Old 06-13-2008, 03:17 PM
Chip Hindes Chip Hindes is offline
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Obviously every boat is different; some are way different.

’74 Newport 30.

the engine acccess hatch in the cockpit is neither wide enough not long enough to clear the motor, even with the accesories removed. In my case, I had to first lift it slightly to clear the mounts, then move it forward all the way into the cabin. Drop it on the cabin floor, reposition the lifting tackle on the forward side of an interveing cross beam, then lift it straight up all the way through the sliding hatch before swinging it over the side. I did this with the boat on the hard on jacks, and when it cleared the side of the boat it was some 13 feet above the ground. Kind of exciting, and not in a good way. I had just enough mainsheet travel to drop it into the pickup bed from there. Of course, dropped it most of the way first, then moved the pickup under it.

Also, there was so little clearance between the top of the motor and the cross beam, I had to remove the thermostat housing, alternator and (eventually) broke the tops off the two aft spark spark plugs to get it high enough to clear the motor mounts. I saved the broken plugs and used them as protective plugs for reinstallation.

Also, my boat has a really substantial boom and I believe the weak point in the lifting system was not the boom nor mainsheet, but the halyard system and all its various turning blocks. Note that if you use the halyard, topping lift or any other line which turns at the top of the mast to lift the motor directly, the load on the top sheave is 2X engine weight; as I recall some 650 pounds or more. I moved the mainsheet forward to the middle of the boom, then attached both the main halyard and the topping lift to the end of the boom and adjusted the tension so they were bearing equally. I “twanged” them a couple times while the engine was supported, and they were playing a pretty high note.
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Chip Hindes
'74 Newport 30' S/V "Scarlett"

Last edited by Chip Hindes; 06-13-2008 at 03:26 PM.
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