Wednesday 26 March 2014

 

Joel from Mecanique Plaisance arrived mid morning and started to unbolt various things off the engine to reduce it’s size and weight.

 

 

This is looking back from the saloon to the galley with the engine room to the left.  The engine (the green lump) has to be moved sideways to the right on to the galley floor  The challenge is getting it past that narrow gap in the foreground between the fridge and the corner of the engine room:-

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view from the galley.  The engine will be moved backwards and then out towards the camera;-

 

 

 

 

The engine weighs about 250 kg so it can’t be lifted by two men standing at awkward angles.  To support the weight they used our spinnaker halyard with a block and tackle at the end.  The trouble is that this meant a hole had to be drilled in our cockpit floor.

 

 

With the fixed cockpit table removed the hole was drilled (just to the left of the bucket) and a ‘bit of string’ lowered through to the engine room:-

 

 

 

 

The other end of the ‘string’ with a bowline tied around a chain on the engine.  Joel has detached the propeller shaft, removed the gearbox and all cables and pipework and is pulling the engine towards him into the galley:-

 

 

 

 

Et voila!

 

 

 

 

More bits were taken off to make it narrower then it was pushed up a ramp to the step by the narrow gap by the fridge.  Plenty of cardboard was taped to various vertical bits:-

 

 

 

Then pull the line back up through the cockpit floor and lower it again through the companionway and reattach to the engine.  Then pull on the block and tackle.  This had a very high mechanical advantage and the lift up was ‘effortless’.

 

Going up through the companionway:-

 

 

 

 

Our boom was used as a crane jib to guide the lift but the load was taken by the halyard.  Note how little strain there is on Jean-Paul as he lowers the old engine on to the marina pontoon:-

 

 

 

We weren’t worried at all!!!!!  Actually they all took a lot of care and showed great respect for our ‘home’.  It was clear they do this a lot but we were relieved the removal was uneventful.