Project Log: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Before I could continue work on the dinette (i.e. final
and permanent platform installation), I had a bit more
work to do inside the lockers, work that would be easier
without the platform in place. I planned to
insulate the hull, and this meant I'd also have to build
some sort of protective surface above the insulation.
None of this was work I felt like doing right at the
moment, feeling oddly unmotivated, so instead I went in
a different direction.
I thought it was high time I built an engine template.
I'd made some basic measurements here and there over the
past months, but to ensure the proper fit of the engine
I was most likely to install (Beta 43), I thought I'd
build a template so I could check all the measurements.
I was comfortable in the knowledge that the existing
engine foundations were sound and approximately the
correct distance apart (side to side), and of course the
existing foundations were already at the proper angle
according to the propeller shaft.
From the measured drawing available online, I built a
basic plywood template to the overall maximum dimensions
of the engine, then added extensions at the ends to
represent the center propeller shaft using the basic
transmission supplied with the engine; the platform
itself represented the bottom of the engine mounting
flanges. I built short legs to simulate the
engine's flexible mounts, which projected several inches
beneath the flanges. |
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When I placed the template on the foundations in the
boat, at once I could see that my template sat too low,
as the center of the prop shaft (as represented by holes
through my two extensions) was well below the line of
the stern tube. To determine how much to raise the
"engine", I first strung a line through the stern tube,
using wooden plugs to help center it in the tube, and
extended the line to the forward bulkhead in the engine
room. |
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I didn't fuss over exacting layout at this point, as I
mainly wanted to see how much higher above the existing
foundations the engine would have to rest. With
spacers beneath the existing feet I'd installed, I
eventually raised the template to the point that the
string passed more or less cleanly through the two holes
beneath the platform. I'd raised the engine by
nearly three inches. |
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This was as far as I took it at the moment. One
concern I had was the overall height of the engine;
while there was plenty of room above the original engine
foundations, raising the whole thing three inches had
made the clearance tight, depending on where the highest
point of the actual engine was (which I'd determine with
the drawing later, though at this point I was
considering worst-case scenarios only).
The first order of business would be to
double-check all the measurements on my template to be
sure I'd not made an error, however. If the
measurements turned out to be correct, then to move
forward with this engine I'd need to either modify the
existing foundations, or have custom mounts made to the
requirements of the space, or some combination of both.
There was also the possibility of a different
transmission with a different output height, which could
change the overall position and height of the engine.
And there were competing engines that I might look at as
well. These were the quandaries that, while not
specifically anticipated, had led me to decide to build
the template now and determine if any such issues
existed. There was plenty of time to sort out the
solutions.
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Total Time Today: 3 hours
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