Setting the new engine in
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June 2006 --
About time! It's hard to believe that it's been eight months to the day since I pulled the old Perkins out of the boat.
With the new fuel tank in, new steering, new stringers, and just about new
everything from the companionway back,
we can set the new engine in.
This engine is much smaller than the old Perkins 4-108.
It's lighter, but still packs 38 HP. The Perkins was 50 HP,
which was far too much engine for my boat. I don't miss it.
Then we hit our first snag. The engine mounts that came with the engine are a bit too tall, and the engine needs to be lower in the front.
I was pretty annoyed about this, because when I'd discussed the new stringer
design with the mechanic I'd mentioned that they appeared to be too high
at the front end, and suggested that I make them lower.
He had said No, they would be fine, and that there was plenty of room in
the motor mounts to cover the adjustment.
It was a lot easier to get this engine into the boat than it was to get the old Perkins out.
So I went out and bought
a new set of motor mounts,
that sit lower.
I like them better, as they're a lot stiffer, so engine movement won't work the shaft around.
But they were still too high, and aligning the engine was a problem.
Finally I broke down, shoved the engine out of the way, and
put a small two inch disk on a right angle die grinder to knocked the top
layer of fiberglass off,
down the the G10 glass.
Clearly, when I made the stringers I went a bit overboard.
Apparently not.
This isn't breaking my heart, though. The
mounts are really spongy, and
will allow the engine to move around
more than I think is necessary.
Then I let the mechanic finish the alignment, and we towed the boat back to my slip so I could hook up all the new stuff.