Out with the old

In an earlier post I explained our plans to repower Compadre with new Yanmar diesel engines.  We are now part way through the project, and I'm happy to say that all is going according to plan (which is not always the case with old boat projects!)

Enroute to Port Townsend -- A beautiful morning on Puget Sound

The last trip with the old Chrysler Crown engines was very pleasant and uneventful after a slow start due to fog.  We left our moorage at Bremerton YC on February 2 at 0930, bound for Port Townsend, in very heavy fog.  Visibility was only two to three boat-lengths, which made for slow progress during the first hour.  Thank goodness for radar and GPS.  The fog lifted as we approached Brownsville, and when we cleared Agate Passage we were in calm seas and bright sun.  Benefiting from a favorable current most of the day, we arrived at Port Townsend around 1500.  It was a beautiful trip and a fitting close to Compadre's Chrysler Crown era.

We hauled out on Thursday, February 4 and were placed inside Building 3 at the Shipwrights Coop.  The Coop recently took over the old Townsend Bay Marine facilities, and most of their work is now done indoors.  Those of you who have worked outdoors in the typical boatyard will appreciate the luxury of working indoors.  The day rate for storage indoors is about twice what the Port charges for outdoor storage, and is worth every penny.  No worries about the weather.

 

On our way to the Shipwrights Coop

Building 3 awaits (that's a 140 ft mega yacht already inside.  This is a BIG building!)

Nearly there.

Ready to be blocked up.

After Compadre was secure I began preparations to remove the old engines.  I disconnected the electrical wiring and cooling systems, unbolted the engine mounts, disconnected the propeller shafts, and removed the alternators.  The engines and gears could then be hoisted out through the wheelhouse doors.

This is where experience really counts, and I was glad that Arren and Greg from the Coop were doing the heavy lifting (literally).  While I was disconnecting stuff, they planned how they would get the engines out.  There was just enough room to maneuver the forklift into place along the port side of the boat.  With a chain-fall hoist suspended from the forks, the port engine was lifted free of the engine bed and up into the wheelhouse.  After a bit of re-positioning, out the door it came.  Once the engine was through the door they picked it up with the overhead crane, lifted it free of the forklift, and lowered to the ground.  It looked easy!

In comes the fork lift (well, part of it anyway).

Up she comes.

800 pounds suspended in the wheelhouse -- anyone nervous?

Out the door.

Now what?  No more room to back up, and only part way out.

The overhead crane did the trick.

One down, one to go.

The starboard engine followed later in the day.  I had arranged for the new owner of the Crowns to pick them up late that afternoon, and we had them on pallets and ready for shipment by the time he arrived.  Before long they were in the back of a U-Haul truck and on their way to a new home in British Columbia.  It was hard not feel a little sentimental seeing the Crowns sitting on pallets.  I had spent many hours repairing and maintaining them and a couple thousand dollars upgrading the electrical and cooling systems.  At least they were on their way to another use -- better than the offer I had to sell them for parts.  And true to the spirit of stewardship which lies at the heart of classic boat ownership, they left in better shape than when we acquired them 8 years ago.

Ready to go.

In our next post we'll look at fuel tanks and engine beds.  And cleaning the bilge.  Be sure to check back.