110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Armed with a new set of nuts--this time the proper size (M16 x 1.5 pitch)--I worked on finalizing the location of the engine template so I could mark the mounts, drill holes, and prepare to install the engine proper. The new nuts gave me the adjustment room required versus the taller original nuts.
With things adjusted so that the alignment string ran through the center of all holes in the template and stern tube, I discovered some complications with the installation that I had to spend some time sorting out.
Once I had the template where I thought it should be, I noticed that the clearance at the transmission end looked a bit tight--not for the transmission itself, but for the shift lever assembly on the port side. This shift lever, which must move in a downward direction (as far down as the bottom of the transmission housing) when actuated by the shift cable, protruded from the transmission housing beyond the width I had mocked up on the template. With the curvature of the hull at that location, where I had the template currently aligned, I had some questions about whether there'd be adequate room for this lever.
Since the lever was a bit forward of the aft end of the transmission--which in turn was further forward than the actual end of my template (which aft end represented the face of the transmission coupling, not the transmission housing itself)--I thought that even in the current location, there'd probably be just enough clearance, but I strove to create more if possible. Moving the engine slightly forward on the foundations would help; I'd located it a bit further aft to avoid issues with the old holes left over from the Yanmar 1GM's mounts.
Similarly, I had concern over the distance between the stern tube and the transmission coupling. By the time I added in the length of the stuffing box hose and assembly, plus the shaft coupling itself, the clearance looked extremely tight. The stuffing box assembly, including nut and full-length hose, was about 7" in length.
I thought there were several ways to increase this clearance. First and foremost, clearly I'd have to pull the engine as far forward on the foundations as possible, which meant possibly trying to re-use the old fastener holes (the forward mount locations could nearly align with these). This would gain nearly an inch of clearance at the aft end alone.
Secondly, I did some measuring and found that the stuffing box hose could be shortened by nearly an additional inch, given the length of the exposed stern tube, to minimize its length without interfering with safety or operation.
Third, the split coupling provided with the engine was about 1/2" longer than a standard solid coupling, so if need be I could gain a further 1/2" by switching to a regular coupling.
Finally, I looked into the possibility of changing out the bronze packing box itself, though I hoped I'd need not do so since there was nothing wrong with the existing one otherwise. The Spartan packing box appeared to have a longer threaded body than many, so I requested detailed measurement data from Buck Algonquin on the packing box assembly that would fit this installation to compare the length of the bronze housing with the existing stuffing box. If necessary, I hoped another stuffing box would potentially give me additional clearance, but for the moment I thought I'd already gained enough space with the proposed changes above.
With the clearance crises at least momentarily assuaged, I moved the engine template a bit forward on the foundations. The forward starboard mount lined up well with the existing fastener holes, so I secured it temporarily with a bolt while I adjusted the remainder of the mounts and template to align once more with the center string and prepared to mark the remaining fastener holes once I was happy with the position. It was late, it had been a frustrating afternoon, so I decided to revisit the whole thing in the morning when I was fresh.
In other news, a box containing screens for the bronze ports arrived. After test-fitting one screen, I decided the screens were best left in their box for safekeeping till the season. Note: these are bronze-colored plastic.
Also arrived was a bronze padeye and flagpole socket, which I'd install soon.
Total Time on This Job Today: 3.25 hours
