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Just thought I should clarify what I said above. I did use the tractor - but just as a point to lift from. the actual lifting was done with a little chain fall.

Hope that helps folks not feel intimidated if there's no access to equipment.

-Ben

Hey Marc!

Good luck with the project. Keep us posted on how it goes and any tips and tricks you figure out along the way. Thanks for posting!

-Ben

Hi,

About a year ago I had the yanmar 2GM out of my Ariel for a rebuild and it's pretty straight forward (as I'm sure it is for the Atomic 4). I had access to a large farm tractor with loader arms to use as a sort of crane but I did the lifting with a simple chain fall. A cheap cable come-a-long would work just as well. I only removed the counter and the two steps at the bottom of the companionway, freed all the connections to the boat (wires, fuel lines, prop shaft, engine mounts), hooked on and lifted it straight up through the companionway. It would be just as easy to do the lifting with a simple A frame and come-a-long  over the companionway and then set the engine on a couple of planks laid across once the engine is at coach roof height. Then since it sounds like it's not salvageable, just dismantle the engine right there into easy to carry (throw) off the boat sizes. I'm guessing by the time it's all torn down the block only weights 50-60 lbs and that should be the heaviest part.

I'm curious what you're planning on putting back in there? The 2GM I have has been great after the rebuild (a really light rebuild at that) although I've only got one season so far with it. So let's hear about the plans for yours!

-Ben

Hi Bill and Co.

I'm curious how you decided on the height to place your gooseneck Bill? I broke mine this fall and was considering building a more robust unit anyway that is fixed like yours.

Also, given that this thread was last active in 06 - how has it worked out over the years? Anything you'd change?

Thanks - Ben

Boy the months do slip away!

I thought I should give an update on 414. She's been rechristened as "William King" after the great state of Maine's first governor. Sea Glass is a great name but I felt like I was using Mike's boat until I painted the topsides, boot stripe and bottom and renamed it. Now I feel like I can call it mine (but your still welcome anytime Mike!). The Yanmar 2gm has been great. Starts right up, idles well and will rev to a little over 3k. I was having some trouble with the transmission but it turns out I had overfilled it. With fresh oil the dip stick is very hard to read. Once the level was corrected it has been engaging properly with no slipping.

I also relocated the thru-hulls for the bilge pump and engine exhaust to the transom. I know this is an unpopular choice because it messes up the lines but it was important to me to be able to see that the exhaust is flowing the right amount of water and since I had already done the engine I decided to make it symmetrical and do the bilge pump the same way. So I made up two 2" stainless thru-hulls from pipe and round flanges, added 2" ball valves on each inside the rear lazzarate. Then they got painted along with the topsides in an effort to make them less noticeable. They also are about 16" above the waterline and I like the idea of that.

Speaking of the exhaust- I couldn't bear to buy another yanmar mixing elbow after seeing what had happened to the one that was on the engine, so I made my own. It's an experiment to see if it will hold up to the vibration and is made from mild steel automotive exhaust pipe. If it makes it the season with no cracks or other issues I'll make it again but out of 316 stainless. It's been good so far with about 6-7 hours on the engine. It has a pretty radical ubend that comes as high as I could directly after the engine and a few inches of drop before the water is injected. I don't want any water getting back to the exhaust valves and since my thru-hull is mounted high I wanted the insurance here.

I also rewired the mast with new anchor and steaming lights and a new VHF antenna and cable. Getting the wires through the deck as a little puzzling to me and I went back and forth on how to do it but finally settled on a traditional goose neck. I ordered some 1.25" 316 stainless pipe elbows and a flange from Amazon and made it up. I was concerned it would be ugly on the cabin top but I located it right next to the mast (just forward of the beam) and it disappears since that area is busy anyhow. Also in the mast department was a new port lower aft stay. I made it up with sta-lok ends and it was very straight forward. It did however make me wonder about the rest of the standing rigging and I'm thinking of switching to Dyneema next year or the following. Anyone have any experience with synthetic standing rigging?

Along with the new antenna was a new VHF. The standard horizon GX2200 and a USB cable that  allows me to run openCPN on my computer. It's not really needed for the kind of sailing that we've been doing this summer but it's fun to mess with and the program is free so the only added expense was the $30 for the cable from milltech marine (which works great by the way). And if we did get stuck out in the fog or after dark we'd have both GPS and the AIS receiver which is comforting.  

Lastly I stripped out all the wiring from the whole boat, including the switch and fuse panel. I made a new fuse box that houses the fuses and switches and got new ground and positive bus bars that are currently located just aft of the port side settee next to the battery. Nothing exciting there just wiring that works and most importantly wiring that I know since I did it - but since my memory seems to fade daily I also labeled both ends of all the wires .

That's all for now. I hope everyone is having a great summer on their commanders and ariels! These are really great boats and me and my little family have been having a great time learning to sail a "big" boat on ours.

-Ben

Hey Ebb,

Thanks for the comments always well considered and thought provoking.

Maybe to get others to chime in I should elaborate on my reasoning. I'm in my middle 30's and a father of 2 (Anna 1 month! and Lowell 2.5 years) and I've been a carpenter for most of my working years. About 3 years ago I decided to change course and see if I could gain acceptance to medical school after meeting and being inspired by, two physicians. I recently pulled it off and was accepted to Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track. When I bought #414 from MBD (Mike) I didn't think I'd be accepted to Tufts or any of the other Boston schools and honestly I didn't know if I'd ever get in anywhere. I figured I needed a way to recreate with my new family that was a little less physical than my old pursuits (hiking and mountain biking mostly) and sailing would be a new thing to learn and has stuff to fiddle with while the family relaxes (which I need).

It was never in the plan to move my family to Boston. I thought I'd spend a few nights a week in a rented room and come home on weekends and when I didn't have anything specific to do on campus then I saw the cost of rent in Boston and things looked a little tougher than expected. I began to think of all the possibilities and realized I could get a winter slip at a marina in Boston for far less than a room. All I really need is a warm place to sleep. The school has all the rest- showers, places to relax and study (mostly study) and coffee.

So here I am - looking for advice on heating a boat in Boston through the fall, winter and early spring. Also any other "live aboard" tips others may have. I know it is a very small boat to live on but do keep in mind that it's more or less a bedroom that will be used 3ish nights a week.

So far from my research it seems that diesel bulkhead mounted heater is perhaps the best option. Propane adds another fuel that I don't have much use for and electric will kill me at 0.27 cents per kWh although the initial investment would be very low.

I've talked with and visited the Constitution Marina and they are good with any heat source except wood. They also have full bathrooms available at the docks.

Any suggestions? Has anyone done something similar?

Thanks everyone!

-Ben

Anyone have experience with a vented cabin heater? Something like:

https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/stove-refleks-ss-66m-5500-btu-27959.html

or

https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/heater-newport-diesel-6500-16-250-btu-6841.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkd3VBRDzARIsAAdGzMBmll7oPCSeuJnmRRZyNli1U_RsbQ1PyAq2LnTsTCwzcqxI-QNul8QaAv3oEALw_wcB

Any feedback is appreciated. Looking to make the boat useable year round here in Maine or at least New England.

Thank you!

-Ben

Took advantage of the very non-typical weather we're having here in Maine to get the "engine room" and deep bilge painted tonight. I'm hoping that with the above freezing temps for the next few days and a small space heater I'll be able to get it cured. I can finish the paint that can be seen at the back end of picture after the engine is in.

In finishing up the engine I've replaced the couple of coolant hoses that run from the raw water pump to the block and from the block to the thermostat housing and head. I opened the raw water pump and had a good look at it but the impeller was in perfect condition so I let it be. I've got an extra (thanks Mike!) and I'll keep it on board with the tools to change it. From here on I'll make it a yearly maintenance item. I also pulled the oil pan while I had it out of the boat just to get a look at the bottom end and see if there was any metallic chips or shavings in the pan. All was well in there with barely any sludge which surprised me given its age and the amount of non-run time all boat engines experience.  

All that's left to do before dropping the engine back in is to make a catch pan for under the engine that slopes forward to catch drips and make them easy to clean up and perhaps a two new rear engine mounts (I had cut about .5" off the top of one to get the nut to unthread but they are actually still stiff and in goodish shape). They may wait though as boat funds are running particularly low.

Still chipping away at the 2gm. New zincs, fuel filter and I replaced the couple of fasteners I chose to cut to remove the engine. I also slapped (and I do mean slapped) some new Yanmar grey paint on it. Time to deal with the engine room if I can get a day that isn't super cold or raining. Plan to cut out the rear engine mounts and replace them then clean, sand and repaint the whole area before re-installing the engine.

I'm thinking of tearing out most of the existing wiring. It's all pretty old (much original I'd guess) and some of it is confusingly complicated for what it is. I need to dig around more but that's the way it's headed I think.

Also need to make a hinge for the foot of the mast (is this a tabernacle or is that specifically the type that leaves a couple feet of mast on the step before the hinge?) and a bow roller for the new-to-me Bruce 33 that'll be up front.

Scored a mooring recently too at Broad Cove in Cumberland, Maine. About 20 minutes from the house in the municipal field. It's an unpopular spot because of the long tender ride out (read row in my case) to the field, the shallow (and this year no) dock and it's a long walk to the water from the car. But It's all mine! I'll be dragging a 10' row boat with a 2 year old and all his stuff over the mud every low tide I get a chance to. Super excited!!

Had a scary moment in the engine rebuild yesterday when after hooking up the temporary cooling system (a bucket filled with water and some garden hoses) water started spraying from the exhaust! Shut the engine down and when in the house to have dinner. Later that night I realized that the zinc bung just below the exhaust had been leaking and the exhaust manifold wasn't on tight. It was creating a venturi effect and sucking in the water spray from the bung and pulsing it out with the exhaust. Today I tightened the manifold and the problem resolved.

I then descaled the engine with 7-10% HCL (muriatic acid from the hardware store) circulated through for 5 minutes, followed up with baking soda and water to neutralize the acid then about 5 gallons of clean water that I allowed to circulate through the system for 5-10 minutes. All told the engine was running for about 25-30 minutes. I might catch some flack for using HCL for the descale and I wouldn't recommend it for routine maintenance but I decided to go for it after testing a few bronze (brass perhaps given the anodes?) parts from the engine in undiluted HCL (~30%) for 5 minutes. They did fine but were totally descaled. Also this engine is all cast iron - no aluminum heads or any other part and I removed the two zincs to prevent them from being eaten. Lastly the engine had a bunch of fine sand in the bottom of the water jacket that was sort of encased in scale. The only way I could see to get it out was to bust all that scale first then flush it out. Seems to have worked.

I then drained the oil from both the engine and transmission. The engine oil was great but after the 30 minutes of running the transmission oil looked like thin mayonnaise . I'm hoping it's from condensation that built up over the years this motor sat and not from something I have yet to discover. We'll see when I give it a flush then refill with new oil and run it again.

Next is to take care of a few oil leaks, replace all the rubber hoses, new thermostat, raw water impeller, degrease the thing and slap some paint on. Then on to the interior of the boat - new rear engine mounts, paint for the whole engine "room" and a drip pan of some sort for under the motor to keep everything out of the bilge.

What have others done for a drip pan under the engine? I've got a bunch of 20oz copper left over from a recent job and I'm thinking of making a simple soldered copper pan that laps onto the logs the engine is mounted on then hangs down under the oil sump - with a pretty agressive  slope forward so I can mop up the inevitable spills easily. I also have some galvanized sheet from another job that solders nicely and it would take paint better than the copper. Anyway just spitballing now... if anyone has a recommendation let me know.  

-Ben

Whooo Hooooo!!! Found the misplaced part, bled the fuel system and cranked the engine on the stand. After about 5 seconds of cranking it fired and puffed out some white and black smoke then quit. After another 5 second crank it started and idled along! Black smoke cleared up in a couple seconds of running. After maybe 10 seconds I shut it down because it's currently inside (exhaust build up) and the cooling system is completely removed and I don't want to go backwards on this thing.

Now on to temporarily getting the cooling system hooked up, testing the transmission and letting it run for a good while to see if my hopes are correct at this point. If that all checks out then it's on to resealing, cleaning, painting and all the work on the boat to get ready to put things back together.

Excited to have a living engine! Here's hoping it's healthy too.

Happy New Year to all!

-Ben

Hi Kurt,

That is a good idea, thank you. It is a nice space for the tank since it's hard to use for much else and if the filler neck was under the cockpit seat instead of in the cockpit floor I'd feel a lot better about water entry and such. Also thanks for the fuel usage numbers. That's about what I've been able to dig up on the 2gm but good to hear from someone with experience with a similar engine and similar weight boat.

The rebuild has been on hold for the last week or so. I stupidly misplaced a part which is not helping. Also, I always think that at the holidays I'll have time to putter but I never seem to find it!

More photos and details soon.

-Ben

Hi Bisquit,

Thanks for the response - I know it's a common place for the tank and would probably be fine but it just gives me the hebejebes! What has your experience been with with fuel consumption? Ever have issues with algae in the tank?  

Pulled the head off late last night and everything looks good. Cylinder liners are in great shape with cross hatch still visible and no scoring or uneven wear apparent. Valves looked good too. A little carbon build up on everything but nothing that would cause the engine to not run or even run rough. I lapped the valves since I had it apart anyway and cleaned all the carbon that was accessible. Going to order the gaskets and get it back together soon.

The thing I was not expecting was the water injection elbow (it's the u-shaped one in this case). On the outlet side it was very corroded but had a fair amount of area for gasses and water to escape as you can see in the picture. After much heating with the oxy-propane rosebud the inlet side came apart (meaning separated from the exhaust piping that is between the water injection elbow and the cylinder head, what would be called the manifold if it had multiple ports) the interior had closed down to less than a pencil's width for the exhaust to escape! It was impossible to see this until the two had been separated. In the photo you can see a greenish area that is the passage.

So my thoughts now, after seeing the inside of the engine looking quite normal, is that the exhaust had closed down to the point where back pressure was extremely high and thus the engine could not pull in the fresh air charge. This made the fuel to air ratio very rich for any given engine load and caused incomplete combustion, giving the black smoke that Mike experienced back when she conked out.  The only thing this doesn't explain is why the mechanic reported low compression on inspection in the boat:confused:. I should have tested it before tearing the engine down but I was just so convinced I'd find a smoking gun in the valve train or scored up cylinder liners I just went for it - lesson learned.

Here is a view of the inside of the exhaust elbow and the exhaust port on the head. The port on the head was about 2/3 full but I couldn't help but poke it before getting a picture. Obviously the head is coming off so we'll see how she looks on the inside.

On another note - I'm pulling the current fuel tank and building a new one. Any input on size that would make sense? From research it looks as though 3 gallons will get about 12 hours of run time so I'm thinking between a 3 and 4 gallon tank but I'd be open to input before I go building one. It will be a custom tank - not interested in a portable or plastic tank - I'll just make it up from either stainless, aluminum or (dare I say it?!) mild steel! or I might cut up the current tank and reuse it's bits and pieces. It's aluminum. The reason to move to a new tank are many including:
-Tank is under cockpit floor and the filler is in the cockpit floor too.
-Tank is too big and it will take too long to move 12 gallons of diesel through this little bugger.
-Tank has no access port for cleaning. New tank will include a port large enough to get a hand inside

Another question I have on the tank is where is the best place to mount it? I'm thinking about inside the rear lazarette with the fill neck in there too. I'd need to open the hatch to fill it but it would limit the potential for water entry and would be nice and tidy looking. Spills while filling could be an issue with other items in there but I need to be careful either way (don't want diesel going overboard through the cockpit drains either). Breather would be kept in the same location on the transom.

Thanks for any input!

-Ben

Hey Everybody,

Finally pulled the '83 Yanmar 2GM out of #414 today. Surprisingly quick and straightforward job. Mike (mbd) had done more than half the work for me before I bought it. All I really did today was unhook the wiring, fuel lines, raw water and unbolt (had to cut one) engine mount, and the control linkages and come-along it up through the companionway. It's now sitting on blocks in the shop ready for teardown. I've already taken the exhaust elbow off and it was pretty rough in there, I don't have a picture to post now but I will post it soon. Here are a couple shots of the engine ready to come out and one of it gone. Feels crazy to have it out - and exciting!

-Ben

P.S. Sorry for the sideways images. Still learning how to use the forum!