Sawhorse for Outboards

Post here for issues with outboard engines (i.e Yamaha 9.9) on PDQ yachts
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NautiBits
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Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Does anyone have a sawhorse setup that they are extremely proud of?

I'm getting ready to pull my Yammies and wondered about the most practical height of a sawhorse to mount the engine on while working in the cockpit. Does it sport polished stainless hinges? Do the legs have a secondary(or primary) use as something else in the onboard inventory. "Nothing gets onboard that does not have at least two uses!" I read that somewhere.

This may seem trivial, but I'm serious.

Thanks in advance.
Joe & Deb
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by SecondWind »

Maybe build Fenderboard/Sawhorses. Just a thought.
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Thanks Terry.

Along that line, does it matter if it is treated lumber? I haven't done any thinking or research about fender-boards.

The sawhorse I used previously held two outboards in the shed over the winter. A new one would have to be long enough to hold the long-shaft Yammies. Ideally, I would like to hoist them out of the bay from a rig suspended from the hardtop, and slide them inboard to drop onto the horse. I don't have a requirement to do both engines at once.

I know someone has a tricked out chrome plated sawhorse with an integrated home-entertainment system that he's hiding from the rest of us!

Share!!
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

I checked out fender boards. Easy, useful, and the dimensions should be compatible. My home sawhorse had the 4x6 header for added strength for the wintering slog.

I'm thinking plain old dimensional pine lumber will do the trick. It helps keep your waterline high for lightwind sailing too!

Now, back to that over-engineered engine stand that fits a PDQ cockpit like a proctologist's glove.

Anybody?
Joe & Deb
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by Page 83 »

Thou shalt not store engine stands on a vessel that moves with the wind. Such things should be stored out of the way, like over the spare tire in the Wife's car.
Thou shalt not purchase the sacred metal for objects that do not go to sea. Waste not, want not.
Thou shalt not leave objects on the cockpit floor for long periods of time; raiseth thou the floor to clean out fuel tank if left with old fuel for a month or two lest the golden blob rise up through the hoses and anoint the tiny jets in unmoveable goo.
Thou shall accept the virtues of the Excel heater, and thou shall accept the responsibility to ventilate same when in use, lest thou find a Salvadore Dali Clock - like transom.
Thou shalt not make major alterations to alterations until thee hast lived with said deficiencies for such time as best to understand the wisdom or lack therein.


I'm sure there are more....
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Okay, fixing Sandy-lator to sensory organs...

Decrypting in no certain order....

The Excel water heater might melt my...transom...deck hatch....something fiber glass...ensure proper ventilation? A heat activated blower? Asbestos?

The sawhorse is unwelcome in the cockpit due to some edict originally issued when boat engines were well muscled men fitted with leg irons to ensure their loyalty to the officer of the deck...I suppose I could leave it hanging from the hardtop on a block like a slab of beef..

As I liveon this fine vessel, and am planning for the cruise in the not too distant future, I am planning on performing my art as comfortably and perfectly as I can. What alternatives are there to mounting the engine on a stand? Triage in the engine bay or splayed on the cockpit floor may be necessary, but when time permits, a proper stand is a godsend. I'm okay with calling it a fender board, our whatever else I can use it for..boom cradle...stocks...whatever....

Alterations....the shelf that the original heater sat on?...I'm working with a cross between the builder's intent and the PO's whimsy...restoring or improving, I'm all ears...

Seriously, I'm listening, continue the conversation...please..probably mis-translated a bit
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Here is my first attempt. Sorry Sandy, I refuse to punish myself unduly, most of the time. After the tools were stashed, we even enjoyed a sundowner together.
Ain't she pretty?
Ain't she pretty?
I will be fashioning the 2x6 into a fender board, as the other five feet will also be enlisted for this purpose.
Too high? Too low? Just Right?
Too high? Too low? Just Right?
Here are the current dimensions:

The top of the engine cowl is about five feet high, so you can eyeball even the best hiding places.
Each leg is 44 inches, untreated pine 2x4 to maintain lightness.
The treated 2x6 cross piece will be drilled to accommodate lines for use as a fender board.
The spread of the legs is 25 inches.
The skeg is 10 inches above the cockpit floor. Will this allow dropping the lower unit to replace the impeller?

Your thoughts?

We live on the boat, so there is no other convenient location to perform such maintenance.
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by Page 83 »

I bolted a short 2x4 to another that rested on the seat, spanning the open engine cover. Page 83 has no hardtop, so I can use the main halyard and the winch to raise the engine. I found the correct metric screw size to fit the three threaded holes in the flywheel, and assembled a way to connect the halyard to the flywheel with three short pieces of chain. a washer on he bolt insures the chain stays put, and the other end of the chains are captured in a shackle. Another line with a snatch block pulled the halyard aft toward the end of the boom to keep the boom and hoist centered over the engine. I raise the engine high enough to hang it on the transverse 2x4 which allows me to easily reach everything I need to get to when working on it. I leave the control cables attached to the engine; the cables are long enough to permit this. If the boat is in the water I can lay in the floor of my dinghy and tape a trash bag around the leg leaving an opening I can use to pull the drain plug. When the boat is on the hard I place a bucket on a 6' step ladder under the engine to catch the old oil.

Those of you with a hard top can use the halyard thru the opening above the engine, hook the snatch block around the halyard and lead it back to let the engine come straight up.
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Thanks Sandy. Post a pic when you can. The pic need not include the engine mounted on the board, just in place over the engine well. I can definitely see the usefulness for some maintenance projects. Having the engine up on the sawhorse has advantages too.

I used a re-purposed dingy block & tackle to haul the engine from the well. I just put a few wraps around the engine bracket on the front end and steadied the engine with the cowling handhold. I hung the B&T from doubled 5-8 " nylon dock line wrapped around the handholds on the hard bimini. I light tug and up she went. Since the dingy contraption already had cam cleats on it, holding the engine at any height was no problem.

What is the metric bolt size of the lifting eyes screwed into the flywheel?

Thanks again!
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by Page 83 »

I don't trust my memory on bolt sizes. Or much of anything else, for that matter. And Page 83 is on the hard behind a snow bank. But the bolts did come out of one of the dustier drawers at the old Hardware store in Deale, Maryland. Since then I've purchased a metric thread gage, and lost it.
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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Re: Sawhorse for Outboards

Post by NautiBits »

Thanks Sandy.

I noticed those threaded holes in the flywheel and wondered whether they would support engine removal. I like that option better than my current method. I'm guessing it is naturally balanced at that point. So, no hands on the engine are needed.

I'm thinking that having the engine on the horse will make a possible top-end removal easier.
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