Spiders and silverfish were sent scurrying as the engine lift raised first one end and then the other as I followed with the jackstands. The previous weekend I had gotten the engine beds out of some old-growth Doug fir I had lying around - actually leftovers from the stem piece. Here, my heart is in my throat as I lift the uncompleted compound over the gunwales and down to the beds:
The object of the exercise is to dial in the fit for the propeller shaft. Once the shaft is installed, further fitting of the beds may be pursued. The engine swings down into place ...
The tenons of the beds are plainly seen in No. 3 floor. The beds are just sitting in there since they will have to be planed and jiggered quite a bit. Almost there ...
Ahh ...
Once on the beds, I get to work sliding the engine aft and positioning the story stick in the shaft log for calculating coupling lengths, propeller clearances, etc. How does SAE 755 go again? So much to remember ... Here's a shot of the stick in place and my rule checking on clearances for the engine pumps. I had planned for all of this previously when laying out the shaft log angle, bed supports, etc. Still it is gratifying to see it all work out with the actual hardware. At this point, the beds are still 0.125" high from the plane of the shaft log. Pitch and roll on the beds remains to be dialed in, too.
The starboard bed is too thick and does not permit much lateral adjustment. The engine is hoisted to take weight, out comes the plane and then the bed is tapped back into place. Good, now there's more room. The story stick has been replaced by a 1.25" dowel just to see how far we're off. Final adjustment won't come until the shaft and couplings are in place, with a final review afloat in case the hull flexes in displacement.
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