The Holy Place

Shown here was the condition my engine room when I bought the boat in 1991. Somewhere in there is an alternator!
A mere 13 years of age, repowered professionally with a Lehman 90; the installation and conditions were atrocious.

Port side/forward in engine room    BEFORE




 and 'below' is      AFTER

 Aftermarket Air Filter and custom manifold added in 2009
Wires and hoses were everywhere. It was so difficult to get to things, that even cleaning up was impossible. On the port side, alternator and refrigeration compressor were not accessible. Even the 'start' battery's Perko switch was hidden behind wiring.

Bulkhead Before --------------------------------------------Bulkhead After

The forward bulkhead was a maze of wiring and most of it was not required to be in the hot engine room to begin with. A plan developed for all wiring and hoses to be routed in a common sense pattern. Lengths were shortened and run through pathways that would later aid to any diagnostics, changes or repairs.

---Old obstacle course ----
















The sump area was a real joke. It was physically impossible to get to the bilge pump. Filthy water and oil covered everything. After removing all of it. I cleaned and painted everything white, then started to install 3 bilge pumps on staggered levels with independent float switches. I could now easily get down into the sump for any work.

(left)Old Salt water intake before.------------now(right) with an added seachest, the area is clean and empty.

Started with 11 thru-hulls below water, now reduced to 4, thanks to internal Sea Chest.






Engine removed--------------dirty mess

Because the new engine had never been installed with consideration for proper shaft alignment, everything had to come out. A framework was built inside the saloon and the engine was removed and set aside. Measurements had been taken, by a professional, as to how much to cut off the
stringers and the final height needed. I did not feel confident to figure out the critical measurements, but Dorothy and I suffered in the summer heat, cutting and grinding fiberglass and reglassing everything. Engine was installed only to find out the Pro's measurements were too high, by 1 inch. Out came the engine and I got the privilege of practicing some more glass work.
1st attempt at stringers------------------------------------------------------------ nearly done

The Holy Place. Clean, white and accessible. Over time we also clear epoxied the new wood subfloor and removed and rerouted the water tank lines from the bottom of each water tank as seen, to the forward corners of the tank, where they are out of the way and safer from mishaps.
The saloon table that you can barely see in the upper right corner of these last photos is hinged to be able to tilt out of the way. It has undergone further modifications to make life better aboard...but that is another story.