500 Pounds Lighter

I have a real dilema...I have removed the very heavy engine from the Vindhler and I'm reluctant to replace it. I can't wait to see how she will sit in the water without all that weight. Of course the performance will be better! When the 50 year old Gray Marine gave out on me last year, I sailed all summer with out it. Sailing on and off the mooring, anchoring...I did have to get towed by a powerboat once when the wind died and I was in the channel, afraid I would get caught crowding the ferry. On this occassion I was not towing my inflatable, so I could not use it and the outboard to get us in. I learned a valuable lesson...don't leave home without it.



Friends, Matt and Joby came by on a very rainy Sunday to help get the engine out of the boat and into the cockpit. We built up blocks on both sides of the cockpit and placed a solid steel bar across with a chain come-a-long device. This coupled with my 2 ton floor jack in the engine compartment helped us remove the motor through the cockpit floor hatch in about 90 minutes.



The engined waited in the cockpit for about two weeks before I figured how to get it off the Vindhler. I really did not want to hire a crane...financially, it was out of the question. Steven Beckett, a friend who has helped me numerous times, thought some tackles hung from the mizzen would have the power and height to raise the 400lb. engine to deck height. I agreed. As we lifted the dead wait of the motor, we placed large pieces of wood under it to take the strain. It is remarkable what you can do with rope and pulley! Once we had the motor sufficiently raised up, we attached lines from the engine to the sheet winches for a controlled descent to the pallet below. Paul Leddy, another man who has helped me many times came with his brother Chris. The four of us gently pushed the motor over the side of the boat which was protected with thick carpet. My father in law Charles lead a guy line that kept the motor away from the side of the boat and the rest of us let gravity do the work while we braked the whole affair against the winches.

Being a do it yourselfer with limited finances means that I have to ask for help. I'm blessed with talented sailors around me who frequently lend a hand. Being able to ask for help has advanced my project greatly. I run into prideful individuals all the time who insist by their stoic silence that they can do it on their own and yet accomplish nothing extraordinary. I love the biblical proverb that states," many advisers guarantee success."