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I was sweating over having all that weight swinging above the boat. We had taken the wheels off the engine lifter for it to fit under cradle and the boat was wheeled under the hanging engine. I was more comfortable with this than moving a swinging engine around with the potential to tip.

We were very relieved to have it sitting temporarily in place between the stringers.

You can see just where she sits in this shot. That frame is essentially where the dashboard/firewall is. I am thinking to move her back about another 3 inches, which will also lower her 1". She sits quite high in the boat and the top of the engine sits high despite it being an EFI version. At this stage I can't see any impediment to moving her back other than possibly the exhaust bends becoming quite sever to get down and back. I'd love to hear any and all comments and/or suggestions.


There is no definitive placement for the engine (fore and aft) supplied, but from the engine outline provided on the plan it seems to be pretty much where it should be, but I can't figure how to decide exactly where to locate it with any precision.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

You can see in this shot that we have about 2"clearance under the sump. The floor timber has been cut away, but very little of the frame was trimmed. I'd like to lower her 1"by moving her backwards 3".

Looks quite small in this shot....

You can see from this side shot just how high she sits above the decking. That 1" is important now.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Glenn,

Very clean looking engine mounts. I don't recognize the engine bed wood but I have a feeling it's sold by the inch.

Looks like you've got room to move the engine back a bit for clearance, although it seems like a scoop over the intake manifold muscle-car style might also do the trick.

Great progress..getting all that precious metal in place is a real milestone!

Regards,

Steve Hansen

Hey Glenn, On the plans somewhere it shows the CB of the boat. I think you want to keep the CB of the motor very close to that. I think keeping it aft is better than forward of the CB. When I test fitted my motor, I kept it as far aft as possible while still allowing legroom from the seat position. The seat position will be determined by the placement of the gas tank and rudder tiller arm. I made 90 degree bends on the exhaust right out of the manifolds over to each side and the another 90 towards the transom. The stretch allowed the extra movement aft. Looks great. Neel

Track - I had a similar issue in my Riviera. I cut that gusset over the keel and lowered the engine to within 1/2 inch clearance. It allowed me to get my lid on barely without any modifications.

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Dave

My Riviera build - the Midnight Cry Project

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Few things in the world measure up to the thrill and satisfaction of boating in a boat that you built.

don't forget to reinforce the frame, if you chop out a bunch of wood. I gave my oil pan about a 1/2" clearance on three sides. Then I added a 1/2" aluminum plate reinforcement. I pretty much stuck to the plans to the for/aft position (fingers crossed for balance). We really won't know about performance 'til it's in the pond, on plane. Maybe trim tabs, I hope not. Wooden wings, I hope not. But that is to be determined.

Thanks Guys, the odd thing is that the CB shown on the plans is close the the very aft end of the transmission, nowhere near the centre of the engine. The engine sits fairly centred in the hull, but the CB is some 2/3 back from centre.

Steve, yep Pretty much should be sold per inch but in this case, two cartons of the appropriate lubrication . The engine mounts would have been better if they had set their level the same as the front pair so the engine beds were closer to level, but they came with the engine so I am using them. I was going to check out the engine beds, but in the end decided that would not add any strength but would add unnecessary weight.

The fresh water cooling setup is on the forard end of the engine which adds height there, but the flame arrestor is still the highest point anyway thankfully. I'll slide her back and maybe do a mockup of dash and seats to se where it all fits. The rudder arm is low down between the frames so well out of the way and I will be getting a tank purpose made so at least I have that dimension to play around with.

Now, back to bending that timber...

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Been working on desiging and sourcing exhaust components. My engine has 4" outlets and the manufacturer said 3 1/2" is fine for the exhaust run. However when speaking to the supplier of the rest of the components he was very adament that I should stick to 4" to keep a cool exhaust. Price was not much different, but maybe more difficult to route. Not being one to ignore the advice of professionals, I have gone 4" all the way. Unfortunately Glen-L didn't have 4" outlets that suited me. I ended up ordering these:
. They were in stock at Marine Diesel in Brisbane, and the price was similar to importing them with postage, which makes a nice change.

The engine risers exhaust aft, down about 45 degrees. I will go straight to an elbow outboard and down, then another elbow aft to a length of 4" rubber tube then into a muffler sitting between frames 0 and 1, and into the outlets. The mufflers are cylindrical, and the larger diameter (6" approx) will sit down between the frames to lower the overall height a little. My guy (Foreshore Marine Exhaust) makes them and he has designed these to "cut down the harsh bark, but retain the nice V8 rumble". They have a semi-accessible baffle that can be drilled out a bit at a time to tune the noise to the desired level.

I have concerns about where it will route in relation to the pilot and seat, but will tackle that when we come to it. Seriously expensive game this... $2500 in exhaust alone with mufflers, elbows, rubber hose, clips and outlets but it is an area that must be right for safety and comfort. Apparently there is no law as such for the design but the are EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) inspectors that do respond to noise complaints, so best get it right.
More photo's to come.
Cheers,
Glenn.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Sad to say I was disappointed by the Vetus exhausts and sent them back. The pair I had were made crooked and one had a dent that stopped the flap from working. The supplier pulled all the stock they had and all had the same issues in varying degrees. He was rather upset as they had never had issues before. Waiting to see what will happen now, refund or wait for new stock.

Been starting to fit hardware while access is easy. Glen-L Bow Eye looks nice but have to colour the sealant.

Shaft log sealed and screwed down. Wish I had polished it.

Stainless 6mm strut backing plate.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Stainless 6mm rudder gland backing plate

Rudder setup

This is my current pain point


I have been trying to bend it as one piece but after breaking 6 bits of timber still no luck. Now doing it in two pieces with a joinat the middle which is a little easier, but this piece just cracked right at the final push. I am steaming it for 1 hour and bending it into place. It has to curve vertically and horizontally, and the last 6 inches or so is the most difficult. Glen has suggested that I either laminate it or cut segments to go around. I am trying to do it in one piece to avoid obvious joins right where they are most prominent. Research suggests I shoudl be using air dried timber as the temoerature at which they kiln dry actually changes the timber and makes it liable to cracking. My other issue is that this particular batch of timber has a somewhat wandering grain and invariably ends up wandering the wrong way just at the worst point (Murphy!!!!).

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Really looking Great in spite of the issues. You'll get it, I'm sure!!

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Thanks Roberta. Kind words as always.
Another couple shots of finished engine mounts


The plumbing saga begins. The combined engine/trans oil cooler was mounted right under the engine with the inlet and outlet ports facing down. I want easy access, so will mount outside the stringers, and having the ports facing down is just begging for air pockets in the cooler. I will make (hopefully) some nice timber mounts for it. Only one crimped oil pipe will have to be shortened to fit properly. The raw water inlet is 1 1/4" od and will run back to the picku/sea cock outboard adjacent to the strut.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

And then we have this.....

It's a standard Mercruiser style connector which will need a pre-made cable to connect to the instruments etc. There are a couple different styles, this is the latest one with circuit breaker and voltmeter feed apparently. It's only of interest at present to get the engine started for a first run.
Just a miscellaneous shot making her look big...

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Everything looks great Glenn. You managed to get that motor down really low on the stringers. I think it is very close to where mine ended up. It would be nice if the Gentry was about two inches higher !! Do you have to take that transom band board down that far? It seems to me that Trisailor mitered his into the side boards near the top of the curve. I am pretty sure there is a recent picture of it on his thread. That would save the major bend at each end....Just a thought....Nice job...Neel

awsome job your boat is beautiful!! on the bending issue i know your steaming the wood but have you tried to pre soak it as well on most dried hard woods that need a tight bend pre soaking for an hour or so then steamed for an hour per inch of thickness will usually geter done but as always sometimes murphy can still get you.good luck and again your boat is looking awsome

ps if you try the soaking method once you put the wood in place let it dry overnight to take shape then remove and let the underside dry as well so as not to trap any moisture