TOPIC: What's been keeping me busy!

Ok, so I needed to winterize the boat finally and make a stand for the Merc and a hoist to get the new Rudes out of the truck.

Here's the Clipper in her winter storage.


Still have to drain the lower unit and refill. Hoping there's no water in there!

So I needed to finally get those Rudes out of the truck bed, after sitting in there for two weeks! I needed a stand and had one but the MErc was sitting on it, so I built one in the shed to hold motors waiting for overhaul.


Made it out of 2"x6"'s and a 2"x12" I had laying around. Used Gorilla Glue, biscuits and some nails.

New home for the Merc


Ok, so mobile engine stand is open so now I need a hoist to get the motors out of the truck bed. Also need one that woould pull the 283 V8 out of the Century Resorter when it was time. The $99 1 ton engine hoist at Harbor freight wasn't going to be long enough and I didn't want to spend the $150 for the 2 ton when on sale. I already had a 1/2 ton chain fall that my dad had so I built one out of 2"x4"'s. Cost me about $70 including the galvanized bolts, washers and nuts. Here are the pics



Nailed 2"x4" 10' long together for the uprights. Nailed 2"x4" 8'together with 1/2" thick plywood between the 2"x4"'s and then a 2"x4" acorss the top to make a 2"x6". All glued and nailed, much stronger than a 4"x4" or 4"x6", the way it's setup and cheaper. Did use 4"x4"'s for the braces as you can see. Didn't want to drill through 2 2"x4"'s nailed together across the 45 degree angles, so strength there. 4"x4" works best for that. The wafer board was glued and nailed to the support 2"x4"'s for lateral stability on the uprights.
Here's a shot of the chainfall connected up top.

Here's the 75hp Rude coming off



The 80hp coming off


The hoist works real well, never even budged with the 80hp on there. Don't think it will with the 283 rither, time will tell. As you can see, I can back the truck right under it and I'll be able to put the Century under it with ease since it only has a 5' beam. Plenty of room vertically to lift the 283 high enough to pull the trailer right out from under it and attach it to an engine stand. I'm thinking of buying the 1 ton wheel around model at Harbor Freight. I think it will hold the engin with the velvet drive on the front of it. Worse case I can extend the lower beam so it reaches far enough for the motor and transmission to not tilt forward. The 1 ton stand is better than the 750lb model since it has a short beam across the main beam so it has two wheels and it won't tip easy when you push it around.

The stand goes together in about 10 minutes and breaks down just as fast. Unfortunately I can't use it inside since my garage ceiling is too low and so is the shed. Hence the reason for being able to break it down and not hear the wife complain about havinf some monstrosity sitting in the yard. Plus neighbors can't complain either.

Andrew too bad I didn't have this built before you bought yours.

Bob

Bob
Looks like it is going to be a handy "tool".
I work at a planer mill here in Idaho and I have access to all
kinds of lumber. I have some Larch (Tamarack) 2x8x16 picked out to build a couple gantrys for my shop. I will be able to put casters on them and build them tall. I'll be moving Mercurys though!
Neil

Hey Bob, Not bad for a 2wire!!! Joe

Neil, thanks, that should be good wood for you. I'm going to put wheels on it at some point, when HF has them on sale again. that's the only weak point, can't move it once it's up, the sistered 2x4'a want to twist a little since it's 10' tall.

Joe, thanks, yeah every once in a while I have sparks of brilliance....... yeah right!

Bob

nice work bob,very cool.
i have a harbor frieght 1100 lb.electric hoist in the garage and another hoist in my truck bed,hb of course,lol,it works well for motors,i just have to take off the tailgate,lol,. i plan on putting a boat winch and pully on it. the hoist holding up my foldable table.
i wish i had built a movable gantry in the garage.great idea bob.

Very nice work Bob, great craftsmanship.

This swing A frame comes in handy too. But my fold up engine crane is great for the same reason. I have moved 460 big block Ford engines around on this thing. Keep the load low and it will push right along.
I never realized I didn't have a pic of my crane. You can see the end of the arm in this one. LOL

Bob, very good idea to make it "break-down". Smart! John, I also like your rig in the back of your truck. Very low profile.

Looks like a nice setup... I used something similar, though a bit less 'beefy', when I took my Glasspar apart-



and it worked quite well... I didn't really trust it to lift motors, though, Which is why I bought the engine lift.

I considered building a more robust setup like yours, but got lucky and stumbled on the one that I found on Craigslist... I trust heavy welded steel a bit more than I do 2 x 4's !

-Andrew

Thanks guys. Who knows at some point I may still get the small cherry picker from HB, just to move the motors around in the shed and off the boat. I was also thinking I should be able to use the hoist to help flip the Century once I get the engine out. The guy I got it from threw in two boat hoist straps that are good for about 5 tons so I think I can use one to cradle the stern and use a few friends to help flip it at the bow. We'll see, still have to finish the railer on the Clipper first.

Bob

Bob, Great setup. Don't let the Merc pull the 2x4's off the wall. I usually put some old 4x4 blocking under the skeg to help with weight. That is if you have a motor with a skeg...

Now I know what I'm going to do with the 2x's and plywood I need to get rid of. Even have some paint that needs used up.

Cal, yeah I made sure the angle on the slanted 2"x6" was pushing on the bottom 2"x4" of the wall vice just pushing against the nails and waferboard of the wall. That thing isn't moving unless the whole wall comes down!

Cat, glad I could help with that 2x4 problem. Yeah I have some extra paint lying around also, just have to get it on the rig now.

Bob