How to Remove a Boat Engine
Winter's coming on and you're laying the boat up for the off-season, but a you've got a nagging question growing in your mind: how will you get that monster engine off of the transom? When outboard motors were simple two-cycle affairs, you could lift the engine off without any help; now, with four-cycle engines that have four, six or eight cylinders, you can barely lift the cowling from the top of the motor, much less the whole motor. That's where the automotive world comes to the rescue.
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Instructions
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Hang a two- or threefold purchase block and tackle on the lifting eye of an "A" frame, just like the "A" frame you used to haul the engine out of your car. The "A" frame should be tall and wide enough to move freely over the motor and boat and strong enough to support the weight of the motor.
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Remove the cowling (the metal or plastic cover) from your motor by pulling up on the bottom edge of the cowling. Set the cowling aside where it won't be underfoot.
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3
Find the lifting ring on the top of the motor. It should be somewhere near the center of the top of the motor. It may be hinged and laying flat; if so, stand it up.
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4
Move the "A" frame and the block and tackle over the motor. Lower the movable block of the block and tackle to the lifting ring on top of the motor and set the hook of the movable block through the lifting ring. Raise the movable block just enough to "take a strain" on the motor.
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Use your adjustable wrench to loosen the four mounting bolts that hold the motor in place and take up just enough slack on the block and tackle that "A" frame, rather than the mounting bolts, is carrying the weight of the motor.
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6
Remove the mounting bolts and move the "A" frame away from the boat. Tie one end of a rope to one leg of the "A" frame with a square knot. Pull the rope taut by its free end and wrap it around the lower unit of the motor. Tie the free end of the rope to the leg of the "A" frame diagonally opposite the leg to where you first tied the rope, to keep the motor from swinging as you move the "A" frame.
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Tips & Warnings
If the hook on your block an tackle is too large to fit through the lifting ring, you can use a piece of rope, wrapped through the ring several times and tied, to make a loop to fit the hook through.
Modern outboard motors are heavy and dangerous. Extra caution is recommended when dismounting one from your boat.
