Heres where it all started. We had to remove the carpet, bench seats and floor boards.

We wanted to avoid cutting down the wall to remove the engines and according to my measurements, the door was an inch and a half wider than the engines. We decided to go for it. We had to cut the crossbeams that were in the way of removing the engines. We then removed anything and everything that would narrow up the engines. Everything down to the exaust manifold studs had to be removed.

The shipyard was awaiting our arrival. In order to fit the engines through such a small opening, the boat had to be left in the lift while the crane positioned itself to reach through the door. The lift and crane were used together to move the boat and the boom on the crane to squeeze those engines out of there. The shipyard was charging by the hour and we were going to be occupying their main lift and crane, so this was suppose to be a smash and grab job.

The crane positioned itself behind the boat and extended its supports to take the weight off its wheels and become secure.

Here we extended the boom through the door to attach it to the stbd engine. On our first lifting attempt, the boom was extended too far out and could not lift the engine (heavy engines). We had to set the engine back down and move the boat closer to the crane. Our second attempt worked out better.

This picture skips forward to the port engine removal. These pictures give you a better view of whats going on. It took alot of muscle power to twist and pull the engines straight as we inched them through the door.

It was a tight fit. We took it one inch at a time...or less.

They pulled the boat away from the crane and swung the engine over to place it directly onto the trailer.

Here I am securing the shafts for our tow back to the dock where we will clean, paint, and rewire the engine room.

Here are the engines on the trailer. All in all the engine removal went well with minimal complications. After everything we did to remove those old engines, the biggest problem we encountered was a flat tire... look closely at the front wheel of the trailer. Anyone interested in buying some 8v92 Detroit diesel engines? I will be posting more pictures as our project progresses!

Here is the engine room after a couple coats of paint. We still have to put new insulation on the aft bulkhead and then start putting everything back together. After we construct the new engine mounts, we should be ready to put the new engines in.

Here are the new engines and transmissions. We are planning to lift them into the boat right after Easter.

Here are the new engines in the boat. We had to partially dissassemble them to fit them through the door. This is where we get to start putting everything back together.

At this point, the install is pretty much done. We had to re-assemble the engines, install any filters, hoses, pumps, etc. on the engines and throughout the engine room. We had to build custom exausts and fabricate numerous brackets, fittings, and parts to make everything fit. The new engines require 12v power instead of 24v power which the old engines required. So, after wiring all the electrical for the engines and components we installed a new 12v battery bank and eliminated the old 24v bank. We also had to reinstall the sea water strainers, bait system, refrigeration system, air conditioning & heating system, water maker, etc. We then rebuilt the floor, installed new carpet, and reinstalled all of the furniture.

Here is the Reward all back to normal...actually better then normal! Everything looks the same above decks, but below is a set of new Cummins QSM11 diesel engines.

The sea trial went well bringing the Reward up to a plane with no hesitation and reaching a top speed exceeding 20kts. Although the Reward is now much faster, the main reason for the engine re-power was to increase fuel effiency and range so that the Reward can offer longer trips and still maintain it's competitive prices. The increase in speed is just a bonus which will be available when we need it.

This engine repower was the biggest project done on the Reward since it was purchased in 2004. From the removal of the old engines to the sea trial of the new engines, the engine re-power took about 5 months. I am happy to finally be done with the re-power and I am very excited and looking forward to a great 2009 season with an abundance of fish!

Kevin Rhodes