engine removal on 36' Tri-Cabin

[jhdean]

I have a 1985 36' Trojan Tri-cabin with twin Crusader 350XL gas engines installed that may need short blocks this Spring. Does anyone have any experience with removing the engines from one of these boats? The engines certainly won't fit thru the companionway door that goes down into the cabin so I can't see any way to get them out of the boat without cutting the ceiling away which seems pretty extreme.
John Dean

[prowlersfish]

They come out through the ceiling . Pull the headliner down and you will see that it has a area made to be cut out .I Also would go with long blocks that way you will have new heads too .

[jhdean]

OK, Thanks for the info. I noticed an area on the deck that looked like it could be removed but was hoping there was another way since the previous owner replaced the original ceiling with a custom wooden strip ceiling that came out nice but not designed to be removed

[prowlersfish]

Look at the bright side , some boats they cut a hole in the side to repower .

[jhdean]

If I'm really lucky I won't have to pull the motors. They have low hours and run fine but I'm afraid I didn't winterize them properly and may find a pair of cracked blocks when I get there and open the boat up in the Spring. They are raw water cooled so I just pulled the hose off the water inlet thru hull for the engine and stuck it in a bucket of antifreeze then cranked each motor over until it had sucked up about 2 gallons. Being new at it I didn't realize I should have pulled the thermostats first so the antifreeze could circulate properly thru the cold motors until a couple months later as I was reading my newly acquired Crusader engine manual but by then it had been well below freezing for months in Upstate New York where I have the boat stored for the winter. It may turn out to be an expensive lesson ..

[horhay1946]

I have a little experience in removing an engine. I bought a 81 Tri Cabin 3 years ago with the starboard engine seized up. Because of my location in the marina and my overall frugality I decided to replace the engine by removing it through the cabin door. I have 360 Chryslers and the block will fit through the door (with the door removed) by 1/2 inch. I removed the manifolds and heads and then pulled the short block. I was able to remove the engine through the door by using a "gang plank". I assembled the new engine in the cabin and then installed it.

Not the easiest way to do things but with all things considered it was worth it.

[jhdean]

Thanks for the info, I might try it that way to keep from wrecking my new cabin ceiling. The 350 chevy blocks hopefully aren't any wider than your Chryslers.
John