Stairs vs. Engine

[transientchad]

Hey All,
On my first journey out with my E27 I found that when I step on the stairs the pressure causes the engine cover to come in contact with the motor. I believe it is slightly rubbing on the belt and makes a vibrating sound. Obviously I don't want this to happen and don't really want to be forced to pull myself out of the hatch each time I go back and forth.
Is this a problem anyone else has seen? Did you reinforce the motor cover or did you do something to the stairs?
Thanks for any input.

 

[toddbrsd]

Can you post a Picture

It sounds like maybe the previous owner has modified the ladder. My ladder, which is typical of a stock" ladder does not come close to touching the engine cover. I have the wheel steering and I know that there are some variations on the E27 between the wheel and tiller steering.

Pictures always help tremendously. I have added the two pictures that I could find of mine, just for reference anyway.

 

[kari]

Agree with Todd... mine is close but doesn't touch...

 

[mherrcat]

Hard to tell from the pics that Todd posted, but are the steps in any way attached to the engine cover? The steps are very substantial in their construction; I can't imagine them flexing enough to come into contact with the engine cover. (The steps on my 30+ look almost identical to those posted, but the engine cover is different.)

I would look for whatever is allowing the steps to move and correct it; or determine if a previous modification to the engine cover was made to enlarge it for some reason...

 

[exoduse35]

check for flex at the floor and loose brackets at the top

 

[joe-fran]

engine cover mystery

I owned a 71 E-27 a few years ago. The PO had added a fresh water cooling system (Moyer I think). In doing so, a new pump and bracket were added requiring that the wood engine cover be relocated further aft. (See picture) With that said, I don't remember the stair coming in contact with the wood cover.

 

[transientchad]

Hey all,
Finally got pictures of my stairs. Looks like it was modified to sit lower and further back. Any ideas on repairing?

 

[mherrcat]

Hard to tell from the pics, but it kind of looks like the stair treads are not level (parallel to the floor.) The previous owner may have cut some material off the bottom of the rails (side parts.) Keeping the latches in the same position, that would cause the steps to sit farther back and the treads to angle down. There should be raised sockets on the floor that engage the bottom of the rails to keep them from moving. I would check to see if it looks like they have been repositioned. This would confirm the shortening of the rails.

If that is what has been done, you could try adding some material to the bottom of each rail to get it back into its original position, but then you would have an engine cover that has been cut to accommodate the repositioned steps...

 

[Mark F]

A quick easy fix would be to add some thick rubber stock to the bottom of the stringers (sides) of the steps, effectively making the stair 1/2" longer. Something like this http://www.mcmaster.com/#rubber-sheets/=dyo0xg

This is assuming you do not have sockets on the floor. If you do they will have to be moved forward a bit.

 

[transientchad]

The latches are moved down from their original holes on the engine cover. It looks like the PO was trying to shorten the distance the stairs extended into the cabin. I think I am going to use your advice on the rubber spacers. That should work fine. There isn't any thing on the floor that they attach to but the two brackets on the top might have to be moved upwards...

 

[Bob Grenier]

I think someone has made a new engine cove that's taller and longer. There is something about that cover that just doesn't look original.

 

[mherrcat]

There isn't any thing on the floor that they attach to but the two brackets on the top might have to be moved upwards...

If there is nothing on the floor to prevent the stringers (oops, I referred to them as "rails" earlier) from sliding forward you should consider adding cleats of some kind for that purpose. Otherwise the only thing holding the stairs in place are the top brackets. If the weight applied to the stairs causes them to try to move forward I could see the screws going into the wood under the companionway possibly being ripped out and the stairs collapsing...

 

[bigd14]

+1 on the floor cleats. You could also replace the wood piece that the ladder attaches to at the companioinway with a deeper/larger piece to get it another inch or so away from the motor cover. Its held on with three wood screws covered by bungs.

 

[Mark F]

There are no stops or keepers for the base of the stair on the floor of my E27. I have never had an issue with a collapsing stair and we get some pretty active sailing in these parts. That said, I do have carpet on the cabin floor but when I get to installing a teak and holly sole I'm sure I'll need something to hold the stair in place .

 

[toddbrsd]

Same Here

Neither does my E-27. In fact out of all of the trolling through pictures, I don't believe I have ever seen the "stops" at the base of the stairs on an E-27. I DID have issues with my stairs sliding down and out of th "L" brackets. In the interim, I simply added a screw just below the "L" bracket, and sticks out about 1/4" to stop the ladder from moving down and out. So far so good.

 

[adam]

+1 on the floor cleats.

That's what I did.

The ladder on my E29 completely pulled apart. After I rebuilt it, I added supports at the bottom. The ladder feels very solid now, with no side-to-side motion.

It was a very easy, and good addition.

 

[transientchad]

I did try leaving the engine cover off once...
And as my friend climbed the ladder - BAM - down it came crashing...
Not good for the motor I am sure but it only seemed to dent the oil cap.

 

[transientchad]

Also thanks for the pic of the wood stoppers on the stairs. Great idea!

 

[bigd14]

This thread reminds me that my sole below the companionway flexes and tends to work my ladder out of the brackets at the companionway. The floor chocks help but I really should reinforce underneath the sole to prevent this flexing. This is something I should have done with the other glasswork but its hard to access and I was too lazy to do it. Do any other E27/E29 owners have this particular problem and if so, how did you solve it? Thanks,

Doug

 

[Carefree Sailor]

Expanding foam to fix the flexing sole

Doug, I'm aware of one boat owner who solved the flexing sole by using expanding foam. He drilled a hole in the sole and then shot the foam through it. He then used a bung to plug the hole. It seems to have worked.