Last weekend, my brother was kind enough to come out and help me install the new Westerbeke generator. Gas powered 2002 Sea Ray 340s originally came with 4.5 kW generators, but these are no longer made by Westerbeke. The current version is a 5.0 kW, available in either a standard carbureted or Low CO, fuel injected version. I had intended to install the Low CO version, but it is almost 5 inches wider than the standard model, and would make maintenance too difficult. In fact, it may not fit at all in this boat, without interfering with the starboard engine exhaust manifold. So, the standard version it is.
In order to perform the lift, I made up a sling from steel cable, to support an electric winch that was suspended from my backhoe bucket. I rigged it this way to provide for precise control of the placement, since the backhoe is really more suited to gross movements, not fine control. With this setup, I could lift the winch/generator assembly over the transom, shut down the backhoe, and then use the winch for final placement. The rig is easy to see in the pics:
So, it is in, nice and smooth. I will detail the finer points of the installation in upcoming posts...
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