underneath the engine

under the engine
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For newer owners who might wonder what is under the engine and oil basin. From the top (fwd):
The first nut (hard to see because of lighting) in the more or less center of the apron is the second to last keel bolt, which goes through to the bottom of the lead keel. Next we see that the "floors" in the engine compartment are not wood, but galvanized steel. That is to give the engine enough vertical height to fit. Each steel floor has two countersunk bolts going through the apron. The next bolt in the center of the apron is the last keel bolt. The keel bolts are 7/8" bronze, and in my derilect boat they were in perfect condition. The next two bolts in the apron (side by side) are actually rods that go all the way through the deadwood, and hold the deadwood together. The lead ballast has ended right before this point, so the keel bolts that sandwich the deadwood between the lead keel and apron give way to these extended threaded rods which run in grooves cut in the deadwood behind the 3/4" deadwood sheathing. There are three pairs of these galvanized rods. The next bolt in the apron is not one that anyone has - except me. Since I rebuilt the whole thing I added this 20" galvanived lag through the apron and into the deadwood.
On each side of the apron are the engine beds, each fastened through the steel floors and frames. At the bottom in the center is the stern tube, getting a new coat of fiberglass. It is a PVC pipe that runs from the back of the engine compartment out to the stern, where it houses the cutless bearing. After I trim the fiberglass it will receive a flexible stuffing box which the shaft runs through. The stern tube is full of water to lube the shaft bearings