Putting a big diesel engine in my krusty old lobster boat
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the creator shares his journey of installing a Cummins engine into his crusty lobster boat, marking the third installment of his 'bad life decisions' series. He details the process of removing the old engine, cleaning up, and making significant modifications to accommodate the new engine. The video also covers the installation of the engine, aligning it precisely using a 3D-printed jig, and the challenges faced during the project. The creator emphasizes the steep costs of marine equipment and the skills he's learning along the way, highlighting the value of online learning platforms like Skillshare in acquiring new skills for such DIY projects.
Takeaways
- 🛠️ The video documents the process of installing a Cummins engine in a boat, marking the third in a series of 'bad life decisions' for the creator.
- 🚤 The old engine was removed and cleaned, making way for the new engine, which required modifications to the boat's engine bay.
- 🔨 The new Cummins QSB 5.9 engine is a 380 horsepower, 2007 model with 400 hours, purchased secondhand for $26,000.
- 💰 The cost of the boat project is emphasized, with the transmission alone costing around $9,000, highlighting the expense of marine equipment.
- 🔧 The installation process involved DIY methods, including creating custom aluminum brackets and using a laser jig for precise alignment.
- 📐 The engine was aligned using a 3D-printed jig, showcasing the utility of 3D printing in complex projects like boat restoration.
- 🔄 The drive line installation was a significant challenge, but the use of a stainless steel shaft upgraded from the previous one.
- 🚪 Windows and the pilot house were remodeled to improve aesthetics and functionality, including increasing the combing and roof overhang.
- 🛠️ The boat was further refined with the use of total boat fairing putty, making the fiberglassing process easier and more efficient.
- 💡 A multitude of skills were learned and applied throughout the project, such as welding, electrical work, and fabrication.
- 🌊 The video ends with the anticipation of launching the boat in the water, with the engine successfully installed and functional.
Q & A
What was the main challenge the narrator faced when installing the Cummins engine?
-The main challenge was aligning the engine perfectly with the drive shaft, as there were no flexible components in the drive line, requiring extreme precision to ensure a proper fit.
How much did the narrator spend on the Cummins QSB 5.9 engine?
-The narrator spent $26,000 on the 380 horsepower version of the Cummins QSB 5.9 engine.
What year and model of the engine did the narrator purchase?
-The narrator purchased a 2007 Cummins engine with 400 hours on it.
What was the cost of the transmission for the boat?
-The transmission for the boat cost approximately $9,000.
How did the narrator ensure the engine was perfectly aligned with the boat's hole?
-The narrator used a laser jig, a 3D-printed device, to align the engine as straight as possible to fit it into the boat.
What online platform did the narrator use to learn new skills for the boat project?
-The narrator used Skillshare, an online learning community, to learn new skills for the boat project.
What material was used to fill and fair the boat's surfaces?
-Total Boat fairing, a two-part epoxy putty, was used to fill and fair the boat's surfaces.
How did the narrator create templates for the boat's parts?
-The narrator used a cardboard tracing method, where they traced the part onto cardboard, then used the cardboard as a template for cutting new pieces.
What type of metal was used to fabricate the boat's mast?
-6061 aluminum was used to fabricate the boat's mast.
How did the narrator address the issue of through-hull fittings on the boat?
-The narrator reduced the number of through-hull fittings from five to three and used giant pieces of G10 fiberglass epoxy to back the fittings, ensuring they wouldn't tear out.
What was the narrator's strategy for winterizing the boat?
-The narrator planned to add antifreeze to the engine and other parts to prevent freezing and damage during the winter months.
Outlines
🛠️ Engine Installation and Boat Renovation
The paragraph describes the process of replacing an old boat engine with a new Cummins engine. The narrator discusses the challenges and decisions involved in the process, including cleaning the engine mounts, pressure washing the boat, and expanding the engine bay to fit the new engine. The cost of the engine and the transmission is mentioned, highlighting the high expenses associated with marine equipment. The paragraph also touches on the DIY aspect of the project, with the narrator fabricating new parts and aligning the engine using a 3D-printed jig. The goal is to have a fully functional and improved boat by the end of the project.
🚤 Learning New Skills and Boat Improvements
This paragraph focuses on the skills the narrator is learning and applying to improve the boat. It mentions the use of a laser-guided 3D printed jig and the software Fusion 360 for designing parts. The narrator also talks about the benefits of Skillshare, an online learning platform, in acquiring these new skills. The paragraph details the progress made on the boat, including fixing the drive line, upgrading the shaft size, and remodeling the Pilot House. The use of total boat fairing for easier fiberglass work is also discussed, along with the plan to build a custom mast and other boat features.
🔧 Electronics Setup and Engine Testing
The narrator moves on to the electronics setup and testing of the newly installed engine. They describe the process of connecting the engine's ECU, wiring up additional engine components, and the ease of the plug-and-play system. The paragraph details the importance of clean diesel fuel for the engine's health and the installation of a heavy fuel filter. The narrator then shares their excitement as the engine successfully starts for the first time, followed by the steps taken to prepare the engine for future use, including pressure testing and lubricating the engine cooler. The paragraph concludes with the narrator's satisfaction with the progress and the anticipation of future work.
❄️ Winterization and Future Plans
In this final paragraph, the narrator discusses the decision to winterize the boat due to the cold weather and the need to work on other projects to finance the boat's renovation. Despite the boat not being ready for water entry as initially planned, the narrator expresses happiness with the progress made, including the installation of the engine and prop shaft. The paragraph ends with a teaser for the next part of the project, where the boat will finally be launched, and the narrator reiterates the boat's purpose as a support vessel for various projects, hinting at future adventures with airplanes and submarines.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cummins engine
💡Boat refurbishment
💡Engine mounts
💡Bilge sauce
💡Fiberglass
💡3D printing
💡Drive line
💡Winterization
💡Skillshare
💡Pilot House
💡Through hull fittings
Highlights
The narrator discusses making bad life decisions with previous videos, leading to the current project of installing a Cummins engine into a crusty lobster boat.
The process began with removing the old engine and cleaning the engine mounts, which involved collecting 40-year-old bilge sauce.
The engine room needed expansion to fit the new engine, which was narrower below but fatter on top, requiring modifications to the boat.
The new engine is a Cummins QSB 5.9 with 380 horsepower, purchased secondhand for $26,000, highlighting the high costs of marine equipment.
The transmission for the boat was also expensive, costing around $9,000, contributing to the regret of the narrator over the expenses.
The narrator and Sam, a friend, worked on aligning the engine using a laser jig they 3D printed, which was crucial for the engine's installation due to the rigid driveline setup.
The engine was successfully installed within a very close tolerance, impressing an expert who checked their work.
Skillshare is mentioned as a platform where the narrator learned new skills, such as using Fusion 360 for 3D printing the laser jig.
The narrator shares a trick for making templates using cardboard, which proved to be accurate and efficient for boat remodeling.
The boat's makeover includes remodeling the pilot house, installing new windows, and extending the combing roof overhang.
The narrator decided to build their own mast instead of buying one, using 6061 aluminum pieces.
The boat is equipped with through-hull fittings for seawater intake and auxiliary pumps, with a focus on preventing leaks and ensuring durability.
G10 fiberglass epoxy was used to patch through holes and provide backing for fittings to prevent tear-out and potential sinking.
The narrator's first attempt at stainless steel TIG welding is documented, showing a learning curve in the process.
The engine is tested and starts successfully, providing relief and excitement for the narrator.
The boat is winterized due to the cold weather and the narrator's need to focus on other projects to finance the boat's completion.
The boat serves as a support vessel for various projects, including flying airplanes and submarine exploration.
Transcripts
you ready oh man all right let's see
what
happens if you didn't see it I've made
two really really bad life decisions in
the videos before on the Crusty lobster
boat
video this is really bad decisions part
three installing a really awesome
Cummins engine into my new crusty
Lobster boook wait a second how do we
get to this engine starting well we had
to remove the old one and if you want to
see take out this engine this is a video
part two link below before we put this
new engine in I've got to clean these
engine mounts out now I can do my
favorite thing in the world collect the
40-year-old bilge sauce I got to
pressure wash the inside of this get it
nice and
clean the engine room also needs to be
expanded so I'm going to cut this
fiberglass and balls of core and expand
the engine bay to hold this new engine
this new engine is actually a little bit
narrower below but it's fatter on the
top so some modifications need to be
happening
a little bit of the wood is rot out on
the inside so we're going to replace it
with new Douglas
[Music]
fur wa look at that this is the cumins
qsb 5.9 I got the 380 horsepower version
I spent about $26,000 in this motor I
can't believe I paid for this a lot more
than I thought I would ever be spending
on a boat motor however marinai stuff is
extremely expensive and I want the best
quality so I bought a used secondhand
motor this motor is a 2007 engine with
400 hours on it and that is exactly what
you will get if you spend this kind of
money why did they do this oh did I also
mentioned that this transmission for
this boat is very expensive this was
also about
$9,000 yeah boats are really really
expensive and I kind of really regret
all this so far but I think I'm going to
have a really sweet boat by the time
this is done all right Sam let's see see
what you've done
here all that bits great look at that
like he's an expert machinist or
something well moving on with my poor
life decisions it's time to put this
motor in the boat we made some new
aluminum brackets but first we're going
to lower the engine down get a look on
things take some measurements pull the
engine back up drill the brackets and
install them hammering them these are
just some big Overkill pieces of
aluminum angle iron that should be
definitely suited for this
job
oh hey how's it going you may be
wondering how I got here well it turns
out I don't want to pay a professional
do this so currently there's 1,500lb
engine hanging above my head suspended
by two
4x4s and I do not have health insurance
currently how's your day
going all right Sam you definitely are
Jack of all trades let's see how this
thing works out it should be close we
got the PVC we got the end of the oh my
God look at look at that it's like whip
really within the ballar for a bunch of
amateurs wrestling around with a giant
engine and a boat never building boats
this turned out really good that's a
huge weight off my shoulder man there is
definitely not a user guide for this
kind of crap now the really cool thing
about 3D printing is you can make all
sorts of things and we got this special
Gadget if you haven't figured it out yet
this is a laser jig I've seen people
align these motors and half's really
tricky about this style of boat is the
engine is actually aligned to the drive
shaft the drive shaft is built into the
boat and then the engine is aligned to
that so this is going to go on the back
of the transmission if this laser comes
straight out the back side of the engine
the boat hole on the back it's dead
center so I'm going to take some
measurements and we're going use this
laser beam to get this thing as straight
as possible so we can get the engine
going in because there's no U-joints or
anything flexible in this drive line
situation it's literally a shaft a
coupler and the engine you have to get
it like perfect with these little screw
holes I designed I can adjust windage
and elevation and get this thing
perfectly bore set it's actually a bore
sight for a gun so that worked out
fantastically oh it's getting so close
look it's like over there on the ground
I I need to tweak this a little bit more
we're getting so close to this is
fantastic now for total amateurs I've
just been reading around the internet
and apparently we're supposed to get
this engine within about 300s of an inch
but I misread that and I thought it was
3,000 of an inch so with fuer gauges we
got it extremely close and the expert
came out and he freaked out because uh
it was a lot closer than most people
typically get so I guess that makes me
feel pretty good although credit is due
where credit is due Sam is the one who
really could figure this thing out so
without Sam this probably would have
been a lot worse so anyways that anent
Lin is spoton Sav me a lot of money and
time because both people are not cheap
to hire for anything and there's one
thing I'm learning about this boat is
that I bid off more than I can chew and
it is also requiring me to learn a bunch
of things or perhaps pick up new skills
that I need to learn which is why I'm
happy that skillshare is sponsoring this
video skillshare is a massive online
community filled with thousands of
experts passion on all sorts of subjects
on things that you want to learn about
the neat thing about this boat is I'm
also learning a ton of new skills to
make this boat happen such as the laser
guided 3D printed jig and if you want to
learn how to make this and things just
like it at home skillshare has a
complete courses on Fusion 360 the
software that I used to design this part
now the very neat thing about the way
skillshare works is that if you're
looking for a specific part of
information it's right on the sidebar
highlighted for you so you don't have to
waste your time scrubbing through video
trying to find that sweet spot it's all
right there just for you so you can
learn as fast as possible and also go
back and look for any bit of information
that you might have been missing it's
the year 2024 the boat's still not in
the water but my skills are definitely
improving if you want to improve your
skills on home for this New Year's and
elevate your skills Hobbies or career
definitely check out skillshare using
the link down the description below the
first 500 people that clicked the link
down description below we'll get a 1mon
free trial of skillshare now it's on to
fixing more of the drive stuff with the
boat this damage to this through hole
where the shaft goes for the drive line
I'm going to actually use this as some
sort of mold just kind of put some epoxy
back there put this plate
on and tighten it and pull the plate off
few hours later
and dang look at
that and we're back so I got the Sha
today built this crazy rig right here to
kind of hold that lucky for me I found a
secondhand shot for some awesome guys up
in North Rhode Island is that
Massachusetts I think it's Mass Jesus
that's where I got this shaft anyways
we're going to put this in the boat it's
a solid piece of stainless steel better
than the old tolbin bronze shaft I had
so I'm very confident this stuff we also
upgraded the shaft size the old shaft
that is in this boat was a 1 and 3/4 in
shaft this is now a 2-in piece of
stainless steel we'll put this ram rod
in and tighten it up it's time for magic
will it fit did we do all this for
nothing and that is how you do the drive
line in the boat watch your head you got
it free yeah hey that's a cool shirt you
got there I wonder where I got that
from
Timber all right I can finally get some
of this crap off get a good look at this
boat so in between working on the engine
and all that other crazy stuff I also
wanted to remodel the rest of the boat
so obviously we finished cutting out the
windows and reinstalling them if you
want to see what it used to look like
check out the first video before we
really cut this thing up the old windows
were leaky too so they kind of needed to
be f fix well I went for the over fix
thing and literally just redid the
entire Pilot House to look
[Music]
different now we're going to increase
this combing on the back side combing
roof overhang I don't really know what
it's called but anyways so we're going
to extend it because I want to place to
get away from the weather and I think it
looks a lot
neater for a lot of this stuff we're
going to use total boat fairing I didn't
realize this but total boat make this
really cool two-part epoxy putty that
you mix together and it l turns this
green color and you can smear it
everywhere and fill your boat out or
whatever you're working on it's making
this a whole lot easier because I really
thought I had to fiberglass this whole
thing build up layers of fiberglass sand
it all down and try to put resin on it
when you can really just fill it in
addition to fiberglassing of course so
we're getting really itchy my dad also
came out and helped finish up the roof
because uh this thing is this is a
serious project and it's getting into
the month of uh September
now I learned this really neat trick
from another YouTuber who built boats
you lay out some cardboard down and you
trace it to your part and then you take
that cardboard and put on your new
template it's like a really fast way to
make templates and it is dead on
accurate whoever came up with that
cardboard or stick trick from framing up
stuff that you just don't want to
measure that turned out awesome look how
tight those gaps are no musing no
fussing with measuring and whatever just
cut it to fit and then you got yourself
whatever panel you're working on one
more thing I got to work on is the Mas
on this boat I don't think I want to buy
a Mas and I kind of want to build my so
we're going to get some 6061 pieces of
aluminum now I don't have a welder cable
of welding this up so I just pay someone
to weld it but now it's time to paint it
all right now time for the masterful
centerpiece Crown I don't know what you
call it let's put this thing on the roof
this thing will definitely hold my
search light and will also hold the
radar and some other fun LEDs and
doodads and look cool on top of the boat
no boats complete without
one so this boat is definitely changing
a lot it used to look like this on the
roof and now it looks like this
definitely kind of improvement in my
opinion
for this boat there are a bunch of
through hul fittings for picking up seaw
water and running auxiliary pumps and
stuff like that however they were too
many today was nothing but tons of
grinding and sanding cuz we had to patch
all these through holes there's five and
we're going down to three one for a wash
down pump one for the engine and one
hole for the transducer for figuring out
how deep the water
is wow it's a lot of G10 that board over
there that was $800 boat building is
definitely not cheap rather than doing
it the way they used to have it with
some wood blocks we're going to embed
these giant pieces of G10 fiberglass
epoxy them down fiberglass them in and
then fiberglass filled on other parts of
the boat where I plan to plug the
through holes and now I'm giving the new
through holes these huge backing blocks
because I really want to make sure none
of these fittings tear out because if
these tear out you have a really big
hole in your boat and it would sink very
fast if you don't catch it you know
you're doing it the right way when you
have a generator a TIG buer the titig
pedal and a ladder and now you're about
to do the jankiest weld you've ever
done and that would be my first
stainless steel tigw laugh about it in
the
[Applause]
comments the heck is holding it
up oh were you holding it I was holding
it
up these exhaust parts come from seabo
Marine they designed and do all sorts of
Custom Fabrication and things like that
if you got any sort of boat project
you're working on that has a engine
or if you need to get a ZF transmission
these guys are definitely the expert
they've helped me with a lot of my
questions and I really appreciate them
taking the time out to help someone kind
of dumb like me figure this stuff out
all
right time to install the heavy fuel
filter this is only a couple thousand
freaking dollars rayor fuel filters
installed so I'm going to install the
fuel filter because it's very important
that I don't have contaminated diesel
fuel going to my motor cuz I want to
make sure this motor is happy and
healthy it's important to do some
preventative maintainance so this is the
engine after cooler it cools the
turbocharged air mixes it through
radiator with sea
water I want to make sure this thing
doesn't corrode or have any leaks so
we're going to pressure test this real
fast and then once we're done with that
we're going to lube it up with some
metal Lube so it's easy to take apart in
the future and
clean and for the next step we put oil
in the
motor and then I think we're good to
start this thing and see what happens
all right the time has come we we're
going to hook up all the electronics on
the boat if it blows up I want it on
camera uh let's see so now this cumins
engine has a little ECU doohickey that
needs constant 12vt power we're going to
plug that in right now and now I got to
wire up some of the additional engine
stuff fortunately for me and this
marinized version of this engine a lot
of things are really plug-and-play and
that's thanks to Seaboard Marine they've
actually designed a whole bunch of
controls for my motor a to turn this on
yeah this comes on so I think the
engine's trying to Prime itself right
now it's making this priming noise I
think it's it's a lift pump lifting the
diesel from the fuel tanks to the fuel
filter to the motor and I think all we
have to do is hit start turn it on
voltage is moving you ready oh man all
right let's see what
[Music]
happens oh damn this thing fires right
up that's a huge relief off of my
shoulders when I did buy this engine I
did see it running so I I knew I was
getting something that's working but you
got to wonder that if you did did it
right you know after moving it all
around manhandling it for a while it
seems pretty happy and okay for
now so we can't run the engine for very
long right now cuz I got to finish the
rest of this exhaust stuff
up and right now it's using the internal
radiator fluid I'm not sure if that what
what's that called cuz there's no
radiator there's a heat exchanger give
it some
juice so you can start it without an
actual water system but you have to disc
water pump and all that stuff but you
can't run for very
long so
cool I wouldn't keep it on much
longer
sounds so
cool
I am very happy with
this this thing sounds awesome it starts
that's amazing you're probably watching
this video in January or maybe February
I said I was going to launch the boat