Engine Work Complete at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard

If your boat is in need of engine work, make your next port of call Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard. The skilled boatyard crew offers complete engine service and repair, no matter how large or small your boat.

Master mechanic Chris Hawke, left, and crane operator Mark Rybin, right, begin lifting Thirsty Duck’s 3-ton engine from the forklift after engine work was completed at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard. (This and featured photo, above, by Jenn Brown, marina office manager.)

Engine Work Complete at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard

Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard’s master mechanic Chris Hawke recently completed extensive engine service and repair on Thirsty Duck, a 50-foot Sea Ray that cruised in for engine work before boating season starts up again.  Hawke and crane operator Mark Rybin deftly handled setting the 6,000-pound Detroit Diesel engine back in place last week at the downtown Gig Harbor boatyard.  Next came the job of reinstalling the refurbished big V8 engine.

Hawke guides the big V8 engine as Rybin lifts it higher off the forklift pallet. (Photo by Jenn Brown of Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard.)

Engine Work Complete at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard

Hawke, who has been at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard since 2000, had a big job ahead of him with the Sea Ray’s engine work. He installed a new rear main seal, transmission, drive plate and V-drive and reinstalled the fly wheel. He also put in a rebuilt starter and reassembled all these parts back on the cruiser’s engine.

Hawke watches closely as the boom crane eases Thirsty Duck’s 6,000-pound engine back into place in the cruiser’s engine compartment. (Photo by Jenn Brown, Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard.)

“It’s a heck of a power package,” said Hawke a few weeks ago as he worked on the huge engine on the boatyard shop floor.

Master mechanic Hawke pauses during his re-installation work of the 50-foot Sea Ray’s engine at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard.

Engine Work Complete at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard

Service and refurbishment of Thirsty Duck’s three-ton engine was made easier by the addition of the marina’s new boom truck crane. The 32,000 gross vehicle weight Manitex crane truck was added to the equipment lineup at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard late last summer. Now, the boatyard crew can service and repair much larger, heavier engines that need to be removed for the engine work to be done.

Thirsty Duck will soon be ready for the upcoming boating season after quality engine work at Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard.