paint

EP59 - DIY Bridge Crane Success! Lifting Engines & Installing Sail Drives + F2 Eco Paint

Shawn Hammer

Nov 30, 2025 — 1 min read

This week aboard our sailboat we hit a huge milestone in the refit — installing the sail drives, mounting the props, testing a new eco-friendly rudder paint, and moving the engines into place using a DIY bridge crane we built ourselves. It was a big week of progress and one of our most satisfying yet.

⚓ Project 1: Installing the Sail Drives
With the mounting surfaces prepped and aligned, we finally lowered the sail drives into position and secured them — a major step toward getting this boat back in the water.

⚓ Project 2: Installing the Propellers
Once the drives were in, we fitted the props and torqued everything to spec. Another big checkmark on the list.

⚓ Project 3: Painting the Rudders with F2 Eco
We tested F2 Eco, a new opalescent white marine coating that’s just entering the recreational yacht market. It looks stunning and promises environmental benefits — we’ll be watching closely to see how it performs.

⚓ Project 4: Moving the Engines Into Place
To move the engines into their homes and bolt them to the sail drives, we built a DIY bridge crane out of Unistrut and used a compact chain hoist from Amazon. It worked beautifully and made this huge job manageable.

Every one of these tasks brings us closer to launching, and this week felt like a major leap forward.

⛵ In This Episode:
Sail drive installation
Propeller mounting
Rudder painting with F2 Eco
DIY bridge crane build
Engine alignment and installation

Real-life sailboat refit progress
F2Eco link: https://f2ecousa.com/

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