Pegathy has an HM35F, which is supposed to rate 35 hp. It was installed in the mid 90's and has about 2700 hrs. Still runs very well - started right up in freezing weather when I had her hauled two weeks ago. She's configured with the OEM nav station starboard. There's access in the front, after removing the panels, one of which has four built in drawers which need to be removed first. There's an ~9"x18" door on the port side well into the q-berth, and starboard access from the lazarette in the cockpit. Once you empty the lazarette, panels come out and it's wide open - provided you've wedged your body (or hang your torso) in the lazarette - which does have a flat floor board to crouch on. I and even I, circumferentially challenged, old and inflexible as I am, can get in, but it ain't pretty.
There's an access port cut in the bottom of Pegathy's cockpit above the oil filler cap. That makes things easier, else you need a hose on the funnel to add oil or coolant. Checking the oil requires emptying all the crap from the q-berth, removing the cushions to get the door off, putting on a head lamp, and crawling in. The oil check is on the right (that is the port) side of the engine because the v-drive requires they put the engine in backwards. Changing belts, water pumps, or alternator at the stern end of the engine, which is actually the front, is done from the lazarette or the q-berth, depending on which belt or whatever. It's doable, just a pain relative to having them at the companionway. The v-drive is on the forward end (back) of the engine, so aligning the shaft and checking the transmission oil are easier. So the answer is ...... you actually can get to everything you need, even change belts in a seaway, but it's usually twice the work or more. That said, how often do you change belts? Answer: 4 raw water pump belts and 1 alternator belt on the trip from Ft. Lauderdale, where I bought her, to Baltimore. Not one more in three seasons since the pulleys were smoothed, but with way less total hours than the Florida trip. We'll see when I take her to New England next spring. I didn't and wouldn't let the access issue stop me from buying the boat. She sails like a dream, and is shoal draft (~5') for the Chesapeake, very comfortable, very stable, and quite dry. And I like a boat with less freeboard that keeps me closer to the water. I like to pet the dolphins (yup, did that). Dan SheerPegathy - C&C LF 38Rock Creek off the Patapsco
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