Cody:
Since you do your own engine maintenance as do I, perhaps I can describe what it is like working on the Yanmar 370 hp single on the 34T and contrast it with the Pilot 34. Actually the access to the single engine on a Pilot 34 with its tilt up engine hatch should be similar to working on the twin Yanmar 240 hp engines on the 34T. The lack of side tanks and the wide beam makes the outside clearance about the same. You just have to place the batteries someplace else with the twins as they are located on the far outside on the single 34T.
The oil filter is a piece of cake. It is right in front of you when you come down the stairway access. The Racor fuel filter is just behind it.
On my boat there was a big aluminum plate behind the Racor that the oil change pump was mounted to. This takes up a lot of room which makes it awkward to climb over but it is easy to remove the plate and move the pump towards the center and mount it to the bulkhead where it is out of the way. I suspect any boat with a generator (mine didn't have one) mounted the pump there anyway.
To change oil, just bring 4-5 empty jugs and about 4-5 gallons of new oil down below and climb aft of the engine behind where the new oil change pump is and pump the oil out to the empties and in from the full ones. A generator will make this more difficult because that is where it sits. But without it, access is great.
You get to the port side of the engine (the stairway access comes down on the stbd side) by going around the front of the engine. I can do that with the engine running which it is not recommended but it does give you some idea of the forward clearance to the bulkhead- plenty. Oh remove the aluminum belt cover and throw it away.
The raw water pump is forward and portside and after going around the front can be worked on with the bucket as a seat and your head tilted down just a bit. On my Pilot that is one of the toughest jobs because my body is contorted in there.
The air cooler is on the starboard and it is easily worked on from a bucket. Remove it for cleaning every five years or so. The on engine oil filter is forward to starboard and can be worked on the same way.
Oh, when you are up forward, remove the screws that mount the emergency (high water level) bilge pump to the bulkhead and mount it lower. By the time the water gets high enough to trigger the switch (integral with the pump) the water level is too high. The only part that is tough to access is the primary bilge pump. It is between the two fuel tanks and is mounted a long arm's reach forward of the main bulkhead. Mainship could have easily mounted it further aft.
So, hopefully that will give you a word picture of what engine access is like. I wish I had saved engine room pics for you, but I deleted them all when I sold the boat.
David
