Replacing the Timing Belt - Yanmar 6LPA

[johnmurray]

My boat has the Yanmar 6LPA-STP engine and the maintenance schedule recommends replacing the timing belt at 1250 hours or five years whichever comes first. I now have only 600 hours on the engine but I am past the five year point. While my mechanic thinks I can go at least a couple of hundred more hours, the prevailing advice recommends a change-out based upon age, not hours.
While my boat is the A-30FC, I think the engine layout is identical to the A-28 Flush Deck with the same engine.
Does anyone out there who has done a timing belt change-out on a flush deck have any advice as to how to go about it? I have looked at the history of posts on this website as well as the on-line engine manual, and the actual mechanics involved look pretty straight-forward, but access appears to be very difficult. Do you have to lift the engine or cut any new holes to get at it?
Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome.

[TimQ]

Did you ever get an answer to your question?

[johnmurray]

My mechanic was able to replace the timing belt without a great amount of difficulty, but access was awkward. There was no hole cutting or engine lifting involved. He used a mirror when doing the alignment. The whole job took him about four hours which included a few other minor engine items at the same time.
While I only watched, the job did not appear to be as big a deal as I had been led to believe.