I have a 2011 R27. To get better access to the belts on the front of the engine I removed the plastic drop down hatch and enlarged the opening with a jig saw, leaving enough area to provide screw holes. Then went to a plastic shop and bought a piece of tan starboard and cut it to fit. I routed the top with a round over bit to be easy on the feet. Notched around the molding, drilled and counter sunk screws. In the starboard I placed a 4 inch round plastic screw plate that unscrews with a half turn to provide access to the diesel tank valve shut off should an emergency arise. slightly off center to provide a straight arm reach to the valve.
I would also go through the exercise of changing the impeller and assembling all the tools in one convenient location, so if the impeller stops, you know the drill. Shortly after getting my R27 I had a mechanic change the impeller. The gorilla so tightened the cap screws that I had to borrow a large air impact driver to free the bolts. Normal allen wrenches may not work (metric). I bought two metric allen socket 6 inches long and cut to proper length and now use a socket handle to work on the impeller. To get the belt off the pulleys use wooden tongue depressors to ease the belt off the pulley. A socket the proper size on the flywheel with a breaker bar will turn the engine to help belt removal/installation. A metal instrument will ding the pulley and down the road that ding will shred the belt. (compliments of the gorilla) I was alerted to the broken belt with the water flow sensor I had installed about a year ago, before the gorilla arrived.
Mike Risso posted a great message a while back on how to change the impeller, some great tips.
