jack up tranny/rear of engine for oil drain line

I got a drain hose kit from SKIDIM.  Because the bottom of the oil pan where the drain plug is is so close to the hull, the only way to get the fitting in is to lift the rear of the engine.

I replaced my tranny in my old boat but I don't recall how I lifted/supported it when I did it.  So a couple of questions:

1. Do I need to jack it up from the bottom of the bell housing where the tranny bolts on?  Or can I from the bottom of the tranny housing (or since it is aluminum I'll torque it if I do it anywhere other than the bell housing)?

2. While I will realign the prop shaft when I'm done, I'm thinking that if I support the engine/tranny and remove these two bolts from the tranny mounting blocks, I should then be able to jack the engine/tranny up (I don't have anything to lift it with).  I don't recall if there are any pins in these blocks, or if they are just supported by the two bolts (I'm assuming if I pull the top and bottom bolts out on both sides (after putting a jack underneath), it will jack up with no problem:

3.  Do I need to loosen these engine mount bolts so it will pivot when I raise the rear of the engine/tranny?

Thanks in advance.  It's been about five years since I replaced the tranny so don't recall how these blocks come off.  If this works, then there's a good chance my prop/tranny will be very close if not spot on like it is now.

Thanks,

Gordon 

I remember now how I did it when I replaced the tranny.  I bought a scissors jack from Harbor Freight that I could just get under the bell housing.  Since I don't have a hoist, I'll do it that way again.

Thanks for the points on loosing the front pinch bolts (I figured I'd need to do that).  Good idea on just pulling the bolts from the cradle.  Much easier!

Fingers crossed it goes smoothly this evening.  :)

I don't recall exactly how I got the scissors jack under, but I think it was at an angle and I put wood in as soon as I got it up.

Are you saying that I can jack up the exhaust manifold on only one side and it goes up okay?  Was trying to get as close to center at the flywheel housing as I can.

Just have the front pinch bolts loose so it pivots easily on them.

PCM's are lightweights compared to a Borg Warner