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An Engine Disaster & A Nervous Wait! Part 3

Now we were in a better place to remove the engine from the boat, Richard completed the process of stripping all peripheral components off the engine.


Next he prised the wood panelling from the ceiling - none of it came off cleanly.  It will require completely replacing, but that isn't a priority for a while.


Luckily, all the bolts holding the engine hole hatch down came undone with no sagas!



Almost ready for hoisting through the cabin roof


Tied securely with ratchet straps ready for lifting


And there she goes, slowly and gently with the 'welded' in exhaust included!  Something else that Richard will have to put right at some point!



Hatch and exhaust on the ground out of the way, attention now went to hoisting the engine out 


The engine also came out of the hole without any argument and was soon safely resting on a pallet, to be ratcheted down tightly


Quite a snug fit! Weighing in at just under half a tonne apparently, I was concerned that our little van may groan under the strain!  Richard set off early the next day to Walsh Engineering (Gardner specialists) in Manchester.
As soon as the engine was unloaded at the other end, the engineers undid the conrod on cylinder 1, which was the suspect end of the engine.  The shells were fine, they rotated the crank and sure enough, there was a thin crack on the crank.  Richard asked them what might have caused this, whether towing a butty was too much, working her too hard, to which they replied that it was 'just one of those things' ~ a flaw in the casting perhaps.  Remembering that this engine was manufactured before ultrasound and xrays were common practice!  We were just unlucky!


Moored in the middle of the basin (the 2 boats on the right of the picture) ~ as late comers to the party!


Meanwhile, as the engine is being rebuilt in Manchester, Richard takes the opportunity to paint the engine room walls grey and the engine hole itself.  Brightens it up in the engine room as it was quite dark in raddle red!

Hopefully, soon our beloved boat will be complete again and we can get back out on the cut selling coal and getting back to normal!   Ooh and there's just the small matter of the bill....



2 comments:

  1. When I fitted our boat I put a split coupling in the exhaust just below the roof. Also I lined the hatch and the rest of the engine room as separate items with a cover over the joint. That way the hatch and its bit of ceiling can be lifted out together, just remove the 4 lengths of trim. Good luck with the engine, I hope you soon have it back in the boat.

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  2. Thanks for that sounds like a great plan seeing as what has had to happen and the destruction! Should be on the move after the weekend. x

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