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....