The past couple of days I've been running about collecting material for Dove's new motor. First stop, local bolt stockist, 6 inch by 5/8ths whitworth bolts and some 1/2inch whitworth studding. Next stop, Brinklow to see Steve Priest. He has acquired some diamond pattern checker plate, from some place across the lumpy water and kindly offered some to me....at price I might say.On the way back to the boats I dropped in at Sykes timber for lump of Oak 4inch square by about 10 foot, this was to make the engine bearers.
Now, me being what I am, an old fashioned stick in the mud when it comes to engineering. I've put a solid shaft and flanged couplings in Dove, as I did with Achilles. This means there is no flexibility any where in the drive chain and everything has to line up. So, making the engine bearers is a right faff, having to plane and linnish the Oak to quite a fine tolerance. This took up most of the day, with the engine on chain blocks going up and down like a whores drawers and me in and out of the engine ole like.......well it must have been twenty times. It was a bit like scraping white metal bearings but in wood, mind you, not many people scrape white metal bearings anymore, do they. Anyway all done and dusted, prop shaft in and line up.
Just got to make some holding down bolts now, to keep the engine in place on the Oak and then we can give it a whirl.
2 comments:
How long is your shaft and don't you get movment in the hull between the engine and the stern gland,or is the length/flexability of the shaft sufficent to absorb that?
Hope that makes sense
The intermediate prop shaft is 7 feet long with a plumber block half way. At this point the hull is quite rigid due to the shape of the swim also the full bulkhead at the front of the engine ole. If you refer to the photo's on the restoration http://picasaweb.google.com/fmcdove/Restoration#5144945688702703298
it should make it clearer.
Yes it does make sense.
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