This particular story has, I think, not got a mention in the blog until now, but actually dates back quite a few months. When we were looking for options to get "Flamingo's" engine rebuilt last year, a few things quickly became apparent.
This shot gives only a hint as to how many the seller actually has!
Firstly there are not actually that many engineers specialising in this kind of work who can take it on at anything approaching short notice. Nobody we initially approached could contemplate doing it before the winter, and one of the people who we were strongly recommended could not even commit to doing it any time in 2017, let alone 2016. With quite a few of the engineers they do not have canal-side premises, adding complexities about where an engine can be craned out, how you transport it to the engineer and (often the biggest consideration) what is the situation for the engine-less boat for the complete duration of the rebuild, (the danger is you end up paying for an additional mooring as well as home mooring for many months for a boat you can't even use).
3:1 reduction box yet to be be fitted.
Secondly all agreed that sourcing genuine parts for Lister HA series engines (which were built in the years 1958 to 1970) was not becoming any easier. It could take quite a bit of time to get all you needed. In many cases "copy" Indian produced parts are more readily available, but we were shown positive evidence that having "Lister" stamped on the packaging, or even coming from an authorised Lister dealer did not guarantee parts of the quality of the originals.
Engine to be modified to add fuel lift pump.
The engines in both boats were both Lister HAs - the two cylinder HA2 in "Flamingo", and the equivalent three cylinder HA3 in "Sickle". With identical geometry other than the extra length from the extra cylinder, either should be interchangeable, the engine rooms both being the same size. We started to wonder whether finding a running engine to buy might address a few issues, and particularly it should be possible to do an engine swap on a boat and get it back in service far more quickly than many of the engine rebuilds we were starting to hear details of.
When we arranged to have "Flamingo's" engine rebuilt at Stretton, the actual rebuild work would be a "spare time" activity by Dave, as well as his usual day job, so it was reasonable to expect it might take a while. A third engine would allow us to put a working engine in a boat that needed its engine rebuilt, and then allow for that engine in turn to be rebuilt without a strict deadline, so it was eventually possible to then put it in the other boat, finally releasing that engine for work to be done at whatever rate was possible. This anyway was the theory, so in parallel with taking "Flamingo" to Stretton we tried to source a third engine.
Little sign of any significant use.
In practice we saw a number of "H" series Lister engines, not just HAs, but also the up-rated HB model, (visually identical, but faster running with more power) and also the later HR model (again not very different visually, but with bigger pistons and bores, giving yet higher power). Some we didn't actually see, being sent photos and videos, but most we looked at, which took a fair amount of travel and time. Several proved unsuitable - one proved to be not quite in the condition the vendor hoped, (which he was very honest about, once he found out), others came without gearbox, and it seemed sensible if we were going to have a spare engine that it also included a spare gearbox.
Hard to assess a reduction box, but looks in good order.
Eventually we located an engine that seemed promising, although don't be surprised it was also significantly the most expensive! It was a 1961 HA2 originally an industrial unit coupled to a standby generator - these can do very few hours over the decades, if seldom or never needed for emergency power, and only 300 hours was claimed for this engine. It had been marinised to a variable speed engine, and mated to a Blackstone gearbox that appeared to be in very good order. However the engine required some things sorting out that the vendor was aware of, and also it needed to be modified to fit a fuel lift pump, fit a different reduction gear and to add a suitable alternator with appropriate pulleys and belts - this would take 2 or 3 weeks, but should not impact timetable to put it in "Flamingo". After a day or two's pause for contemplation a deal was struck, which included delivery of the prepared engine to Brinklow.
The plan, of course at that point was that this engine would go into "Flamingo", the boat with by far the most urgent need, thus releasing "Flamingo's" current HA2 for Dave to rebuild at a pace that suited him. The reality ended up being rather different!
Close up of some gearbox internals.
In practice Dave got on very quickly with the rebuild of "Flamingo's" own HA2, which, given the scale of the work required, happened far faster than we has assumed it might. In the meantime the vendor of the "spare" engine had some horrendous health problems which, unsurprisingly, stopped him completing the engine. Eventually Dave had the original engine ready to go back in, but work on the "spare" was halted - so it ended up being the original now reinstalled.
We were certainly not going to hassle the vendor, who we knew had far too much to think about than the "spare" engine, and, of course when we did finally talk to him, the conversation was to whether we still wanted it, and whether he could now complete it and deliver it in a sensible time-frame. We decided that "Sickle's" engine, although not at this stage anything like as bad as "Flamingo's" had been, could usefully also come out for full overhaul - this "spare" could replace it. Despite being only two thirds of the power, (because 2 cylinders would replace 3), it should work very well - "Sickle" is currently powered to be a tug, but seldom these days actually carries out tugging duties, and hence is not worked hard. The decision was aided by the fact "Sickle's" current HA3 only has a 2:1 ratio on its reduction gearbox, whereas this HA2 has 3:1. This is important, as the same propeller should work with either, thus avoiding the cost of a new propeller, and having to dock the boat to fit it.
So we agreed with Brinklow Boats a likely date for them swapping engines, and told our vendor he still had a deal if he could deliver by then - he was confident he could.
(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan) Retrospective Post For 20th to 22nd December 2016
Bottom locks at Hillmorton
It seems strange to think it is nearly 4 months since we delivered "Flamingo" to Stretton, but in fact a huge amount has been done in the period since. Whilst all other work done been carried out under the auspices of Brinklow Boat Services, the work of rebuilding the engine was undertaken by Dave as agreed with Brinklow to be done in his "spare" time, using their facilities, so we never really expected that work to be done as quickly as Dave actually managed to do it. It has been a great result for us, and we are grateful both to Dave for dedicating himself to the task, and to Simon at Brinklow for accommodating each new piece of ancillary work that has come up.
Between bottom twp pairs of locks at Hillmorton
Now however the current programme of works was complete, and there were finally no stoppages that would have prevented us getting back to base, other than a restriction that one particular railway bridge would need to be passed on a fixed time-slot in the hour between noon and 1:00 pm. We wanted the boat back to base before Christmas, and this week was our one opportunity to do it. Of course at this time of year the daylight hours are shortest, and we had no desire to navigate in the dark, so we allowed plenty of time for planned short cruising days, and dealing with any unexpected teething problems.
Moving between middle and top locks at Hillmorton
Knowing the time we would be allowed through at Cathiron Railway Bridge meant a morning departure was required from Stretton. We had the usual "faff" of needing to deliver a car to our eventual destination at the home mooring, then travelling to our start point in a second car, (which would need to retrieved when the canal trip was complete). This is slightly "exciting" because the "second" car is an elderly Ford Ka that used to belong to Cath's late mum, which we have kept going as a local run-about, but which isn't exactly ideal for longer journeys! Anyway it made sense to be on board the day before, ready to move off in the morning. Late tasks we had hoped to complete had still not happened though, such as reinstating the wiring to the horn - this would be done en route.
Braunston flight
In practice it was an uneventful trip, which is of course exactly what we were hoping for. We arrived early at the rail bridge, to ensure meeting the stated passage time, but I had barely got the boat to the tow-path bank when it was obvious that the workmen were moving a floating pontoon under the works, to leave a channel little wider than a narrow lock. We were waved through, and were quickly on our way again, already ahead of schedule.
Large woolwich "Aldgate" passed just below lock
The engine performed impeccably, although I had the odd moment where I forgot the speed-wheel now works in the opposite direction to what it previously had done. Winding clockwise used to wind the speed down, but do that now, and the engine is quickly racing. It's going to be ongoing fun, as it now works the reverse way to "Sickle's".
The first day had been cold, but nothing like as bad as had been forecast leading up to the trip. We stopped for the night near Clifton Wharf, just beyond Rugby.
"Pub" lock, Braunston
The following day was positively sunny, although I still needed a jacket most of the day. The engine continued to work well. As on the previous test run, we were achieving the same cruising speeds as we had in the past at a noticeably lower engine speed, making the whole experience more relaxed. More importantly, the boat was now stopping considerably better. It's still a very slow process compared to (say) "Sickle" or "Chalice", but hardly unexpected given the weight of this very big boat. Also very importantly, the engine is making very little smoke, other than a brief burst as you wind power on, (again not unexpected). In short it is looking very promising, though more boating will be needed to really get the measure of it. We stopped the second night at the top of Braunston locks, not wishing to go through our first big tunnel since all this work was done in the dark.
Frosty start to final day in tunnel pound at Braunston.
By contrast to yesterday, on the final day I ventured out in the morning with the dogs to find a heavy frost. Braunston tunnel had as clear a view straight through as I have ever seen, and, encouragingly, as I looked back as I was about to emerge, there was also still a clear view back the other way. Prior to the engine rebuild I can guarantee there would not have been.
In the Buckby flight of locks.
The final locks were those at Buckby, which were quite hard work in places due to excess water, but passed without problems. The final leg back to Weedon always seems to take longer than I expect, but we were still back in time to pack up in an organised way, drive up to Stretton to retrieve a car, and still be home in reasonable time.
It's great to be boating again in a boat that isn't a worry. It was certainly going to be the last trip of 2016, being by now only 3 days to Christmas.
Waiting for our final lock of 2016
Stretton Arm, Northern Oxford to Weedon, Grand Union Miles: 26.8, Locks: 16
The programme of works on Flamingo had proved to be quite
extensive.The engine had been
completely rebuilt from bottom up, with reground crank shaft and bearing
shells, and cylinder bores and pistons had been replaced.Additionally other components such as the
fuel injection pumps and injectors themselves had been checked and
reconditioned as required.Additionally
it had been found necessary to replace one of the gears in the reversing gear
box.
The engine feet had been repaired, and part of the engine
bed they stood on strengthened.
All the gear rodding and operating lever was completely
replaced by new, and the speed control modified.
Simon and Dave stand guard to stop me thrashing rebuilt
engine too much!
All the above was done at Brinklow Boat Services, but
additionally (and crucially) the propeller had been sent away to FAL Propeller
Services in Scotland to have major changes made to it's pitch - something we
hoped would considerably improve performance of Flamingo, and particularly help
with one of it's biggest issues - a failure to be able to stop it in a hurry,
however urgent the requirement was!
Additionally I had rewired all the 12 volt electrics
relating to do with anything connected to the engine, including starter motor,
alternator and battery bank.
Other than running the engine whilst tied up, all the
above was untested, and Simon and Dave at Brinklow both thought it sensible
that Flamingo was taken out for a decent trial run before Cath and I were
finally to take the boat away and back to it's home moorings.We were up at the boat, and readily agreed,
as we were all too aware of just how much had been changed, (and also, of
course, very keen to see how Flamingo now performed.
The boat yard is at the end of the Stretton Arm, once
part of the original route of the Northern Oxford canal, but for many years now
just an arm ending in a small basin.Progress is initially slow as you pick your way through the many moored
boats, or crawl under the very silted bridge that passes under the mainline
railway.Turning out of the arm past the
breasted fleet of Rose Narrowboats is also a challenge, and I seem to recall I
let one of the Brinklow team have the tiller at this point!
Simon at the tiller - Dave's watchful eye making sure
engine is as expected.
Only when out onto the straight part of the main line was
it possible to start to really assess performance, and the news was good.Flamingo was going along well, and the engine
speed required to achieve this with the modified propeller was now very
noticeably less than it had ever been in the past.Even more encouragingly, as you put the
engine into gear, it was becoming noticeably loaded at low PRM, but very
fortunately not over-loaded.We had
agonised on what to ask the prop dimensions to be changed to, and it had looked
like we could go as much as 25.25" x 22", (the latter 22" being
the pitch).This was a huge change,
which risked the engine being overloaded if the change was too big, so we had
actually asked FAL to go to 25.25" x 21".
Now beyond theory and calculation, we were actually
trialing our decision, and all agreed it was fine, but at the top end of what
was sensible.We would have been OK at
20", (1" less pitch), but almost certainly over-propped at
22".A good result then, given we
didn't want to have to pay to dock Flamingo yet again, and to send the
propeller on another expensive return trip to Scotland.
Next of course was stopping, and yes Flamingo now stops
very much better than it did.Make no
mistake, it is still a big heavy boat, with a big heavy cabin conversion,
equivalent to a working boat with maybe a third to a half of a full load on, so
it still takes quite a lot of power to finally bring it to a halt, (certainly
far more than our much lighter "Sickle" at only 40 feet long).However the improvement is considerable, and
hopefully we will now be able to enter locks at a more normal speed and still
manage to stop before the bow bashed the gates at the other end.
The original plan was just to go to the nearest winding
hole, the entrance to another disused stub of the original canal route, but it
was a nice day, and all agreed to do the considerably longer journey up to the
entrance to Brinklow Marina, (which despite the name is a fair trip from
Brinklow Boat Services).Again I somehow
managed to not be at the tiller as we did the turn, but it is always
interesting to see how well old hands at the game manage a boat that is
unfamiliar to them.
All declared themselves satisfied, the engine putting in
a faultless performance, and producing remarkably little smoke, given that the
new pistons, rings and bores will need some time to fully bed in.Dave Ross seems to have done an excellent job
on it.The new gear mechanism, (based on
that in Dave's own boat), also worked without fault.The one thing we agreed they shoulddo before we collected the boat, was to try
to relocate the speed wheel mechanism back slightly, to make the wheel more
accessible to the steerer.It had always
been tucked a bit too far forward, and moving things back, if only by an inch
or two, would make it easier to operate.
