It's in!

Well, finally got my act together and put the engine in. It was delayed a bit by the need to line bore the shaft log. I had long been suspicious that the cutless bearing at the aft end was not aligned with the shaft, judging by the various damage marks on various bits. I was also disappointed by the fact that the forward end was not round. The supplier of my new cutless bearings suggested I line bore the shaft log to ensure a proper fit and I think it was good advice. I was at school camp with my son Will when the guy turned up to do the job, but he sent me some photos - along with the bill! The aft OD for the bearing is 2", the forward one is 1.75". He also lined up the hole in the aft engine bulkhead and that will help us in aligning the engine.

Putting the engine in place was pretty straightforward, although I had to cut a hole in the roof of the shed/tent, as the hiab that I had to put the engine in was much bigger than the one we used to take the old Perkins out. I have had the exhaust riser modified to fit, however I need to cut the modified engine beds down a bit as I managed to make them too high... hem hem! We will be able to use a chain block to lift the engine out of the way, I have a 3.5m length of RSJ that will fit across the cockpit. Hopefully more soon, maybe not much this week as Will has 3 games of cricket for his school and we will be going along on Thursday to see New Zealand play Australia.