semi diesels

[Silkie]

Not sure why (unless it's related to the length of time since my last sailing fix) but I've recently gone a bit potty about these very slow revving engines, max power at 3-400 revs.

Maybe it's the palaver involved in starting them (first find your matches)

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GSlpxmlWkV0[/youtube]

or the tricks they can do (watch the flywheel)

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1H6XOSkAuFI[/youtube]

or just the glorious noise (some fine boat handling in this - the handle he's winding controls the pitch of the prop)

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jBOJ779LtBM[/youtube]

or the element of danger (I was waiting for this to expode and kill or maim all those within range - first time it had been started in 20 years but the crankcase had been over-filled and it was burning oil.)

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AG1MnXkHhlM[/youtube]

[Telo]

I have never started one of these things but I've seen it done in the 60s when I vaguely knew a bloke called John Gray who came from around Kentallen way as I recall. He was a well known character with a climb named after him on Gearr Aonach (presume he did the first ascent, can't remember, all my old climbing guidebooks are in the attic, or somewhere).

Anyway, he bought an old Danish fishing boat (100 tons? ....does that make sense?) which he renamed he "Eala Dubh", the Black Swan. It had a single cylinder diesel engine, which I think was manufactured in 1906, and which would have been about the same time as the boat was built. He used it as a coastal trader taking bulky or heavy supplies out to the islands, hay, cement, coal, timber, building materials and suchlike. The engine was so slow, that with a reasonable breeze from abaft the beam, the old canvas sails were more effective, or so it was said.

Starting the engine was a bit of a palaver; there was an integral paraffin blowlamp that was attached to, and pointed at, the engine casing. This had to get going to heat up the whole clamjamfery, and then, at the critical moment, no idea what constituted it, the Man Who Knew would attempt spin the flywheel whereupon the thing was meant to cough into life, which it sometimes did. It wasn't the sort of engine that you'd just switch on while you dropped the sails at the harbour entrance.

Sadly, I never had the chance to sail on her, and I believe that the "Eala Dubh" departed this world in true Viking style.

Incidentally, I see that Aja reckons you're losing the place a bit....

[sahona]

Excellent, dave.
I assume that's the same type that the-three-men-in-a-boat-in-Ireland couldn't start.
Jim, I had a Panther600 as well - no sidecar though, terrible solo m/cycle! My mate had a Jawa 2-stroke which had an intermittant habit of starting in reverse, so you had to be careful with the first clutch action. He managed to get it up to 3rd gear backwards once.

[Silkie]

So the old Yam outboard is getting to you? Quite right, smelly thing.

Wash your mouth out with soap young Jim. I won't hear a word against The Venerable Yamaha.

[Silkie]

Among others I had an MZ TS250 sport which looked remarkably like this one although mine was slightly more cherished.

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L40ZLNpEiD8[/youtube]

[Nick]

.
I had one of these beasts as well - found the noise in the video very nostalgic.

[Aja]

I played on the beach and up the Forestry Commission trails with one of these. Not devastatingly fast or anything but for 100cc it really had enough grunt.



Donald

[Aja]

Sorry - you were right it was the TS. Now you have got me going back to my biking days now.....

Ahhhh Honda CBs
[YouTube]<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u990av-dwmw&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u990av-dwmw&hl ... 1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>[/YouTube]

or whatever...

Donald

[Rowana]

Fred Drift !

How did we get to bikes?

Anyway, if you want a REAL marine engine, here's one -
110 rpm full chat, 7000 HP from 6 cylinders. No clutch or gearbox, so when you wanted to go astern, the whole engine went into reverse. You get an idea of the size by the 3 guys on the bottom, middle & top plates.




As fitted here -



I sailed on this ship for over a year. 16,000 tons of oceanic splendour !

Not sure how you do the video thing, but have a look at this. It's in the diesel museum in Copenhagen, and was the largest diesel engine in the world for about 20 years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RBeI7YN ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Silkie]

I feel a FAQ coming on. Stand by.

[Silkie]

FAQ

[Rowana]

Thanks Silkie,

I'll see if I can get this to work -

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jXHvY-zY9hA[/youtube]

Edit - By jove, I think I dun it

And some days we never learn a thing

[ash]

Continuing on the theme of marine engines and YouTube.

I tried to find a video which would portray my horror on looking down into the engine room of my first ship and seeing a 4 legged Opposed Piston Doxford Engine working.

As a cadet, I had to open the test cocks, which were horizontal, before the 2nd engineer turned her over on air. The 2nd had a nasty habit of opening up the fuel control before I had time to close all the test cocks and so cause a jets of flame to blast out at waist height.

This isn't exactly as I remember, I thought that the top piston was more exposed, but the closest that I could find.

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WKWOi0C-sak[/youtube]

Ash

[Gordonmc]

But mainly I had the GT380 Suzuki and a Matchless G9 for work, an RD250 for racing and a Triumph T110 chopper with 18" overstock forks.Ahem.

I took my test on a G9... it drank more redx than petrol but still got me around.
Before you point out that the G9 was a 350cc single and the limit for a provisional at the time was 250cc: I told the examiner the bike had been re-engined. He didn't know any better.
I got shot of the G9 and went up to a G11, the 650 twin.
The problem with it was the head bolts were in holes in the cooling fins and the only way to get to them was to grind down a socket. I never managed to get them to the right torque.
The last time I blew a head gasket I shoved the thing into a hedge somewhere near Skegness and never went back for it.
I wonder if its still there?

[sahona]

Poor old Matchless. My best one was a G3Ls, again 350 and superbly balanced (for me anyway) but the valve seats were loose in the head and wouldn't stay "cut". I put in a 500twin engine with a magneto and advance/retard on the handlebars - didn't half make a difference once I'd figured out how to work it.