Boat Fixed

I decided to have a go at fixing the prop shaft coupling myself. With a little help from folks at the Canalworld Discussion Forum I found out what needed doing. I dug out my trusty torque wrench and set about undoing all the bolts that held the propshaft in the coupling. With a little persuasion the collet came out of the coupling and I could then slide the shaft back in with it and tighten everything up again. Job done. About an hour's work.

The coupling is the big round thing at the bottom of the picture. The eight bolts at the top end hold the shaft in. It's not very accessible because of the engine's soundproof cocoon but for once the cocoon made life easier because it was comfortable to lie on top of while I worked.

While I was at the boat I thought I'd check under the bed as there has been an unexplained coolant leak from the engine for the last couple of weeks. The puddle under the calorifier said it all. Looks like the boat's still not going anywhere until I've found some PTFE tape and clamps and remade one of the joints where the engine cooling system joins the calorifier.

Boat Broken

Syncopation's propellor shaft has come adrift from the flexible coupling that connects it to the gear box. It was wrenched out in an accident. I was moving Syncopation back to the boat yard from our mooring, a journey of about 50 yards, to fill up the water tank. What I didn't know was that there was an old mooring rope lying under the water and it got wrapped around the propellor as I moved the boat forward. Normally this is not a problem as the rope can at worst stop the propeller. In this case the rope was still tied to the bank. As we moved forward , the boat was brought to an abrupt halt by the rope tangled around the propellor. 20 tons of boat caused the shaft to be pulled out of its mounting on the Centaflex coupling until it hit the rudder. Fortunately the boat was moving slowly so no more damage was done and the shaft was not pulled right out of the boat, which would have sunk Syncopation quite quickly.

On a brighter note, the shoe cupboard is fixed in the engine room now, so I won't have to move it every time I want to lift the deck boards.

Party in the Paddock

They're holding the third Party in the Paddock in the village and we can hear it all over the village. As you can see, nobody is very far away.


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I listened to Roger Daltry singing Pinball Wizard as I walked the dog.