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JOSEPH SOARS 50TH BIRTHDAY RE-FIT continued

I decided on the Complete Survey specification to achieve the very best results and I began with Joseph Soars lift-out in October, transferred to her winter shed accommodation in Coleraine and then preparation for removal of both Gardner engines. I designed a pair of Engine Transport and Work Cradles to facilitate lifting by forklift, ease of transport and as an accessible platform on which to work on the engines. Lifting out the engines proved remarkably straightforward, even though the engine room coach roof panel was two inches shorter than the length of the engines! We used a small 35 ton mobile crane for the lift, which ensured a very stable and secure lifting platform and had both engines out without incident and on their cradles in a couple of hours.

Rebuild takes shape, machined blocks, piston rings etc. Engine crankshaft back from the marine shop

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This first article features work on the Gardner engines. Under RNLI Planned Maintenance Schedules, a Partial Survey would be carried out every four years on Joseph Soar, which for the engines would involve removing the cylinder heads for overhaul - cleaning any carbon off the head valves as a result of cool running, a light re-grind of the seats on completion, together with checking cylinder bores for wear or scoring and all engine tolerances. Injectors were tested and all pumps were stripped and checked for wear and all auxiliary drives were checked, especially the hydraulic oil pump/generator couplings. A Complete Survey every eight years involved removing the engines for complete strip-down and rebuild. Taking out the engines also facilitated removal of the sealed aluminium floor plates, allowing access to the main engine coolers/heat exchangers and to the inner surfaces of the wooden hull.

The cradles were designed to allow both Gardner engines to be transported side-by-side on my own covered 8ft X 5ft trailer. Although at approximately 1 tons each, they took carrying capacity towards the maximum legal limit, but towed effortlessly behind my trusty Land Rover the 300 or so miles, to a workshop at Cork Dockyard and to Gardner engineer Mr. Mason. Mr Trevor Mason has worked on Gardner engines for over 40 years, firstly with Gardner Main Agent Atkinson and then Gardner until the mid eighties. He maintains Gardner engines in South America, South Africa and the Middle East, maintained the Gardner engine on the late Asgard II and has recently rebuilt a Gardner engine for the A. K. AIlen. We dismantled and surveyed the engines every single component part, every single nut, bolt, washer, gasket, bearing, shaft, piston, ring, sprocket, rod, gear, and casing. It iwas incredible that every principal component of both engines were in exceptional condition and still within the manufacturers tolerances after fifty years of use and that includes her original pistons > Re-assembling Gardner 2UC gearbox
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The crankshaft re-installed

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