The weather continues to be very cold this winter in Aberdeenshire, and now we also have 20 cm of snow. Consequently, not so much work has been done on Bluster.
After much work with angle grinder, lump hammer, punches, spanners and pipe wrench , the engine bearers, and the bolts supporting them, have all been removed. The bolts will be replaced, but the bearers, and possibly also the backing plates, have enough steel left to be cleaned up and galvanized.
The propeller shaft thrust bearing and attached constant velocity joint has also been removed together with its supporting metalwork, This was partly galvanized steel and partly aluminium alloy so was easier to remove. The thrust bearing has been chipped and painted ready to put back.
The only other thing removed from the engine bilge was half a bucket rust flakes. I am determined that when it all goes back in it will not get so corroded and will be easier to remove if or when that is again needed. However, to achieve this I will have to locate and stop the leaks into this bilge, probably from the upper aft ends of one or both of the keel boxes.
A neat little thrust / CV unit. A124 has an ‘aqua drive’ which takes up significantly more space.
Keeping the engine compartment free of water is definitely a good target. The damp quickly attacked not only the bearers etc but the engine mount steel and so on. There are so many places from where water can find its way. The keel boxes are prime candidates but the cockpit floor and even ingress in the aft cabin running past the rear cockpit bulkhead.
But so much easier to sort with everything removed.