AT THE moment our illustrious editor Thomas and colleague Jan are somewhat unhappy bunnies, being nearly a thousand quid poorer for something that was mostly left to be resorted.
Let me tell you the tale. The narrowboat Bounty, had developed a shake, so we took it round to the boatyard at Sawley Marina, with the engineer then quickly discovering broken engine mountings, so all four were replaced, but for some reason with harder mountings.
Still continued
But the shake alas still continued, demonstrated by small whirlpools along the length of the hull while travelling through the water.
We used the boat for a while after being told it could settle down, having had the nuts tightened, but alas, it did not settle down, but continued shaking.
So, as by this time it was due for a re-blacking, and Jan in her wisdom had decreed that dear Thomas was now past it, it was decided to let the boatyard black the hull and sort the stern assembly out and at the same time fit a new Volvo seal, as this had done its 12 years.
But it proved a big problem. First of all the boatyard people told us they found water behind the paint and it needed grit/sand blasting to get it down to bare metal, so they blacked over the area they had cleaned off, and left it for the future.
The stern gear
And so to the stern gear. Well let me give you the boatyard's view:
'... Basically, if you remember, we didn't replace the inside seal because the shaft was worn. The plan was to replace the seal, which is why one was purchased, but when we discovered the shaft was worn it was decided to save the expensive new seal until the shaft was replaced. Knowing that you have more work on the hull to sort out meant that we could just put the existing seal back on for now. The age of the existing seal and the worn shaft would cause it to drip, but it will be fine until you get the hull sorted and shaft replaced.'
Can you understand that? We instructed them to sort out the stern gear and replace the seal. As to the part of the shaft that was worn, it is standard engineering practice to either turn a shaft around or adjust it so the worn part is clear of the bearing. Why leave it until later when it would have to be taken out of the water again at added expense?
This came to nearly £1,000 but did include work on the stern assembly bearing and included the boat being taken out of the water.
In fairness, we were told 'If you're down at the marina next week for your usual Tuesday visit, would you like to call in to see Steve, the engineer who worked on your stern gear?' But we had had enough.
Not necessary
Anyway we took the boat down to the boys at the dry dock at Trent Lock who told us they could get the hull down to bare metal, but after starting told it was not necessary as no water was found, and it was a pity to take off the Comastic that had built up over the years giving good protection, so carried on and blacked it.
An engineer came in and fitted the Volvo gland and sorted out the stern assembly, and by an adjustment to the shaft made sure the worn part was clear of the bearing, so it did not need replacing. He then made sure it was all properly lined up.
However, though much better the boat still had a 'tremble', which we put down to the hard mountings that had replaced the former softer ones, so all is improved, but alas not yet solved...
The reason
Jan believes that the problem at the Sawley boatyard is that being part of the Canaltime set-up the engineers are busy with both its boats and being called out to breakdowns.
Seeing only two Canaltime boats moored on the jetties last week, perhaps in the very near future the boatyard will be glad of more local work—always providing the company and its boatyard are still there.