Oh Dear!

Just when we though this lift out was going well we have found something which will potentially put us back a whole week. Just one little part has ruined the plan.

Liam has brought the lower shaft casing back to Sheffield with him to change the shaft seals in the warmth and comfort of the garage at work. Today whilst tackling the job he has found a rather large crack in one of the needle bearings. A quick phone around has found that no one has one in stock so we will have to wait for one to be delivered which won’t be until early next week.

What does this mean? Well it means that Naughty-Cal will be having an extra week chocked ashore whilst the part is delivered, fitted to the shaft and then taken to the boat for refitting. Until this part arrives the boat is quite literally grounded. On the plus side this means we have an extra weekend of fettling so we can make sure that she looks extra special when she is finally refloated.

If the shaft can be fixed in the early part of next week we might take a trip over one evening and finish the job of after work. Luckily where we are parked on the hardstanding is under flood lights so we can see the task in hand. The sad thing is it is quite literally an hours work which will be holding us up. All we need to do is fit the shaft, fit the anode, fit the props then refill with oil.

At least we have found this fault now and not at a later date when the damage caused could have been very extensive, possibly trashing the whole lower gear housing. This has highlighted yet again the importance of a regular maintenance routine and regular inspection of crucial pieces of equipment.