New Lifeboat Hull Conversion Building

[mtnman]

Judging from the picture yours likely had the one cylinder diesel engine. They had an air starter. There was a hand operated air pump. You pumped up the air starter air tank, then hit the valve to the starter. It would turn over about twice. If it didn't start you did it all over again. HARD work. But if you were floating in the Pacific after your ship was sunk it was better than swimming!
Once again, Nice boat!

[bkueber]

Cool, thanks for the history mtnman! I started tearing down the engine to re-bearing it and ran across a little pitting in the cylinder wall , so I guess I will be doing a little cylinder work.

[SailorHarry]

Judging from the picture yours likely had the one cylinder smelly long-chain hydrocarbon engine. They had an air starter. There was a hand operated air pump. You pumped up the air starter air tank, then hit the valve to the starter. It would turn over about twice. If it didn't start you did it all over again. HARD work. But if you were floating in the Pacific after your ship was sunk it was better than swimming!
Once again, Nice boat!

Generally correct except that they are normally hydraulic instead of pneumatic. You pump up the oil reservoir to a few thousand PSI and then you'd better have some ether because it works about as well as you describe. Some newer boats have electric starters.

[SailorHarry]

Cool, thanks for the history mtnman! I started tearing down the engine to re-bearing it and ran across a little pitting in the cylinder wall , so I guess I will be doing a little cylinder work.

Doesn't look too bad from here. Are you going to bore it out? I've helped repair slide valve seats with JB Weld and imagine it would work on cylinder bores as well. Treat the rust with acid, fill the pits with a light smear of JB Weld, clean up with emery cloth and lap it smooth...or hone in the case of a cylinder. Just presenting an alternative; some people might not trust JB Weld but it has it's uses.

[farmerden]

Can't tell from the photo how deep the pitting is but you're not building a F1 race engine.These engines are pretty forgiving so maybe a light honing will fix it Den

[bkueber]

Got the hull back from the sandblaster


as far as the cylinder, put new rings in, and honed the bore, piston seems to slide smoothly, so I am going to let it be.

[mtnman]

Looks great! If it were mine I'd treat the rust in the keel with some OSPHO before painting. OSPHO is an acid the penetrates the rust and changes it from iron oxide to iron phosphate. You can get it at any big paint store.

[bkueber]

Looks great! If it were mine I'd treat the rust in the keel with some OSPHO before painting. OSPHO is an acid the penetrates the rust and changes it from iron oxide to iron phosphate. You can get it at any big paint store.

Kinda looks like rust, but it is actually some gunky sealer the po had put down. It has scince been scraped off.

[DetroiTug]

Just out of curiosity, how much did they charge to do the sandblasting?

Looks great by the way. As you probably know, the sooner it's painted, the better. I'm going to use Interprime 820 primer, from web research, it is about the best thing available for bare steel. Self sealing, microplates, excellent adhesion.

-Ron

[bkueber]

Just out of curiosity, how much did they charge to do the sandblasting?

Looks great by the way. As you probably know, the sooner it's painted, the better. I'm going to use Interprime 820 primer, from web research, it is about the best thing available for bare steel. Self sealing, microplates, excellent adhesion.

-Ron

Ron, they only charged 175 I couldn't belive it when I went to pick it up