It was up early and first checking the batteries, they were OK. Al prepared Derwent6 for saving power mode, just in case things didn't go well with the belt problem..
Del set to work on taking the covers of the engine, and one belt was missing completely, while the generator belt was half hanging off and ripped on one edge..
It turned out the domestic belt was completely shredded and lying in the bottom of the engine bay.
and the jockey pulley had been damaged. This should be completely smooth..
So the first thing was to release the tension on the generator belt and inspect the damage. All was plain to see when the belts were removed. The crankshaft pulley was almost hanging off and held on by the belts. On further inspection the large nut holding it on was finger tight, so it was a call to Beta the engine manufacturer. They seemed very apologetic and told us to remover the pulley and take some pictures. The pulley had to be split by three 8m allen bolts and the nut could be got to easily.
On removing this you could see what damage had been done.
The nut had come loose and then the pulley had been moving on its shaft and its location keyway had been damaged..
It had also wrecked the keyway and caused very slight damage to the crankshaft slot for the keyway to fit in.
Photos were sent on to Beta for their inspection on to what had gone wrong and we were told we would have to fit a modified kit at a cost of £450.00 plus. We were then told the good news that the pulley had to be made, as all boats are different, and we wouldn't be able to get it till Friday.
So here we were in the middle of nowhere with no engine to charge our batteries. The good thing was we had heat with the wood we had on the roof and two bags of coal. So we had to save power, using everything we had by battery and in the evening lighting candles, very Christmassy!!
If you don't do this you will in the end lose your water pump and your toilet, and you need to drink and poo..
It was an early night for us as it had been a stressful day..
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