Not exactly warp speed but a lot closer than we were a few weeks ago. Having managed to have all the parts custom made for the injector assemblies which were leaking faster than the Whitehouse, I managed to get them back together and I'll be damned if they don't fit like a glove and look pretty spiffy to boot. Let's just hope they do the job of keeping the water in the water jacket and out of my bilge.

Tis a thing of beauty... The injectors all sit nestled in a lovingly crafted 316 Stainless Steel retaining ring holding in 2 x 5mm neoprene grommets with high temperature silicone sealer between them, topped with the piece de resistance, a laser cut 316 Stainless Steel compression washer. Told you they looked pretty spiffy right?

After reinstating the oil reservoir which sits between the 2 cylinders and returning the lube oil back, reconnecting the airlines and oil transfer pipes it was ready to start. I have included a little helmet cam video for your delectation. The first start didn't go as planned as an airline was still loose, but it shows you the preamble to a start on an old engine.

For those with raging insomnia or who wish to bring an awkward dinner party to an end, I would encourage you to watch the whole thing. No need to thank me...

Other jobs which have been undertaken recently are more tidying up of the foc'sle and derusting/treating which is going ok. One of the big questions which needed answering was whether grit blasting would remove the black oil residue on the interior of the hull. A quick visit to a well known machine stockist purchased a relatively cheap spot blaster, which could be powered by the petrol compressor. I already had an air powered needle gun which I hoped would achieve similar results without the mess. Results are below:

Bear in mind that an angle grinder with a wire brush on it couldn't get rid of the coating so the grit blaster is pretty effective. This was a very short test, probably less than 20 seconds on each area to see the effects. Next, the needle gun...

Not so great. It seems to move the gunk around rather than get rid of it. That is decision made for the cleaning process then. The needle gun will be used on the bilge to clean off the scale rust but ultimately the entire inside will need shot blasting. I will either use the shot blaster at the dry dock or hire in a trailer compressor and shot blaster depending on time and whether they have availability on their machine. Whatever happens, it'll be a fun job. Oh no wait...

Despite the Skipper's cabin having been resigned to the "I'll do that later pile", a conversation with my Beloved made me rethink leaving it all until later. The rationale was that if I stripped it now, not only would it give us more room in the back cabin, but would allow me to prepare it by shot blasting if necessary. It would also mean that when we come to have the place spray foamed, we could get everything done in one hit, which will be cheaper. Having started to run out of jobs I can sensibly do, this was a pretty easy win in terms of how to do it so have started to process of ripping out the rear cabin.

I already had a sneaking suspicion that the inflow of water into the rear cabin (see previous blog post) had led to serious corrosion of the cabin floor. There will be plenty of replating and reinforcing required, but hopefully being the floor it will be easier welding on the flat. For those non- weldy types, gravity holds the weld in place as it cools rather than droops and drips. I am no pro at welding and the positional stuff (vertical, overhead etc) is actually a real skill and black art, which I have not yet managed to master in any way shape or form. Fortunately with a local steel supplier, plasma cutter and welder at hand (with new fast freeze rods for any positional work) I am pretty well placed to cope with the floor welding. It's going to be hard work and no doubt I will have to put my woggle on and boy scout the hell out of it again.

Masts off soon I hope...