Back Under Power

Engine Control Panel With Zero Hours

When we turned the key for the first time, there was a small sense of relief as we heard the click of the pre-glow and complete joy as the engine came to life. The temptation to immediately leave the dock was overwhelming but it was late in the afternoon and we needed to stick around for another day to tie up a few loose ends with the boat yard.

Kurt from JH Motors, the Yanmar dealer in Tromso came by to see the installation and to pick up the old Perkins. We still don’t know what was wrong with the engine but hopefully some of the parts will be able to be reused. It was nice to be able to give the Perkins to someone who had been very supportive of our project. We have been doing business with JH Motors who supplies several marine products, since we first arrived in Tromso and they always work hard to make sure that we get what we need. Kurt was instrumental in getting the new engine delivered quickly and loaned us a chain hoist when the one provided by the yard turned out to be substandard.

It took us eight days to install the Yanmar after it had been placed on the pilot house floor. There were no major surprises, just a lot of work. Before we left the boat yard on Friday, Frances was told that the head mechanic had said “she had done a perfect job and was quite impressed”.  It was nice that the yard realized that were were not just difficult customers but it was even more important to us that we had met our own deadline of getting the job done in two weeks. Thirteen days after towing Snow Dragon over to the boat yard with the dinghy, she left under her own power and we returned to our mooring on Hakoya.  

For more photos please click on Boat Yard Album. 

Taking Control

Thanks to some improvisation on our part, Snow Dragon’s repowering is on schedule.  We were ready for the Perkins to be removed from the engine room on Monday morning but by the end of business on Tuesday, the yard had yet to make any progress. It seemed they were more interested in doing the work that we had already done than moving the project forward. The head mechanic took all the measurements for removing the engine which we had already done. The next day two mechanics with a grinder came down to the boat to cut the T frame so that the track for the chain hoist would fit. They sheepishly retreated to their workshop when they realized that Frances had already done the job and had the hoists ready to lift the engine.

Frances cutting timber for the supports

With no indication from the yard that they were actually planning to move the project forward, we decided to do the job ourselves. After gathering scraps of timber to use as supports, we spent Tuesday evening lifting the Perkins out of the engine room and onto the pilothouse floor. On Wednesday morning, the yard did a double take when Frances told them that the Perkins was ready to be removed by crane. To our surprise the yard moved us over to the crane and lifted the Perkins out and replaced it with the Yanmar that afternoon.

Cranking on the chain hoist

The Perkins sitting on the pilot house floor

Their rough method of towing Snow Dragon over to the crane, nearly ramming Snow Dragon’s bow sprit into a large fish boat, was high stress. Luckily the lift went much more smoothly. We made it clear that they were not to damage Snow Dragon in any way when they switched out the engines. It took a bit of reminding but they did manage to use more care than usual. Then they towed us back, ramming Snow Dragon’s bow into the dock. We thanked them for the lift and for the “terrifying tow experience”.

Prepping the Perkins to be lifted out of the boat

The Yanmar coming into the boat

The yard seemed to finally understand that when we ask for something we expect it to happen within a finite period. Now when we order supplies, they are delivered the same day and our methods are no longer questioned. This weekend we will finish the new engine bed and lower the Yanmar into the engine room.

Moving Forward

View of the boat yard from our mooring at Hakoya

What makes engine replacement a daunting task is that boats are built around their engine. In Snow Dragon’s case, it’s a Perkins 4-236 which is no longer made. Though parts are still widely available, rebuilding the engine at Norwegian wages would cost more than half a new one and would leave us with a twelve year old engine.

After talking to Perkins, we began to think about the M92b, the modern version of our engine. The placement on the engine bed would be the same but the M92b is slightly taller and wider. Parts of the engine could be dismantled and reassembled once it was in place but it was still was a questionable fit.

With our mind bouncing back and forth between new Perkins and a rebuild, we called Trans Atlantic Diesel, the supplier of Snow Dragon’s engine. Their gut feeling was that we should go for a rebuild instead of the new Perkins on the grounds that the 4-236 was made for many years and parts were ready available. The M92b has not been around for that long, making parts more difficult to obtain. It was also questionable how much longer the M92b would be made.  

Trans Atlantic’s advice was sensible and we would have gone with it except for one problem, we hate the 4-236. It’s noisy, not fuel efficient and has a high level of vibration that would not be tolerated in a modern engine just to name a few of its less appealing qualities. Yes, it’s an engine that any competent mechanic could repair but it has never been a pleasure to use. 

Repowering is something that can not be taken lightly. It requires changes to the engine bed, propeller and placement of fuel lines. Tromso does have ship yard facilities but not the level of welding that would make us willing to have extensive changes made.

After looking at several engines the Yanmar 4JH4 quickly became the obvious choice. Frances originally wanted to put in a Yanmar instead of a Perkins but at the time turbo chargers were still not proven. The 4JH4 is physically smaller which will make access easier and unlike the Perkins, parts are standard world wide.

The new engine will be delivered tomorrow and Snow Dragon is already sitting at the yard’s dock, waiting. We towed her over ourselves by lashing the dinghy with the outboard to Snow Dragon’s side. Frances had already disassembled the Perkins to make it easier to remove before we left our mooring at Hakoya. We spent the weekend in our new location, removing some of Snow Dragon’s interior and her day tank to gain access for engine removal and replacement. 

View into engine room where stairs used to be

Ideally by the end of the week, the Perkins will have been removed and the Yanmar will be sitting on the pilothouse floor waiting to go into the engine room. Between engines, we will repaint the area underneath where the engine sits and get the new engine bed bolted on.