Restoration Blog

Project 'DNF' - No.5 Refit

When you find yourself cleaning the fire extinguishers and washing the decks, it's probably a sign that there is little left to do!

We only had the morning to play with, so the time was well spent on what could best be described as pointless positioning and repositioning of lumps of stuff.  The real purpose was to exercise the systems over a sufficiently long period for the vessel to reach a stable operating temperature.

The hatches were deployed in 'running' mode and an operator amused themselves lifting and placing the loads and at the same time practicing and learning the controls, whilst temperature measurements were made.

The ambient was 23C today.  The outlet air from the radiator peaked at 54C.  The hydraulic oil normally has the water to cool it, but that reached 42C.  So, we're happy that everything is running well within normal operating limits.  Running time was about 1.5 hours.

A couple of other observations:  Firstly, the air blast from the radiator should be vectored upwards out of the engine cover, as it currently fills the space under the cabin, and the gaps in the floor make for an unwelcome hot updraft.  However, probably a very welcome feature for winter time.

Secondly, as expected the possibility of a hose joint working loose manifested itself in a small leak from one of bulkhead couplings on the cabin.  It was found to be slack and easily fixed with a spanner.  We will continue to observe as the systems are run in.