The engine project has been started as we got the other exhaust out last friday and started pulling off parts of the portside engine this week. We first had to drain the system of coolant and oil. We then proceeded to take off the coolant reservoir, air intake, turbo, aftercooler, exhaust manifold, alternator, raw water pump, oil pan, and the pick-up tube. We had to move all that we could out of the way including the raw water piping from both the diesel generator and the main engine. The engineers that are in charge of repowering the F.G. Walton Smith are two old salty guys that have been working with Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit, and doing these engine rebuilds for an accumulated 80+ years. Their relationship is straight out of a movie and they are fun to work with, their names are Ron Cheeseman and Lockwood. Here is a picture of me working with Ron taking apart the engine:
By today, we have finally got the port engine decoupled and up on an A-frame attached to two 3-ton chain hoists and resting on blocks prepared to move and lift through the soft patch on the aft deck. It has been great experience taking the engine apart, looking at all of the mechanical parts and understanding how they are put together and work. It is also quite impressive to see and use the equipment required to lift these engines with such experienced guys. It puts in perspective how demanding and complex of a project this is but also how it is absolutely possible to do pretty much anything. These guys take on big jobs and get them done no matter what and have been doing it for many, many years. Here is a picture of Alesha, Ron’s son, and I with the engine on blocks:
Here are some additional pictures of the engines deconstructed and me underneath unscrewing the oil pan:
