Divemaster1
Well-Known Member
This year we only had one week to spend continously on the boat, so decided a slow journey through the canal would be a rather nice pace of life. This time we decided that we would do no early lockings and have lazy mornings watching life pass by..
So on Sunday afternoon we locked in through the sea lock and spent the night in Muirtown basin (Near Inverness). Slow start next morning and a busy locking up the flight of four locks a Muirtown...
A slow journey past Tomnahurich ...
....and heading towards Dochgarroch which is the last lock before we enter Loch Ness. Stopped for lunch here and we had a fuel truck coming delivering fuel for us as they deliver regularly to the boats moored here. Starting up again we developed an odd vibration on port engine, which I thught might be some plastic or rope around the prop, but also realised that the engine had started to smoke a bit.... so guessed this is a injector which are playing up.
Continued through to Loch Ness and past Urquhart Castle ...
Where we opened her up for a short while ..... and rightly so the smoke from port engine died down and they both ran up nicely to 2300 RPM. But why hurry, and as there were a number of other boats around we slowed down to about 9 knot, and the smoke came back. The vibration and smoke disappeared just after 1200 RPM when the turbo's kick in, so suspected one of the injectors sticking open.
Slow journey to Fort Augustus where we spent the night...
Quick engine check in the morning revealed something un-expected ... raised oil level in port engine $£&%* !!! So fuel getting past piston rings ....not good !!!!! Upon startup, there is a definitive oil sheen at the exhaust ... so now I may have a) sticky injector b) damaged cylinder liner c) cracked piston rings ..... guess which one I hope for ....
Anyway, decided to continue using one engine only and port engine purely when manouvering, which worked well. So up the flight of locks at Fort Augustus (which looks pretty at night)
on to Kytra for Lunch.....
... and inwards to Loch Oich where we spent the night...
Woke up to heavy rain (started previous night) with severe weather forecast westwards, so decided to head east again wehre the weather forecast was better, so ended up again at Fort Augustus, at the top of the locks...
Next day we went down again, mid afternoon and took on Loch Ness again, but this time on single engine and 7 knot....
Moored up at Dochgarroch again, where there is a quaint little restaurant, serving beautiful food. The following morning we woke to a beautiful day ....
....lazy morning and just before mid-day we set off towards Inverness again....
Another night in Muirtown basin and friends arriving next day for going to sea again and for a spot of playing with the dolphins around the Morray Firth ......
Nice day and plenty of life, but best of all, just at the marina entrance we were welcomed by two more friends ....
Next .... engine inspection .... oh by the way, non-return valves are not failsafe !!!
So on Sunday afternoon we locked in through the sea lock and spent the night in Muirtown basin (Near Inverness). Slow start next morning and a busy locking up the flight of four locks a Muirtown...
A slow journey past Tomnahurich ...
....and heading towards Dochgarroch which is the last lock before we enter Loch Ness. Stopped for lunch here and we had a fuel truck coming delivering fuel for us as they deliver regularly to the boats moored here. Starting up again we developed an odd vibration on port engine, which I thught might be some plastic or rope around the prop, but also realised that the engine had started to smoke a bit.... so guessed this is a injector which are playing up.
Continued through to Loch Ness and past Urquhart Castle ...
Where we opened her up for a short while ..... and rightly so the smoke from port engine died down and they both ran up nicely to 2300 RPM. But why hurry, and as there were a number of other boats around we slowed down to about 9 knot, and the smoke came back. The vibration and smoke disappeared just after 1200 RPM when the turbo's kick in, so suspected one of the injectors sticking open.
Slow journey to Fort Augustus where we spent the night...
Quick engine check in the morning revealed something un-expected ... raised oil level in port engine $£&%* !!! So fuel getting past piston rings ....not good !!!!! Upon startup, there is a definitive oil sheen at the exhaust ... so now I may have a) sticky injector b) damaged cylinder liner c) cracked piston rings ..... guess which one I hope for ....
Anyway, decided to continue using one engine only and port engine purely when manouvering, which worked well. So up the flight of locks at Fort Augustus (which looks pretty at night)
on to Kytra for Lunch.....
... and inwards to Loch Oich where we spent the night...
Woke up to heavy rain (started previous night) with severe weather forecast westwards, so decided to head east again wehre the weather forecast was better, so ended up again at Fort Augustus, at the top of the locks...
Next day we went down again, mid afternoon and took on Loch Ness again, but this time on single engine and 7 knot....
Moored up at Dochgarroch again, where there is a quaint little restaurant, serving beautiful food. The following morning we woke to a beautiful day ....
....lazy morning and just before mid-day we set off towards Inverness again....
Another night in Muirtown basin and friends arriving next day for going to sea again and for a spot of playing with the dolphins around the Morray Firth ......
Nice day and plenty of life, but best of all, just at the marina entrance we were welcomed by two more friends ....
Next .... engine inspection .... oh by the way, non-return valves are not failsafe !!!
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you would have had some good company.
.... so somewhere up in cylinder 5, I have a seized compression ring and top of piston skirt..... so cylinder is filling up with diesel and flowing into the exhaust and obvioulsy not firing as top of piston is stuck up there.
