Engine works, 2025

THE ENGINE SAGA – WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH OUR DONKEY

She’s a wooden yacht, so she’ll always leak a bit – that’s the nature of timber construction. , I engaged a Kiwi marine engineer to keep watch over her during one of my absences. One day, cut the shore power cable whilst attempting to remedy an electrical fault. Her batteries could run the bilge pumps for up to two months without charging, but my absence extended beyond that.

Meanwhile, she’d sprung a small leak – perhaps a few litres per day. The engineer never set foot aboard and did nothing, so she slowly but steadily made water. Eventually the bilge water rose about 10 cm above the cabin sole, which the marina hands fortunately spotted.
We pumped her dry and I stopped the leak within a couple of hours. But the donkey had been partially flooded. I lifted the engine and handed it to a local marine engineer. After a year, the work was barely progressed. So I shipped the donkey back to Poland.
In Poland, we determined that a complete rebuild was required – replacing all components that might want attention now or in the foreseeable future. The objective was to avoid lifting the engine again in a year or three to replace a worn component that could be fitted now.
Today – 4th September 2025 – the engine is assembled in Poland, awaiting gearbox oil. We’re planning initial trials next week. Then we’ll run her for a full day under proper cooling. After these trials and fresh oil changes, the donkey will be shipped on a pallet to Licata. I expect her to arrive end of September.
Come October, I plan to reinstall the engine. This operation should take about a week.