#canalmuseum

The engine is now back in the engine compartment of Banyam IV and looking really good. However we now need a new prop shaft as the pld one has rusted solid over the winter. More delay alas but se sre in sight of getting the tug back to the museum in July.

At long last the Lister JP2 engine of Bantam IV is finished having been given a major overhaul. Rather more work needed to be done than expected but Vintage Diesels at Braunston have done a fine job and the engine can now be returned to the tug.

A maker's plate is now respondent in new paint

The Lister Blackstone gearbox of the Bantam IV tug has been found to have a broken mounting plate that has been repaired by bolting on a piece of metal long in the past. The best way to repair this is being investigated.

These images taken on 18th December show considerable progress in decreasing the engine compartment of Bantam IV. Many years of oil and dirt have had to be removed and although it is not yet quite ready for painting it is pretty close to that point after several treatments with a chemical de-greaser. This is a job that has not been done for many years and clearly a job worth doing as the interior of the engine room will be able to be painted with a preservative coating to combat corrosion.

These pictures show the engine compartment of Bantam IV without the engine. There is water in the hull, intentionally put there because it contains a de-greasing agent. The whole of this engine compartment is being cleaned and will be painted with a preservative paint. to give it the maximum protection from future corrosion. Bantam IV is currently our only floating historic boat, launched in 1950, and one of very few with the original engine. This major overhaul aims to keep it in good order for a long time to come. A working boat cannot be static, otherwise it deteriorates, and boats must either be maintained or taken out of the water and preserved as best possible on land. Bantam IV is an operational exhibit and as such we give it all the maintenance that it needs.

Meanwhile, at Watford, the tug's hull has been cleaned and blacked with a protective coating by P and S Marine. We have had the hull examined by a surveyor and in the light of his recommendations some protective work and minor welding repairs are to be carried out on the hull that will fix some pitting, cover a small dent, and provide protection with a "D Strake", a strip of steel that is welded to the hull and protects it from damage.