Spirit Of Breydon On The Move

[vanessan]

If SOB is going to be used anywhere other than Breydon, she is going to have to travel pretty slowly as she does create a lot of wash. 

[Smoggy]

28 minutes ago, BroadsAuthority said:

Thanks Peter,

I've asked regarding the engine specs for your interest, although the member of staff most in the know with regards to the new engine is on leave at the moment. Will be able to update you next week, give me a gentle nudge if I forget!

Tom

Nice one Tom, it'll be good to know if we can outrun it.....

[BroadsAuthority]

30 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

Nice one Tom, it'll be good to know if we can outrun it.....

I must have forgotten to mention the new torpedo launcher we've installed 

[grendel]

I thought that new bow thruster looked a bit strange

[JennyMorgan]

2 hours ago, vanessan said:

If SOB is going to be used anywhere other than Breydon, she is going to have to travel pretty slowly as she does create a lot of wash. 

We all have to! Especially when we are in that 'circle of goodness' that envelops and follows a Ranger's launch!

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, BroadsAuthority said:

I must have forgotten to mention the new torpedo launcher we've installed 

That does not surprise me!

[vanessan]

34 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

We all have to! Especially when we are in that 'circle of goodness' that envelops and follows a Ranger's launch!

I was thinking more of moored boats..........

[OldBerkshireBoy]

SOB is still showing as for sale according to the poster in the sales office.

[JennyMorgan]

23 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

SOB is still showing as for sale according to the poster in the sales office.

Perhaps she'll go now that she got a pukka engine!

[MauriceMynah]

Did that pukka engine cost £3,141.59p?

[ranworthbreeze]

5 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Did that pukka engine cost £3,141.59p?

Hi MM pukka pies might be that cheap but hardly a marine engine, some of the syndicate boats have paid over triple that amount for a replacement engine.

Regards 

Alan

[MauriceMynah]

A recon pie perhaps?

[JennyMorgan]

The original engine was replaced under guarantee, the replacement lasted four, maybe five years. To my way of thinking that suggests that the BA were sold a pup. I don't see that as being the BA's fault. I hope that they negotiated a healthy discount on the new engine. 

[annv]

The Boat wasn't designed for the Broads it's for estuary/offshore use wrong hull shape wrong type of engine for Broads use completely unsuitable for its present use.John

[oldgregg]

3 hours ago, ranworthbreeze said:

Hi MM pukka pies might be that cheap but hardly a marine engine, some of the syndicate boats have paid over triple that amount for a replacement engine.

And the rest...

[grendel]

3 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Did that pukka engine cost £3,141.59p?

I got the joke MM

[BroadsAuthority]

Hi everyone,

I am pleased to provide you all with some information below.

I should caveat this by saying I've got a few areas of expertise in my life however boat engines unfortunately isn't one of them. Please forgive me if any of the below doesn't make perfect sense as I've re-written some information from one of my colleagues in the CME team. So, onto Spirit of Breydon...

The original engine was a Nanni N6 320hp. This was fitted by Goodchild's to their original specs and we were reliably informed that although engines (and vessels) of this type are generally more suited to periods of operating at high speed (e.g. offshore fishing, surveying and diving) the engine should have worked satisfactorily for our purposes at Breydon Water (predominantly using at relatively low revs) due to the electronic fuel injection system.

Unfortunately, this was not the case in reality and she required a new engine unit replaced under warranty within the first year due to a failure in the machining of the main block, turbo issues and electric loom issues. There were also other reliability issues following the replacement, leading to downtime. The problem of downtime was unfortunately exacerbated by the unforeseeable breakdown (no pun intended) of the working relationship between Nanni and VM motors who are a supplier who produce the engine units. This made spare parts more difficult and slower to acquire.

Earlier this year we did have Spirit of Breydon, in a fully functioning condition, listed for sale with a local brokerage (who shouldn't still be displaying a poster!). However, no suitable offers were received and so the decision was made to work with what we already have. For anyone thinking about electric vessels, I was informed that we had explored this avenue although the associated costs threw up some challenges that made it something possibly for the future rather than an immediate solution.

Because of the above issues, and to also support our move towards more efficient launches, we have decided to reduce the engine size to a smaller horsepower. We have gone with a Yanmar engine that is more reliable, more fuel efficient, creates less emissions and is better suited to operating at lower revs/speeds but still able to push the launch along at a satisfactory when required.

I'm aware that many of you may already know snippets of the info above but I hope it's interesting to some of you to have the full picture. Although the situation has been far from ideal we have learned plenty of lessons and are looking forward to utilising her for her intended purpose once again.

Hope you have a good weekend,

Tom

[WherryNice]

48 minutes ago, BroadsAuthority said:

Earlier this year we did have Spirit of Breydon, in a fully functioning condition, listed for sale with a local brokerage (who shouldn't still be displaying a poster!).

She is also still listed for sale on the Apollo Duck website.....

[BroadsAuthority]

Thanks @WherryNice

Apologies for the missed words in my above message, it appears I can't edit now. Oops!

[JennyMorgan]

 Perhaps the original choice of engine might have had something to do with the cancellation of the order for the boat that was to become SOB? 

[marshman]

Lot of guessing going on over the final details still - the BA seem to have now taken a decision which is perhaps a bit more logical so perhaps we should just go with it and accept it? Not sure we will get much further with it although what does come out, is that perhaps the builders don't come out exactly smelling of roses?  I was led to believe that it was in fact an unusual engine and not many were built but who knows? This far down the line, I think I have lost the plot and probably feel the need to move on!!!

Probably squeezed out most of whats available so I think I shall go and contemplate my navel for a bit - wake me up if anything really salacious comes out of the woodwork!!

[JennyMorgan]

57 minutes ago, marshman said:

perhaps the builders don't come out exactly smelling of roses

My feeling too, indeed it has been so for the last seven pages and a bit before if I'm honest. 

 

1 hour ago, marshman said:

Lot of guessing going on over the final details

Perhaps based on well informed gossip!

 

1 hour ago, marshman said:

Probably squeezed out most of whats available so I think I shall go and contemplate my navel for a bit - wake me up if anything really salacious comes out of the woodwork!!

Agreed! 

[D46]

To be honest I really don't think this has an awful lot to do with Goodchilds as the builders of the vessel , surely it was built to a specification deamed sutable buy the people who originally ordered it , then for an unknown reason didn't complete the purchase .

Then BA step in and bought it knowing of it's specification etc , it should and would have been completed obvious to anyone who knows about big engine's running at slow speeds that the boat wasn't that sutable to the role BA expected of it .

How can that be any fault of the builders of the vessel ? 

[grendel]

I would think that originally the purchase might have seemed a bit of a bargain, and the assurance that the engine would be fine at slower speeds may have sold the deal, but at the end of the day, changing to the new engine does seem to be the sensible option.

when you have budgetry constraints you might make decisions that turn out not as good as they originally seem.

[JennyMorgan]

16 hours ago, D46 said:

How can that be any fault of the builders of the vessel ? 

The builders built a boat, presumably fitting it out to meet the requirements of the original purchaser/contractor. Anyway, end result was that the order was cancelled, for whatever reason, thus the yard was looking for a buyer which, as we all know, came along in the form of the Broads Authority. I do know for a fact that the Authority responsibly and rightly sought professional, qualified opinion as well as seeking the advice of the Navigation Committee, theoretically that is all that they could reasonably be expected to do. The Authority had asked all the questions and set the criteria for the choice of boat, but were they sound and qualified, that surely is the crux of the matter?  I very much doubt that the original engine choice could in anyway the responsibility of the Authority. That said the Authority has to accept full responsibility for deciding on the perceived and potential role of SOB, and for the questions that it asked as well as the final decision to buy. Beyond that I do wonder what responsibility the yard has, if any, for the engine that it originally supplied?