After five weeks on the hardstand, one would have hoped for a more triumphant return to the dock. Two 318's rumbling out of the lift bay, SSN shinning like a new "nickel". It would have been nice to run her back to her dock under her own steam. But woe the PO's poor repairs would throw a spanner in the works, despite Dr D's best work. The little ship had to be hand-bombed to the dock. A feeling of indignation shadowed the occasion, the proud moment dashed.
The running gear has been completely gone through from one end to the other. The engine mounts have been removed, serviced, cleaned and replaced, one at a time, their wood mounts epoxied to the stringers, with lag bolts replaced with permanent engine mount studs with nuts replacing the bolts. The shaft logs have been sleeved, the shafts straightened, the props tuned, the packing glands serviced, the rudder stuffing boxes repacked and everything aligned to a thousandth of an inch. True as true can be.
The port side solenoid was glowing red-hot, it had almost rusted beyond recognition, no chance of any ignition today. The handcrafted wood engine hatches/cd storage racks have been leaking onto the entire electrical harness of that engine.
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