Marine Engine Flywheel Fixing

[derek hall 1Participant @derekhall1]

Although your question Ramon refers to marine reciprocating engines. I served an apprenticeship in a shipyard in the 1970's, where we installed marine diesel engines and they all most definitely had flywheels.

The flywheel was separate from the engine and bolted onto the crankshaft via a machined matching spigot and with fitted bolts. A short tail shaft was then fitted between the flywheel and the thrust bearing (a Michell bearing). From the thrust bearing the prop shaft and the prop was fitted.

I guess steam engines would have had a similar layout but I am sure there would have been some sort of flywheel fitted for the small turning engine to engage with to rotate the engine manually prior to starting…but marine steam was a bit before my time!

Regards to all

Derek

[Ramon WilsonParticipant @ramonwilson3]

Me too Derek – Apprentice welder, Richards Shipyard in Lowestoft – 1960. Long gone as most are and now an Asda supermarket!! They were still riveting hulls at that time but for the most part superstructures were being welded.

If I have little, if any, knowledge on marine steam engines I have even less of diesels but I do have two ME friends who served apprenticeships as fitters at AK Diesels in the same town – I'll see what they say.

I intend to make the flange that the temporary flywheel will attach to of a reasonable size and with barring holes as you point out – it would only be much larger engines that had barring engines I'm sure.

Thanks for your comments

Tug

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