“Why is the engine knocking?”

The question had plagued us all the way from Sulawesi to Lombok, and had played havoc with Jamie’s anxiety. But now, at last, we had the chance to identify the problem and hopefully fix it.

The flexible coupling comes out for a service

We would need to look at the flexible coupling, shaft and dripless seal before we could do anything about the knocking. They all needed some TLC, or at least to be serviced.

Then there was the charging issue we had been dealing with since Sabah. Could we, at last, find out what was causing it?

Faizan working miracles with our charging problem

Engine Mounts

With the help of Hendro, a talented mechanic who lives on Lombok, Jamie made an inspection of our Beta 60 and checked the mounts. One was knackered. As he had suspected, this was obviously why the engine had been wobbling and knocking so furiously. Hooray! At last Jamie had confirmed the culprit and knew how to solve the sickening knocking.

If you have to replace one mount it is advisable to replace the mount on the opposite side too, this keeps the engine balanced. And ideally if you replace one, you should replace them all.

Hendro’s saintly patience in action

Armed with this information, we headed back to the UK (for the first time in four years) with a shopping list of boat parts.

On our return to the boat yard, Jamie set to work on the mounts. Hendro propped up the engine to keep it roughly in position, and then tackled each mount in turn. It was fairly straightforward (for Hendro at least) though the forward port mount was particularly troublesome due to difficult access.

Fortunately Hendro has the patience of a saint

Jakarta Street Photography

On our way back to the boat yard from our trip back to the UK, we made a stopover at Jakarta. While there, Jamie took some time off for a walkabout to practise his street photography skills.

These are some of his stills (you can see more in the video).