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Any info really I know that Ruston ended up in India but that's about it. We have an original service book for it so have a good idea what it needs technically. Really interested in any info. Really like the engine it's a great lump of a thing. I am very much into old engines but my actual knowledge is rather lacking. I'm working on this though!

My boat has a Ruston Hornsby 2YD built in 1959 in Lincoln. I am finding it difficult to find much information about the early 2YD. Although I know a bit about the history of my engine. Can anyone help please?

Thank you all. Getting more confident with it now. Treating it gently! Love the 2YD its a very early one. I knew a bit about the Ruston stationary engines but not the YD until I bought this.

Gearbox is 160.sorry It was discussed with PRM and they recommended it to the engineer that marinised the Ruston. Sorry lads but no swaps it's a grand engine.

It is a Ruston Hornsby 2yd. 1958. With a PRM150. I do treat it gentle and slow when changing gear. But confess I still get in a muddle at times when faced with an on coming boat in a blind bridge hole!

Thank you!

Thank you thats pretty much what I thought. I just need more practice as at the moment I need three hands!!

My new (to me) boat has speedwheel controls. Well speelwheel for revs and a push pull rod for gears. What do I need to be mindful of when using them to avoid damage to gearbox and the engine or anything else for that matter! !

Is it possible to change speedwheels to single lever control on a Ruston Hornsby engine

Hi All There are lots of options available if you need to move off the boat that dont include buying a house. You should live the dream now, make plans for the future by all means but remember there are always options. Jac

If you cant brew up or cook your dinner or if you freeze you die then the boat has no one to steer her and she chuggs off on her own causing all sorts of handling problems for others! OK?

Hi Our stove is not really sooty. Certainly not as dirty as the solid fuel one in the back cabin. We have had no problems with the coil thank goodness. I like mine but of course everyone is different. We didnt want gas on the boat. Jac

Hi I have only just seen your post. We have a Dickinson Stove on our boat. It was already in the boat when we bought her. I have found it to be brill. We run it on the red diesel with an in line filter. We do regularly clean out the burner (we have an old 12v car vac kept specially for this) and once a year we clean the inlet pipe. We have cleaned the chimney once as well. We also 'black ' the top every now & then to keep it looking good. I cook on it (although it has taken me a little time to master it) and have cooked a meal for 8. It also heats both the boat and the hot water. It can be hot with it on in summer but if we do need it we only run it for a short time. We do use a portable gas stove for the kettle when its not lit. With an ecofan on top it heats most of the boat. It is such a simple thing it hardly needs any attention and there is hardly anything to go wrong (unlike the Wallis). I would without doubt have another. Oh start up time to cooking temp is best part on an hour. Jac

Thank you yes I could support the tank front. I will work out the weight difference from your calculations. Thank you both.

On my little tug (45') the water tank is under the tug deck. Three questions for you... It is made of plastic (heavy duty thing) is very large, is about ten years old and has a bulge in it. Will it burst? Its been like this the five years we have had the boat. BUT if it burst it would flood my boat as there is no bulkhead. Should I be worried? If I removed it and used the front locker (deep hole) for the water tank would this alter the ballast of my boat. I know its difficult without you seeing her but she has ballast in the back cabin, the heavy engine sits on the diesel tanks just behind the centre point. There is a small amount of ballast under the tug deck the rest provided by the water tank. Then I could use under the tug deck for lots of things! Are integral tanks OK I presume they don't rust inside out if treated and maintained well? Thanks Jac

I understand what you are saying. I did make it clear to them why I felt I had to complain to them. I work for a large organisation and we take any complaint seriously even more so if it is a safety issue. Surely it was not too much to ask if they could at least mention this to the trainers. I think perhaps what really upset me is the short email reply I got, if it had perhaps said we are sorry you had this experience and hope you have got over it or some such, it would not have felt like they really do not give a dam. I was able to give them the base the boat came from and they do not have that many there to trace. As far as I am concerned the issue is now closed. They have made it clear they wont do anything. I do not want to go down the 'injury lawers for you route' that was never my intention. All i wanted was for them to say to thier trainers 'look we have had this happen with one of our hire crews lets make sure our hirers do understand dangers of locks'. I made that clear in my complaint to them I still do not think it was too much to ask and far from a knee jerk reaction.

It was rude because thats all they said. Not sorry you had this experience or anything. Also I did give them details of the boat - they cant have that may crews from Stockholm in any one week. I do not expect them to challenge every crew just reassure me that thier trainers have been informed of this problem. After all if it is about reputation and goodwill this incident does not reflect well on them. I do not think I am being unreasonable to expect them to do something after all I am the one with the injury after all.

For all your interest. The hire company asked for a report of what happened which I sent. It included as much detail as I could remember, time, place, where thier crew were from. Thier short and rude reply was: 'Not wishing to appear unhelpfull without the name of the boat we cannot take this matter any furthur.' You bet they are going to take it further! I would have been content with an apology and reassurance that they will improve training of hirers. Now I am out for blood. Will keep you informed. Out of interest we do keep our boat upto the top gate but still open paddles with care but not sloooowly! In this case we had only just cleared the bottom gate when it happened. My hand is sore but healing. Stitches are out now.

Just did. They said they will look into it.

I was injured (required hospital treatment stitches & antibiotics) when a hire boat crew fully opened top paddles causing my 45' deep draughted boat to shoot forward and smash into the cill. My crew were closing the bottom gates (which also crashed shut) and did not see them even arrive at the paddles. The top paddles are not visable from the boat as the lock was too deep. We all shouted at them to stop but they had no idea what to do it did not help that they could not speak english. They had absolutely no idea what they did was in any way dangerous. My crew who are experienced were upset they did not realise what the hire boat crew were going to do. My boat was not damaged although my belongings were somewhat scattered. It was just my hand that was cut as I was thrown forward grabbed hold of what I could to stop falling unfortunately it was the hatch and the thing slammed shut onto my hand - ouch! I am really posting just to highlight how quickly even with an experienced crew things can go wrong. We needed eyes in our backsides. We are usually so very carefull as we know our boat gets caught in the undertow and watch it very carefully. Should I write to the hire company as this crew obviously had not had correct instruction in working locks and the fact you just don't go filling a lock without asking? I would have thought the hire company has a duty of care to ensure thier hirers understand this. Jacqui

I have alarge pollywhatsit (plastic) tank on the boat. It has been in use 15 years. How long do they last? It seams to be in good condition but I worry as it is not protected from the main cabin by a bulkhead. (It is a tug and the tank is under the tug deck). Should the thing burst we would all be very wet. I do have the option to convert the large bow locker into water tank and remove the plastic tank but as this is a lot of work I am not sure of any advantages. (We do not use the bow for gas we are gas free). Thank you Jac

Thanks we will do that!

If a boat is out of the water for a month or two will the packing in the stern gland be ok? Or will it dry out & leak when it goes back inthe water? Our boat has no leaks or drips at all & we want to keep it that way! How often will a gland need repacking?

Sorry I didn't make it clear its a tug with her engine in an engine room. Yep the condensation comes when we have both stoves on. Only is a problem when I am working on the engine and my bum touches the side - get wet pants then!

We have a traditional engine room with our engine sitting smack in the middle. The walls below the gunnels are not lined but are painted. They form condensation especially if it is cold outside and warm in. Ventilation can't be a problem as we have two sets of sidedoors and the boat is well aired. We get no condensation elsewhere. For us its not really a problem as it runs off into a tray. There is no rust but we do keep it well painted. Jac