Lister LR2 in a 42ft narrow boat upgrade required

[robby09]

Hi all I currently have a Harborough Marine 42ft all steel NB with a Lister LR2 9hp engine that has had overheating issues which I have now resolved but I am considering an engine upgrade due to lack of power of the current unit. Anybody recommend a TS2? or other SR / ST option?

[bizzard]

Hi all I currently have a Harborough Marine 42ft all steel NB with a Lister LR2 9hp engine that has had overheating issues which I have now resolved but I am considering an engine upgrade due to lack of power of the current unit. Anybody recommend a TS2? or other SR / ST option?

The SR2 is a nice engine which will have adequate power for a 42' Harborough boat, is almost interchangeable with an LR2 and is a little quieter and smoother than an ST2 or TS2.

 

If you plump for an SR2 or ST2 hang onto the LR's engines front mounting plate and gearbox mounting legs, you might need them as there are two different lengths, one of which is about 2 inches longer than the other.

Edited May 11, 2016 by bizzard

[RLWP]

Hi all I currently have a Harborough Marine 42ft all steel NB with a Lister LR2 9hp engine that has had overheating issues which I have now resolved but I am considering an engine upgrade due to lack of power of the current unit. Anybody recommend a TS2? or other SR / ST option?

 

And you are sure your engine is underpowered? It's been in there doing a good job for a lot of years

 

We have an SR2 on the shelf

 

Richard

[FadeToScarlet]

(Slightly tongue in cheek) bear in mind a 9hp Bolinder pup was sufficient for a single 70' motor boat weighing 15 tons or so, carrying 18 or so tons of cargo and drawing about 3'6".

[WotEver]

(Slightly tongue in cheek) bear in mind a 9hp Bolinder pup was sufficient for a single 70' motor boat weighing 15 tons or so, carrying 18 or so tons of cargo and drawing about 3'6".

 

And made lovely syncopation at the same time...

[jake_crew]

Its not so much the going along - its the stopping.

 

People nowadays seem to need to be able to stop on a sixpence - like a modern car.

[OldGoat]

Sometimes stopping has more to do with anticipation than brute force.

 

'We' all go too fast (I know I do) as it's very, very difficult to adjust canal speeds to modern ways of living......

 

Power astern is much less effective than going forwards - so even with 50HP stopping in a hurry is not very effective.

Edited May 12, 2016 by OldGoat

[magnetman]

 

And you are sure your engine is underpowered? It's been in there doing a good job for a lot of years

 

We have an SR2 on the shelf

 

Richard

I wonder how easy it would be to replace a twin with a triple ? An SR3 would be quite nice

 

Probably need engine bed works though.

[Tony Dunkley]

I wonder how easy it would be to replace a twin with a triple ? An SR3 would be quite nice

 

Probably need engine bed works though.

 

The overall length, and crankcase length, of an SR3 is exactly 5'' more than the SR2.

 

I've got a decent SR3 available at the moment.

[robby09]

Hi guys,

 

Thank you for your responses. I really should explain myself better! I say underpowered as I am next to the River Weaver and on a few occasions it would have been easier to accept the flow of the river than battle against it. I am not into speeding I just prefer the torque of an engine that can get me out of trouble if required. I am an engineer by trade so more than happy to do some metalwork to get a 3 pot engine in if needed I guess it will come down to money at the end of the day. The other concern is I know very little about the history of the engine and would prefer knowing where the engine came from etc.

 

Tony and Richard could you please send me a PM with prices please?

[magnetman]

If you are a competent welder you could consider going for a water cooled engine. You would have to weld in a skin tank (box cooler). Its a bit of a "black art" or if you are mainly on clean water without much weed etc then a mud box so you bring cooling water in from the surrounding waterway. My mud box is similar to the weed hatch except mounted on a pipe with a ball valve (sea cock). It has a removable lid and gauze filters in it. Not a massively complex item to make (I didn't make it-the boat builder did)

 

The water cooled option would open up a lot more engine choices and you can generally plumb it to give you hot water which may be an advantage. Also water cooled are quieter engines in general.

 

More complex but worth considering?

[robby09]

I did consider water cooled but the T&M is very weedy and muddy so probably not a good idea at present although the hot water could be a bonus! It's a pity I cannot make better use of the heat from the Lister engine

[OldGoat]

Listers are very noisy as there's no water jacket to deaden the sound a bit. So if you're not on a very tight budget and as you're happy to do a bit of welding, then a water cooled engine is worthy of consideration.

If a skin tank is no go - then a properly constructed mud box about 8" square with slots in the hull below the water line is better / best . Those with only a tube for water inlet aren't the best solution - especially if your environment is muddy and weedy.

[magnetman]

I can confirm that - my mud box has a tube and it does suffer with weed problems so Oldgoat's point is a good one.

 

Oddly my boat also has 2 skin tanks but the main engine cools from a mud box (one of the generators uses a skin tank and the other generator cools from the mud box so there is a spare skin tank)

 

Incorrectly designed skin tanks can cause overheating problems - there have been discussions on this before.

 

If I were putting a water cooled engine in a 42ft narrow boat used on the cut (mud and weed) I would go for a skin tank but make sure to do the research and get it correctly sized for the engine in question.

 

Typos

Edited May 12, 2016 by magnetman

[David Mack]

I did consider water cooled but the T&M is very weedy and muddy so probably not a good idea at present although the hot water could be a bonus! It's a pity I cannot make better use of the heat from the Lister engine

 

Direct water cooled (using canal water) could indeed be a problem, although we manage OK (with a 1930s National engine).

 

But you would be better using skin tanks and a closed cooling circuit. Providing you have the space and access you can add a skin tank (or one either side) to the rear swim side(s) with the boat in the water. Blackrose did this to his wideboat, but the pictures have gone from the forum.

 

http://www.canalworl...showtopic=49310

[magnetman]

A National in a 42ft Harborough Marine that'd be a first !!

 

 

I think a 3 cylinder Kubota or similar would probably do it.

 

On balance its going to be easier to just put in another Lister isn't it.

[ditchcrawler]

 

Direct water cooled (using canal water) could indeed be a problem, although we manage OK (with a 1930s National engine).

 

But you would be better using skin tanks and a closed cooling circuit. Providing you have the space and access you can add a skin tank (or one either side) to the rear swim side(s) with the boat in the water. Blackrose did this to his wideboat, but the pictures have gone from the forum.

 

http://www.canalworl...showtopic=49310

Here is one on a Narrowboat http://noproblem.org.uk/blog/so-here-we-go-first-though-the-cooling-system/

[FadeToScarlet]

An external tube (traditional keel cooling style) can be a lot easier to put on. A local hireboat firm uses them, tucked up in the gap between swim and uxter plate, and put one on my old boat to replace dodgy raw water cooling. Great result, flat out on the BMC 1.8 without any overheating, all day long.