Gardner 8L3B Replacement?

What is the arrangement with the two different engines?

These guys seem to have a whole lot of manuals

Gardner - MarineManuals.com

Steel boat

Hi, it sounds like you got lucky there. I have two 6LXB Gardners in my steel 62ft Van Lent built 1961. When I found her she had two MAN engines, one of which was in poor condition and the other totally seized and so we replaced them both with rebuilt Gardners. They are works of art which run like clockwork and will last for ever. These engines were supplied by Michael Harrison of Garner Marine Engines in the UK, who incidentally travels all of the world to service gardner engines - he also replaced the air cooled exhausts with a water cooled pipes -much better- and he can also supply replacement parts in the unlikely event that becomes necessary. FYI I bought my boat TIKY (ex Alto Volante) a few years ago and I am just coming to the end of a major refit. I should say "rebuild" as the steel hull (and everything within it) was in a seriously bad condition and virtually ready for the scrap heap but she was very beautiful and definitely worth the effort and cost of being brought back to life. (the story, together several pics is documented on yacht forums under "vintage Feadship". What is the name and builder/designer of your boat? can we have pictures? Regards
David

Boat remake

Luck is on my side with the engines. The bad news is, I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures of the engines themselves. When I go back after a short vacation with my wife, I will take more and post them. I did however take some pictures of the boat. The boat inside had both bathrooms nearly ripped out as well as the galley. The Teak inside looked good, there was some wear in some spots. I am still gathering all the information on the boat "the tangier'. I do know it was a Dutch craftsman who made her and it was used in the 80's and 90's as a luxury passenger boat. For now, that is all I have to go on.

Thanks for the link for the Manuals!

Gardner engines

Hi again!

You don't say why you need to save 32" but I assume its either to create more space for other equipment or to enlarge/another cabin. I'd think very carefully before re-engining. Not only will you have to bear the cost of the new engines and g/boxes, but you'll have to extend the shafts and pipework & wiring and you may have to adjust the beds and almost certainely fit new props. You are in for at least $50K and for what? To replace a pair of great workhorses for some modern lightweight high revving lump that won't more than a few years? One possible compromise that may save a few inches is the keep the engines but replace the gearboxes with modern g/ boxes (say PRM or TWIN DISC) and move the whole kit Fwds/ aft as required.

Frankly before you even consider doing anything to the engines, Id get a thorough ultrasonics hull survey done as a steel boat of that vintage is bound to need some plating replaced. Same goes for the deck, which unless its been recently replaced is bound to have leaked with issues to the beams and structure beneath.

Regards
David

Gardner engines

This is what I found after I discovered my deck was leaking..

Hi,

David, If that photo in Post 25 is your anchor locker you can take some comfort in knowing that you are not alone with a particularly badly rotted out old Feadship.

Lots of them have had the same sort of repairs required in that area.

Vintage Feadship anchor locker

It is indeed my Feadship anchor locker. The ultrasonics reveal some plate thinness so I told the yard to cut away till they reached solid metal. That's the photo they sent. Presumably as a result of poor drainge and lack ventillation.

Unfortunately it didn't stop there. The hull was an unsightly patchwork of "doublers" , all in sound condition but clearly concealing some issues beneath them so I had them all removed and the suspect areas cut out and replaced - all 30 sq mts of it!

Then we started on the deck...all the old worn original teak decking removed to reveal a lattice of rusted deck structure beneath. Then a new interior fitted together with all new wiring and plumbing systems ....ten we have shaft alignment issues to sort out that required some surgery to the A brackets.......and so on.....

Coming to the end of it now, I hope . Here she is in the paint shop (shes not in a metallic colour as the pic suggests - its sacrificial thin coat of black that gets sanded off to reveal low spots, before being sprayed with top coatings "off white")

It has been there for quite some time with minor work done. About 5 years ago there was a plate put towards her hull because of wear/thinness. I will be going done to see her this weekend to take some more pics and see if she is even worth getting involved with for the next few years but boy oh boy do I love those gardners!

Hi,

You might have some luck racing this yachts origins if some things like the gerabox, shaftline , prop, rigging are original.

A lot of this type of gear has works Nos as well as serial numbers. This will at least identify where the parts were supplied to originally and if there is anything left of those companies you might get lucky.

From what can be seen in your photos she looks like a grand old lady but please don't be sucked in by the thought of white sandy beaches and dusky maidens - the costs in both time and money will exceed whatever you budget at the outset, this is a well known and unfortunate side to any large refit like this.

If you are able to do a lot yourself this will definitely help keep the financial costs down but don't under estimate the cost of parts.

Anything with the word marine in it always carries a large premium.

Here is a pretty cool video of the start up of the Gardners on Sultana:

15 02 2012 first engine start Feadship Sultana.mp4 - YouTube

Feadship TIKY ex ALTO VOLANTE

Here she is (finally) in Awlgrip "Off White" ...still a way to go though

Hi Steve my name is Jon Reardo I have manuals and parts and I am knownlegable with the 8l3b engine, I have one ! Where are you located in Maryland ?

Gardners have a very informative website where you can get any part for their engines regardless of age.If you have these engines I would not change them for any other make.

elastoboy this is jon reado if you like I can call you by phone or your direct e-mail address or may be able to come out and meet with you and look over
your boat and gardner engines.

Couple comments... Gardners are really great engines... fond memories on my grandfathers boat. They are medium speed and last forever and are easy to run and maintain.

I notice the newest biggest diesel electric Feadship now has a single medium speed diesel for its main propulsion... with a couple tag alongs or sprints. Good idea but really you are gaining to run 95% of the time on the main so perhaps the others are just puffy fluff.

David's boats are wonderfully restored and hope they provide some inspiration. But perseverance is the operative word.

Gardner Engine Porno... really nice video of rebuilding

I really am surprised Kees did not post this here... maybe he is just shy...

Agreed. Gardners were chosen for good reasons which are still applicable today.
Part of the heritage of the boat, or am I displaying a little bias?