Departure delayed by a bearing

Last Thursday a final check-up was done by one of the yard mechanics and he found an issue with the thrust bearing (Dutch: stuwdruklager) which is supposed to transfer the thrust produced by the propellor into the hull.

This bearing is used so that the engine itself doesn’t have to, and can be used with (very) soft engine mounts. This gives much less noise and vibration, which is always an issue in an aluminium ship — the aluminium doesn’t dampen this the way that GRP or wood do.

Although the bearing was overhauled completely last winter by the manufacturer, it is not functioning well and is vibrating too much.

Although having to delay our departure is not very pleasant we do want to leave with full piece of mind so we’ll grin and bear it.

Hopefully we’ll learn soon when we can get her back but so far the signs are that we’ll leave next monday.