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Peter Volken Smidt – episode 2 – Electrifying a Contest 30
He who cannot share cannot multiply! At Robust-MT Marine Technology BV, we believe that success is a combination of factors. Knowledge is just one of them, but it's useless without facilities, resources, capabilities, and so on. For this reason, we will never be complacent about sharing knowledge or providing a platform to someone who deserves it, or when there's useful knowledge to share.
In episode 1, we met Peter Volken Smidt. This episode explores how the Contest 30 was stripped of its old diesel.
Even though I'm a good hand, the old diesel engine feels like a weight in my stomach. And yes, it's a compact engine, but hoisting a piece of scrap metal weighing over 100 kilos out of your boat is no easy feat. For me, the engine isn't worth much more than the scrap price, and it's a lot of hassle to dismantle. Surely there are people out there who still see potential in an old, running diesel engine.
Through Marktplaats, while the boat is still in the water, I offer the engine for free, on the condition that it be professionally removed. In no time, I have enough responses, and I can choose who I want to give the work, and therefore the engine.
Jan, a truck mechanic with a hobby of overhauling old diesel engines, is interested in the project. I make an appointment, and Jan, along with a buddy, a mobile crane, and a trailer, comes to the harbor to remove the engine. And I have to say, in less than an hour, Jan has neatly loosened all the stuck nuts and bolts, and the engine is ready to be hoisted up through the cockpit hatch.
Compact is a relative term. The width of the opening was probably designed for an engine without a reversing gear. With some heaving and a fair amount of groaning, we finally manage to free the boat of the polluting diesel. Lightened by 130 kg of metal, the boat's stern rises slightly out of the water. Now that the engine is out, I charter Jan to put the new, incredibly heavy battery back in the boat, as I'm sure I won't be able to get it in easily once the boat is on the bank. Step 1 is complete, time for the next phase: getting the boat on the bank.
