Jan. 11, 2009 Of power take offs and other progress....(a short note from M)

No, I'm not talking about airplane take offs....We got our bracket back a few days ago from Metalica Perez (they've been wonderful to work with) and I've been busy fitting and modifying it to adapt our reefer compressor and large case Balmar alternator to fit. Most of the holes and support plates were fine, with a few exceptions, but nothing we can't drill out or deal with. Now consider, I have to crawl into the engine room on my right side, lift the half horsepower Tecumseh compressor with its attached refrigerant hoses over my head one handed to sit on the surface plate of the bracket, then lift the 165A alternator one handed to its new sliding foot support bracket in order to secure it with its half inch bolt...not the easiest of positions or work. When that was all done, it was obvious that the double pulley on the crankshaft would have to move forward to align with the alternator double pulley. Hmmm. By a process of guesswork and internet search, I found what appeared to be similar to what we have on our Perkins - a PTO (Power Take Off) extension to the crankshaft. Getting it off took several hours, as it had probably been on the engine forever. I couldn't reach the bolts without first removing everything! I had to (again) remove the alternator and compressor, then take out the bracket. Perseverence prevailed, as well as sweat and a few choice words. The tapered collar was then separated off the double pulley and shaft, and I'll clean, prime and paint everything tomorrow before reinstalling the PTO. We'll be able to align the pulleys properly and figure out the tensioning arms for the belts, get them fabricated and welded onto the bracket, then clean, prime and paint everything before final installation. Believe it or not, we're making progress! Baby steps! Everyone keeps asking when we're leaving! I don't know if they're sick of us (just kidding) or just intrigued with our modifications, but we answer them "When we're ready!!­" Actually, we're hoping to depart for the Galapagos by the end of January but we're not keeping to a schedule, and you can appreciate what's going on aboard by the above discussion. So, now we all know what a PTO is, and it's certainly one of those things I never knew about, yet alone considered taking apart, before we departed to go cruising! Guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks....