[PUP] Diesel electric

[Peter Pisciotta]

> Bruce said, "In my view, twin appropriately sized
> engines with a single 
> shaft
> cannot be beat for redundancy, power flexibility,
> efficiency and
> safety."

I was aboard a WWII Navy Yard Tug several years ago
that had been converted to private use. Most of the
original running gear was intact. In the center of the
engine room was a massive transmission driving a
single shaft. The transmission had 4 faceplates, each
capable of bolting up a GMC 671: two forward of the
gear, two aft. These old jimmy's were available in
mirror images so twin engine installations could be
paired to ensure access to service points (gee, what a
concept...). On this boat, there were two installed,
with the engines so close you could barely get a piece
of paper between them.

The vessel could run on one or both engines, the owner
normally ran on just one, alternating them to even out
hours. The boat was also equipped with 2 generators,
both of which were flavors of GMC x-71 (a 2-71 and a
3-71 as I recall) so many parts were interchangeable.
Very sensible.

Thinking back, I have to wonder if we've really
improved much over the past 60 years.

Peter
Willard 36