Journey South

Hi Everyone!,

I'm finally in South Georgia!!  Its a long way from home (I think around 8500 miles from Locks Heath)  No words can describe how beautiful it is.  I will upload some Photographs tonight when the bandwidth is unused (the Satellite internet is very slow and restricted)

As I have had no internet access during my travelling, I have been keeping a diary on the laptop. I have written the entries into an account of my journey south in book format, please feel free to have a read.  The PDF of this can be viewed or downloaded here.

I will be blogging more and more as I get settled in over the next week or so, so please keep checking back regularly.  And please feel free to email any time.

Cheers all,
Matt.

Taken from the Pharos when the station first came to view round Hope Point.  Nikon D90.

Jet Setter

Hi all,
Firstly, apologies for the lack of correspondence over the last few weeks.  The last of the training has been undertaken or cancelled in the case of the Yanmar Engines course, and the Jet Boat Handling course.
A big thanks is also owed to everyone who has made an effort to send me off in any of the 5 leaving partys Ive had (another reason for the lack of updates - day 1, leaving party, day 2 hangover, day 3 packing, day 4 leaving party, and so on.) Its been great to see everyone and its reminded me there are alot of people to miss during my time away.  Into the last week now.  Steve is taking me to BAS HQ, Cambridge so I can join the rest of the crew to get a coach to Brize Norton.  We have to be checking in at 3am Friday morning as the flight departs at 6am, and the Royal Air Force insist on a 3 hour check in, so BAS are going to put us up in a hotel close to the Airbase.

Ok, afew days ago saw the last of the training courses as I said.  Me and Ashley attended the Hamilton Jets offices in East Grinstead to learn how to maintain and overhaul the Jet Units on the Pilot Launches, so after an under whelming stay at Travelodge Gatwick, and a run in with Airport Police trying to get a few photos of some aircraft (they thought I was a "Plane Stupid" protester I think!) here's what we did....

The Jet Unit on the stand showing the deflector or "bucket" in the Full Ahead position.  The Jet Nozzle in the centre pivots around a central Longitudinal axis directing the high velocity water jet from port to starboard.

Showing the for'ard part of the unit showing the intake plate to the lower left, and just right of the through-transom flange, the reverse deflector again.  The drive belt is running a hydraulic pump supplying 500PSI of ATF to the deflector Ram.  The Unit if a Ford/Holden power steering pump.

With the deflector and nozzle unit removed.  The vanes visible inside are not the Impellor, but rather the "Stator" which is a fixed matrix of vanes which re-correct the turning moment of the water leaving the impellor and provide a straight thrust of water making the unit more efficient.

And lastly with the Stator removed, the impellor is visible.  The gap between the blades and the wear ring on the housing needs checking periodically and should be about 1/2mm.  The Impellor is £1700 if it needs replacing :~.