I have to admit that while I do like to do a lot of things the old fashioned way, I am not very good at being patient when that’s what the old fashioned way requires. Being spoiled with having all the information you could ever need on most topics available at your fingertips makes it really hard to do things like wait for marine specialists to get back to you about outdated boat parts. I got in touch with a woman at Scandia Propeller Service earlier this week, who it looks like sold Henry the West Mekan setup, and she said that Johann would almost definitely know about the system. She took down all the details and asked me to email her what documents I have, which I did. No response as of yet. I also emailed West Mekan twice and made the long distance call to Norway speak with Konrad. He said that he got my emails and was sure he could find some more details on the setup I have and would send them to me via email. Nothing from him yet either. Now it’s Friday evening and I don’t expect that I’ll get much more news over the weekend. Efffff…
How did anybody get anything done in the 80’s?!
Not that I have any time to do anything on the boat this weekend, but I was hoping to at least spend a few hours on it if I make enough progress. Beyond that it would just be nice to get some definitive info for the sake of closure. Now I will continue to be consumed with trying to mentally figure out something that is impossible to understand without some more information. Oh well, at least I have studying to keep my mind mostly occupied until next week. Maybe I’ll try to get in touch with Henry and Birgitta this weekend and see if they remember anything about the setup.
One thing I was able to get some info on was the V-Drive. I emailed Walter Machine and explained to them that I have an RV-20 V-Drive from the 80’s with zero hours on it that I would like to trade with them for the same model with the opposite output rotation as the one I have. I thought maybe they would have some dusty ones lying around in their shop somewhere or a rebuilt one or something. This is the response I got:
“Your RV-20 V-Drive would be replaced by current production model RV-26; cost with Idler Gear Assembly is $3,224.00 plus $118 for new #25 prop shaft coupling (if required in your installation). The new RV-26 would come with new mounting brackets and a 12″ long #27 splined connecting shaft.”
Not quite what I was hoping for, but it was worth a shot!