C is for Caterpillar

Not as you would expect a real catterpillar but keeping on the Lifeboat theme, today I bring you images of the two catterpillar engines that power our Mersey Class Lifeboat the Anne & James Ritchie, here in Ramsey, on the beautiful Isle of Man.............Below is the Port Engine, left hand side as the boat is pointing forward.......
........The two Catterpillar V8 Turbo Charged Marine Diesel engines produce 320 shaft horse power each which gives our boat a top speed in the region of 16 to 17 knots. With both diesel tanks full and travelling at this top speed we would have a time before refueling of 10 hours or a range of 140 nautical miles......
........The image above is of the starboard engine and as you can see both are kept in pristine condition and are ready to be fired up at a moments notice.On all Lifeboat stations around the country there is a full time mechanic. All other crew like myself are volunteers. At our station we have, in addition to the full time mechanic a second, third and fourth person (female I must add) who can fill in whenever one of the others can't make it for one reason or another. This duplication goes the same on all positions for instance, coxswain, helmsman, navigator, radar operator, deck hand, emergency first aider.I've been on the boat four years now and am competent on the last three of those and am in the process of learning the ins and outs of navigation be it using the chart or the sat nav equipment which is on board. And finally below are two more images this time of both engines showing you what little room the mechanics have to work in. The first one is taken looking to the stern of the boat with the wheelhouse up the facing steps. The second one facing the bow with the door just visible at the top of the step that leads into the survivors cabin......