129. Classic Narrowboat Engines Part 2: Kelvin K2 with Rob Goodman 

Please bring this series back, I love these unique engines! 😍

Indirect injection needs petrol to warm up cylinders before changing to diesel. Built at Dobbies Loan Glasgow, 3 and 4 cylinder 66 and 88hp very common on Scottish fishing boats before and after war, almost all hand started. Also a 6 cylinder 132hp engine took some effort to start. 160rpm idle, 750 full speed but tremendous torque. Brings back Sunday night engine room memories trying to get started to go to sea.

That's not a boat engine. Thats an engine that uses a boat to move it around!! love the monster. Great to see it being cherished and still running.

I had the 88hp. version in my 50' fifer "the Girl Jean". Massive and turn the flywheel with a bar to bring it up to compression and then crank the handle on the flywheel. Wonderful!!! I remember watching the engine throbbing away when on a _ _ d as we motored down to the Isle of Wight. Unforgettable magic in '73!!

A beautiful example of historical engineering a labor of love to maintain.

Thank you David, for this and all your excellent vlogs - also for the personal advice today on dinette's! Recently while hunting for a narrowboat with (perhaps) a vintage engine, I was fortunate enough to see and experience no less than 3 Kelvin engines. The first was a K3 in a stunningly beautiful tug called "Barbarian", currently for sale at Billing Aquadrome. The K3 is an extra cylinder on top of the K2, so 12 litres and 1.7 tons weight! Then I saw a trad boat now for sale at Great Haywood with the "baby" Kelvin - a J3 - a mere 1.5 litres per cylinder but probably more suited to a narrowboat. The starting procedure is similar but there are many modifications. This J3 had a diesel vaporiser replacing the petrol carburettor. The owner showed me a full start from cold. After filling the head cups with oil, preparing the vaporiser and oiling various other parts he said: "You appreciate that things will get a bit exciting from now on?!". He turned the engine over (electric starter) and there was a blinding flash of orange flame coupled with a violent bang, and the engine burst into life! Fortunately for us we had been placed on the opposite side of the engine from the flame, but it was most impressive nonetheless - and totally normal starting procedure! Lastly I had the pleasure of visiting a beautiful Norton Canes 70 footer with a Kelvin K2 in excellent conditon. The spark plugs were still in situ but the owner explained that neither the diesel vaporiser, nor the petrol carb were necessary. He uses a "firestick" - a rod with a wick on one end soaked in diesel fuel. He lights this and pokes it well into the engine's intake manifold, then presses the electric start button and within a few seconds she was up and running. Dead simple and very effective, even in mid-winter with a cold engine that had not been run for 3 days! And what a sweet sounding engine that was - just as in your video! Finally I came to my senses and put down a deposit on a 70 footer trad boat with a Beta JD3 - a sort of modern replica-vintage engine. Nothing like a Kelvin or Rusty Newbolt, but easy to start, cheaper to run, and probably much less trouble for my limited mechanical skills!

Crescent Shipping on the Medway used Kelvin K series engines in their Thames barges. Folklore is that they could be started from cold on petrol, or when completely hot on diesel & anywhere in-between not at all. So an engine would be left running even when the barge was stationary for hours. Crescent also kept a fully overhauled engine in the shipyard so that a faulty engine could be swapped over quickly and minimise downtime for the vessel.

What a lovely great lump of an Engine, and such a hypnotic sound ... I could tinker with that all day and probably break the bank on 'Brasso' ...

“If you’re not a fan of these engines, Don’t worry” I mean, who couldn’t love this engine? Amazing piece of engineering.

That start up - it runs the breakfast scene in "The Wrong Trousers" a close second. Fascinating, thank you.

Marvelous old machine-- and so quiet-- even with a dry exhaust.

Thank you so much for making these engine vlogs. The relaxing sound of these matches perfectly the relaxed nature of canals.

Nicely edited video. Liked the engine noise in the background and lack of music. Im glad you added some extras of the engine running without commentary too!

What a Beautiful piece of Engineering.

Heavens to Murgatroyd. What a splendid thing. What a splendid owner. Impressed!

It's like watching Jay Leno prepare one of his older cars to start it. Prime, lubrication, magneto, advance, etc.

Beautiful sounding engine

Wonderful series David. More please !

What a wonderful sound this engine makes

Sounds like it could tick over forever and a day. Lovely sound. Thanks, David.

How relaxing. This owner knows all the ins and outs of this technology

I've always had a soft spot for those old thumpers. Before retiring, one of my duties at an Aero-Space manufacturer was the refurbishment and upkeep of 1940's era gun drills and bores, engine lathes, crush grinders and 2 and 3 axis rotary mills. The complex engineering that went into these beautifully complex bits of mechanical artistry was every bit as amazing as the latter day CNC machines. I had to repair and rebuild several slipper pumps and petrol powered engine driven machines that had been placed in 'Belt drive' factories, where the belts couldn't provide the power to drive these massive war time machines.

What a beautiful old boat and engine. It spits out a considerable wash with the large propeller I see. Great video. Thanks, David.

This is a brilliant series of videos. Could watch 20 of these in one sitting, with a cuppa of course. Excellent work.

“All very steam punk”. Another beautifully filmed episode . These engines have a wonderful rhythm. Thank you for showing them.

That engine is BEAUTIFUL!

Beautiful engine noise and what a lovely name for the boat ‘Grace’ :)

An awesome old time engine. Thank you,David.👍

absolutely fascinating - classic engineering at it's best and beautifully illustrated by your good self

I really enjoyed that Vlog David. I could listen to that engine all day . What a lovely piece of engineering.

Such a lovely sound from these older engines.

Very interesting you should do more of these. Thanks.

Brilliant video, absolutely love the sight and sound of these old engines. Many thanks for your vlog

Wow what a lovely part of history. It sounds wonderful to the ears & no great big smoke screen coming from it @ all. I'm so impressed with it. I would love to see that up close & personal. Just to talk with the owner for hours to learn all the history & his knowledge of having a part of history. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait till part 3, Chris

Really enjoyed watching this David, thank you. Brought back memories of the sound my parents tug made with a lister JP2. Great set of films. More please!

Sweet sounding baby

I know virtually nothing about narrowboats (but what you've taught me) nor diesel engines (or ANY engines for that matter), but I was smiling uncontrollably during this video. (Past life experience?) Thank you, David. I'm now sad there's only one more of these videos to come.

That is amazing. A pure Picasso in working order. A PROPER JOB. We were fortunate to have a Gardner 4LK in one of our boats again a Picasso.

How very charming. I can certainly see the appeal of a vintage engine and the slow chug-a-chug blends well with the pace of the narrowboating lifestyle. I wonder how this engine compares to more modern designs in terms of fuel consumption? The slow revs make more sense in a narrowboat, it appears that modern engines never get run fast enough to keep them in the 'sweet spot' of the torque curve where they are happiest. Thanks for sharing and fair winds David.

This is such a lovely engine and the craftsmanship around it. I'm not an engine or horsepower guy, but this series is just lovely. Thank you for makeing it.

I love that kind of sound (the last minutes of the video is a rare pleasure, thanks for sharing

Fantastic can’t wait to own one nexst year leaving Australia when I retire to go back to the Uk to spend the remaining time I have on this planet in a narrow boat wish me luck!, ps bloody good blogs cobber

Love these old tech engines, a laid back engine for the hectic life of canal cruising! and the beautiful sound they make.

David, learning these things is literally a gas;) So darn much fun. Thanks so much for all of the varied information. It just keeps getting better.

Splendid ! I may have to go and lie down for a bit. I've seen old semi-diesels that needed a blowtorch on them for minutes before starting, and the famous Field Marshall tractor that used a shotgun cartridge to start it, but this is something else. All that chain driven remote stuff :o) And the redundant spark plug :o) And what a great noise. Must have been quite an expensive engine when new...great to see it David.

Very interesting. An eight liter engine built in Glasgow. Very nice piece of engineering. Very steam punk !

great little series -- need to cover the steam power boats too

Must be honest theses vlogs are great really take you into the depths of narrow boating, very interesting, love them .

Simply Marvelous 😊!

Hello David hope all is well. I can't tell you how much I love three of these vlogs. What beautiful engines. I simply cant stop watching them. Please Don't stop doing what you do. Your vlog is just lovely viewing and kept me sane whilst in hospital (northern gen Sheffield :) ) with a broken back. I'm O.K. ish now and back at work. I wish you many more years of happy cruising all the best from Jimbo.

Back in the early 1950's I visited a relative who lived in Chester The canal ran past the end of their small yard I watched the working barges (narrow boats) go by I bet that was the sound they made back then. Wonderful to hear that chug, chug.

Nostalgia all around. Beautiful!

Listen to that engine it's the true sound of a narrow boat, sweet!!

Simply splendid! We just don’t see much of these classics anymore. I remember back in the ‘90 s I was canoeing near Vancouver when an old thumper tour boat came past. What an exquisite sound it made and it was over 50 meters long... simply beautiful! Bryan from Vancouver

Superb. If I can get the money together for a narrow boat, vintage engine will be a must.

Forget the canal , I could sit and watch that engine all day .

Lovely series, such a shame there is only one more.

That starting system is almost identical to the old IHC UD-8 and UD-16 diesels that started on gas and then switched over to diesel. I can't believe how slowly that thing turns over at idle! That flywheel must be half the weight of the engine.😁

I also like the rivets in the hull, classy look.

Fascinating vlog with great cinematography and narration. Thank you.

This motor most likely will still be running smoothly for another 60 years 😃👍👏👏

You vlog is never boring, always interesting. Those old engines are beautiful looking, beautiful sounding.... I had an SP135 Ford Lehman Diesel in my last boat. I kept the engine and engine room 'nearly' that clean and beautiful..

Sounds lovely. Enjoyed this very much!

What a lovely sounding engine!

Great to see you back. Wonderful to see that great machine...Thanks, From Oregon

. . . the last minute of the video - Sublime ! Merci Beaucoup !

Marvelous. Bloody Marvelous.

You just can't beat the sound of an old diesel. There also something nice to look at. Thanks Dave, I enjoyed it very much.

What a beautiful sound that grace has , you could listen to her all day long no problem 😎

Allis Chalmers made an engine that starts like that .....its cool as shit ... thank you great video 👍👍👍👍

A thing of beauty! A Labour of love to maintain &start.

I love the old engines

Another great vlog David, Thank you. Wow, what an engine, Its Sublime I love it. Hats of to Rob Goodman he's an ace.

Love the sound. Nobody is going to jump aboard and hijack this boat if it's not already started.

I loved it, I'm a almost retired ships engineer myself. I have a older Volvo Penta MD17c in my boat a Fisher 30 and it runs nice but not lie this engine. 👍

Really enjoyed this series, a fascinating engine with the petrol starting a bit like some of the vintage tractors, and 8 litres WOW!

That just brought a smile to my face! Excellent as usual David, thank you!

Love these vintage engines. Grew up on a farm with several vintage diesel tractors that my brother and I learned to work on and run. Thanks for the great vlogs.

Well watched you for four hours today. So informative. Fantastic. Thank you.

Thanks for showing this vlog David this engine is really beautiful and a real bit of engineering. The last time I saw a second starting engine like this one was on a old D9 Caterpillar bull dozer. They had kerosene "pilot" motor which you started first and that would turn over that huge Cat motor. The bloke that owns this keeps the motor in a lovely condition and what a exhaust note! Fantastic thank you John

The practical in me thinks what a palaver to go through everyday however the romantic in me goes weak at the knees at the preparation, the firing up and the sound of that gorgeous engine ticking away slowly. If I lived aboard full time I think it would be really hard for me to choose modern over this. The thought of waking up in the morning, pressing a button and I’m on my way is compelling. But then I would have to hear the buzz of a modern engine for the rest of the day... Vintage it would be then, having owned vintage Bikes and Cars one soon adapts to the extra fuss! My favourite yet in this series, thank you.

Wow. What a beautiful piece of engineering, and the sound is so soothing. I'm so glad there are folk around who appreciate and know how to use and preserve these machines. Thanks David for another great film. We found you from Vandemonium and are avidly catching up with these boating vlogs too.

Hi all your vlogs are interesting my friends here in the States love them🍐

Thanks for the Drive by...missed it a little bit on the first episode

This is a great mini series David and perfectly presented. Very many thanks.

Real vintage collection

grace is in harmony with the sounds of nature .

G’day CC there were a lot of tractors with the same start up procedure, except you used Kerosene instead of petrol. This has a lovely sound to it and you can hear each piston going up and down in its bore. Thank you for filming that it was very interesting kind regards John

Oh my word... How interesting, inspiring and beautiful, as others have commented, the last few moments of the boat in motion were so amazing!

Another wonderful "not a vlog" video David:)

Hi my friends here at cape Kennedy love your vlogs

Wow, a bit like choosing to go somewhere in your motor car or steam engine. Love it.

I’ve always loved the sound of these engines, just a steady compression and quite relaxing to listen to.

Interesting series on old engines. Always fun to see the old engines still in use. Thank you for the videos on them. Take care - be safe.

Always nice to see someone enjoying their lifestyle choice. Makes me feel like going out and buying a narrowboat.

Wonderful 👍

This video was well worth the wait. A lovely engine and the shots at the end accompanied by the sound of the engine was great. The weather was also lovely. Thanks I really enjoyed it.

This is fascinating, much like when I accompany my brother to antique tractor shows. I know nothing, other than I find old tech impressive

Love these vintage engines! Especially enjoyed watching and listening to Grace pass you in the canal! Thanks!

Loved the sound of it!