Ahh, twas a very Good Day. First, I decided to dismantle the Parsons gearbox as it is unbelievably filthy inside and out. I had previously attacked the casing with paint stripper and a drill-mounted wire brush, but there was still lots of work to do. Emptied the oil out, really horrible thick brown syrup with a bit of water on top. The output flange came off easily and once both end plates were persuaded free the entire shaft and all it's associated machinery came out in one piece, leaving the bands and selector mechanism. The whole housing can now be thoroughly de-loused. The bands look fine, and brother Al thinks we can match up replacement front/rear seals and bearings from Saeco, an automotive supplier. This beats sending it to a marine engineer for a service, I probably saved hundreds.
Also received a parcel from the postie. I can hardly believe it, it's Jado's original bow roller! I've been leaning on Peter Murton to send me this for months, especially once I saw it on the bow of another boat that he was advertising. Months of unanswered emails and vague promises, and now it's here!
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