This 164-year-old paddle steamer is ready to ply Norwegian lake waters after a repair carried out by MarineShaft

We are talking about the world's oldest preserved paddle steamer in service: SKIBLADNER

November, last winter 2019 - before corona closed the borders, MarineShaft sent service engineers to Norway to inspect the repair work needed onboard paddle steamer Skibladner, which had been pulled ashore for the winter.

The inspection indicated that an extensive reconditioning of the propulsion equipment was in need due to wear – not to offend a 164-year-old-lady.

Our service engineers disassembled all the rotating parts of the steam engine and had them sent to our workshop in Hirtshals, Denmark.

The foundation of the engines had some cracks and other damages which our service engineers repaired on-site.

In our workshop in Hirtshals we received the crankshaft, paddlewheel shafts, the rods, and the liners. Upon arrival, everything was thoroughly controlled, measured, and crack tested.

The crankshaft was bent and was cold straightened.
All the paddle steam bearings were re-casted with white metal after removal of the old white metal.
These parts, along with the crank pin and paddle steam hub went through a comprehensive and long-lasting reconditioning.  This repair also included the manufacturing of 2 new crankpin couplings, paddle steam bearings and other engine parts.

Our robotic laser cladding equipment was used for welding of the crankshaft to ensure a careful welding with minimum heat input.

Before the propulsion equipment left our workshop, we assembled the entire equipment for a final control and run-out test.

Only recently our service engineers were able to travel to Norway again to reinstall the equipment and assist during the test drive. Everything went as planned.

This job has been an exciting and different type of repair. Challenging too, as the original drawings were all handwritten, quite blurred, and calculated in inches.

During the test drive of Skibladner, one of our service engineers filmed in best Dogme film style, and we welcome you to sail along.  Video link

If you have an interest in learning more about Skibladner go to their official website https://www.skibladner.no/hjem