shots of vire 7 cylinder

Notes

12 and 14mm ring spanners required, approx 30lbft

make your own gasket, as it is not fussy - unlike normal engine, pressure is low on this gasket (crankcase not piston pressure),

tighten every year as it will vibrate loose as gasket shrinks/gets saturated with oil??

can be run without water for a few minutes without damage

best to make your own overheating alarm see electrical page for details

water comes in at top from exhaust jacket feeder hose, exits at bottom (thus preventing silt build up?? like vire 6 suffered by going other way)

light scratches ok, normally piston ring gumming in causes unreliability not cylinder as the compression ration is relatively low, using 2 stroke cycle and low compression eases mechanical specifications on wear and makes it a lot more dirt and abuse tolerant than conventional cyl head gasketted engines/diesels where compression is near the edge of critical to make the more efficient)

although not efficient, will only use 0.5 gall/hr because capacity about 1/3-1/5 of most inboards which gulp' it down.

will give small 23foot cruiser about 5 knots in fine weather, in heavy weather you need sails not just to steady the roll but also to drive against a strong sea and headwind.

 

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