Know Your Engine

摘要

We all rely on our engine, but do you know what to do if it goes wrong, or how to prevent it going wrong in the first place? At Reading College they have been offering weekend courses on engine maintenance and repair for several years. Devised and run by Tony Brooks, motor vehicle lecturer at the college, they are divided into narrowboats, cruisers and sailing boats. Tony is himself a narrowboat owner, and was for many years chief engineer of a Thames hire-fleet. He has designed the courses to be suitable for beginners and experienced boaters alike, and to enable you to keep your engine in good condition, save money on routine maintenance and servicing, and to assist you in diagnosing problems, or preventing them before they start. There are normally 12 people on the course and we had a large classroom with a desk each, and plentiful supplies of tea and coffee at all times. We also had the use of the workshop that is explain the basics, before going into more depth. For example at the beginning of the course he took us to the workshop where a board was mounted with all the basic parts of an engine, and he explained how each part worked and contributed to the whole.