Hendo's Randall 35 Cray Boat complete rebuild, Perth, Western Australia

beautiful girl your buildin there Hendo. nuttin i love more than building an engine. Something about taking a bunch of old rusty iron and turning it into a berautiful sweet power source that purrs like a kitten. I can't wait to her her run
Britt

Hey loyal followers. I was playing with the gearbox today and wow she sure is pretty inside. The box is a HF7B2. Old and tatty on the outside but lovely on the inside.

Me being me, I had to pull it apart to see how it work. Everything was going great till i pulled 6 seemingly unimportant rods out then I heard some parts falling inside the box.

You can imagine my surprise coupled with a OH SH*T feeling when I opened the case to find a pile of pinion bearings and cogs. These seemingly unimportant rods turned out to be rather important rods. Go figure!

Anywho, now I'm sitting here with two piles of pinion bearings, 6 cogs (half long and half short, some thrust looking plates and I haven't a clue where they go lol. Argh fu*k it. Time for a drink I think lol.

I have a manual from chriscraft boats that is on the paragon box but the manual doesn't show the six cogs so not sure how they go back in and in which order. Then there's the issue of trying to remake these pinion bearings and reinstall them without the pinions falling out everywhere lol

Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

Well if anyone has experienced this or knows how to put my gearbox together Id love to hear from you :-D failing that ill have to pay someone to put this section together.

Cheers boys!

Hendo

Crap happens. You'll sort it out before long I'm sure.

Have a good day

Peter B said:

Yeah, hang in there Hendo, and remember...keep your eyes on the prize....

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BruceK said:

Hendo, sorry a troll got to you,you resolved it quickly. Expect the usual proportion of strange ones as in the general community and use the "ignore" facility.
Best wishes for your project, keep up the reports.
All the best from the east.

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Cheers mate

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bfloyd4445 said:

beautiful girl your buildin there Hendo. nuttin i love more than building an engine. Something about taking a bunch of old rusty iron and turning it into a berautiful sweet power source that purrs like a kitten. I can't wait to her her run
Britt

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Cheers mate. Can we post vids on here or just pics?

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CPseudonym said:

Crap happens. You'll sort it out before long I'm sure.

Have a good day

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Yup. She'll be right! ;-)

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Hendo,
If you need to contact someone contact this guy.
The best marine gearbox bloke I know in the country.
For prompt and efficient service at Marine Transmissions®
Contact Wes Jordan
Ph. 07 3869 3242 or 0408 194 131
Email wjordan@bytesite.com.au

Welcome to Marine Transmissions

Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

Hendo,
If you need to contact someone contact this guy.
The best marine gearbox bloke I know in the country.
For prompt and efficient service at Marine Transmissions®
Contact Wes Jordan
Ph. 07 3869 3242 or 0408 194 131
Email wjordan@bytesite.com.au

Welcome to Marine Transmissions

Cheers
Benn

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Oh Benn you're a lifesaver mate! If youre in Perth sometime, give me a heads up and ill buy you a beer for that! Thanks so much :-D

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I'll be flying thru Perth on Thursday on myway home to Bris from Port Hedland. Will only be stoping over in the QANTAS lounge for a couple of hours.
Any how I will have a couple of Little Creature pale ales on the strength of it all.
Hope the rebuild goes well for you.
Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

I'll be flying thru Perth on Thursday on myway home to Bris from Port Hedland. Will only be stoping over in the QANTAS lounge for a couple of hours.
Any how I will have a couple of Little Creature pale ales on the strength of it all.
Hope the rebuild goes well for you.
Cheers
Benn

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Crikey! Are You a FIFO worker based out of Brisbane?

I did FIFO for a few years but out of Perth. I got offered a Perth based management role. Best decision I made. FIFO was putting a toll on the family.

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Mate been doing this sort of thing all my life.
Go to sea for a living.
Now Engineer on the tugs in Port Hedland , 4 weeks on 4 weeks off.
All my mob have got used to this after about 40 years of it.
It is called quality time at home (fishing , boating etc)
Cheers
Benn

Tidahapah said:

Mate been doing this sort of thing all my life.
Go to sea for a living.
Now Engineer on the tugs in Port Hedland , 4 weeks on 4 weeks off.
All my mob have got used to this after about 40 years of it.
It is called quality time at home (fishing , boating etc)
Cheers
Benn

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Cool. I was a HSE manager for RIO TINTO up at Port Headland before my current job.

I sent wes an email and he replied. He wanted me to bring my section down as he had one to replace it with but I think I must have forgotten to say I live in Perth lol. I advised him that the parts were fine and all i wanted was either someone to put it together or sell me the gasket kit and instruction book but I don't expect to get a reply till tomorrow.

On the upside, I found a place here called Marine Transmission WA. I have been searching for Marine gearbox places all day and found nothing. I didn't think to use the word transmission but when I did waa laa

Hopefully they can help me. Their website looks promising.

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I did that about forty years ago and what a mess. I did manage to get the transmission back together and she worked fine with never a problem after that. I tell you it took me a bunch of hours to get er sorted out.

Good luck, but i have confidence you will get er done......in time.....

" If it`s not broken don`t try to fix it", but I guess it needed dismantling.
With anyone else I`d say get an expert, but with you, not sure you`ll need one.

bfloyd4445 said:

I did that about forty years ago and what a mess. I did manage to get the transmission back together and she worked fine with never a problem after that. I tell you it took me a bunch of hours to get er sorted out.

Good luck, but i have confidence you will get er done......in time.....

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Lol Phew... And here I was thinking I was the only crazy one hahaha

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BruceK said:

" If it`s not broken don`t try to fix it", but I guess it needed dismantling.
With anyone else I`d say get an expert, but with you, not sure you`ll need one.

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Yeah it's a PITA now but I'm glad it did it. The oil cooler that got its cracked water bonnet replaced had leaked water into the paragon at some stage and resultant light surface rust is in sections so happy to find out now than later. Well that's my justification and I'm sticking to it haha

:-D

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Greetings,
Rust? She's gotta come apart mate. NO question!

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Rust? She's gotta come apart mate. NO question!

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Yup my thoughts exactly mate. I'm glad I got the oil cooler rebuilt. Can only imagine what condition that was in :-/

All good tho. It's stinking hot down here atm so it's nice to be working inside for a change and not outside in the blistering sun. The admiral has "allowed" me to bring the parts inside and she has also "allowed" me to sit at the table to do these parts as the ducted Air con is on 19deg C. Mind you tho, it wouldn't take much to run some ducting to the garage and then I can have an Air Conditioned garage. Be great in winter when we flick it over to heat. Hmmm! Lol

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Any dismantled engine under repair in Oz is kept in the bath so no parts get lost. What Admiral could object to that?
RTF is developing worrying Australianisms, " (good) on yer, mate!" ("good" is silent, "sport" can be substituted for "mate").
Sounds so hot in WA, the sticks are chasing the dogs.
You could box the gearbox and send it to Britt to fix, let`s think... freight both ways, he last fixed one 40 years ago, maybe not....

Support boat if needed

Hendo don't know if you are north or south of the river if south of the river happy to come out as a camera / support boat when you splash the AXE if wanted, have a 25 ft Bertram (for now). Good project hope it gives you and the family all you want.

kbad said:

Hendo don't know if you are north or south of the river if south of the river happy to come out as a camera / support boat when you splash the AXE if wanted, have a 25 ft Bertram (for now). Good project hope it gives you and the family all you want.

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Hey mate!
Sweet that sounds great! I'm South of the river! I live in Carlisle and Axe currently lives in Forestfield. Bout 10-15 mins away. (Near the airport)

I stoked that there is a local to me member!

Where abouts are you at? You're welcome to come over and have a look at Axe if you want. Don't suppose you know how to rebuild a paragon do ya? Hahaha. Just kidding ;-)

I love the berdies. Are you upgrading soon? Ref the "for now" comment.

You taking the Berdy out for Australia Day? There's a few of us rafting up at the narrows end of the swanny anchoring point.

BruceK said:

Any dismantled engine under repair in Oz is kept in the bath so no parts get lost. What Admiral could object to that?
RTF is developing worrying Australianisms, " (good) on yer, mate!" ("good" is silent, "sport" can be substituted for "mate").
Sounds so hot in WA, the sticks are chasing the dogs.
You could box the gearbox and send it to Britt to fix, let`s think... freight both ways, he last fixed one 40 years ago, maybe not....

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Lol can't use the bath in the main bathroom. The cats litter box is in there. Best way to confine the cat litter :-D

Haha I noticed RTF was converting ;-)

RTF- when you say the words, drag out the ends. For instant. How are you going? Would be "how's it garrrn". And really pronounce the 'arrrn' bit and when someone says that to us, Australians won't answer it with a feeling i.e. "good thanks" or "I'm having a bad day". We would answer it with a reversed statement like saying "yeah, not bad ay". Carl Barron explains this beautifully. Search YouTube. I'm sure it'd be on there.

Pluggers is another word you may like to use. it is a word for thongs or flip flop shoes. The ultimate plugger is the 'Double Plugger'

Don't worry RTF, we'll get ya sounding like a true Aussie in no time mate!

Hendo i live in Rockingham, found the Bertie rotting in a paddock in the Valley, new motors new canopy new upholstery and i am pretty much done want to sell her and start saving for a long distance cruiser to venture out in. Have been "out" most places and would love to revisit the Kimberley "my way". Try to avoid the waterways public holidays and as i am self employed i usually go out mid week fishing mainly. Don't know about the gearbox mate, I usually bribe a mate to do things like that which he might do given the right incentive's. Picture of my set up and a couple of mates out at the Fads.
Will keep a watch on the site and if up your way give you a heads up.

kbad said:

Hendo i live in Rockingham, found the Bertie rotting in a paddock in the Valley, new motors new canopy new upholstery and i am pretty much done want to sell her and start saving for a long distance cruiser to venture out in. Have been "out" most places and would love to revisit the Kimberley "my way". Try to avoid the waterways public holidays and as i am self employed i usually go out mid week fishing mainly. Don't know about the gearbox mate, I usually bribe a mate to do things like that which he might do given the right incentive's. Picture of my set up and a couple of mates out at the Fads.
Will keep a watch on the site and if up your way give you a heads up.

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Hey mate. Nice dolphin fish. I'd do anything to catch a fish like that! At the moment I'm fishing out of a ski boat so am limited to where I can go and in what weather. That's one of the reasons for building AXE. My fiancé and I love to fish. One of our goals is to each catch a nice pinky. I've got all the big gear to catch the fish but no luck. It's easy to go under and spear fish which I've done plenty of times but it'd be nice to catch a big fish on a rod. There's no real skill in shooting them. I'd like to catch and release too. Once you spear them there's no releasing them.

I've heard heaps about the FADS but have no idea where they are. I'm originally from QLD so have no idea about fishing spots over here. Would be grateful for a spot or two to go to or if you need a decky, give me a call. I'll come . I've got plenty of places to go diving and to pick up a few crays but no real fishing spots.

Can't wait to christen AXES decks :-D

That's a nice berdie. Chuck a few pics up of the build. Heaps of people would be interested in seeing it.

Looking at the lights and sign on the 100 series, do you do vehicle piloting? If so ill pay you for your services when I find someone that can move AXE when she's finished

Our plans are to take AXE up north to shark bay and up to Broome etc and also around to Albany and Esperence etc. I've raised the floor up 500mm and will raise the sides up 700mm above the floor height. That'll give us nice high sides for ocean travels . Once she's broken in and any issues sorted, our plan is to take her out for three weeks and travel north. Will be great having a boat with a kitchen, separate shower and toilet, beds, nice little diesel and all the comforts as opposed to having two seats and a big outboard that drinks fuel like its going out of fashion lol.

Give me a bell anytime mate! My number is 0418 291 412

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Hendo, I wish I'd seen this post earlier, I was down at the boat today, checking on the charger, and the fact I forgot to turn the auto bilge pump back on after I was doing some voltage checks. I have a diagram of the Paragon box in with the engine manual....I think. I'll have a look when I'm down there again on Wednesday. They are well named anyway, as the faultless way it works, (once correctly reassembled of course), makes it a paragon of virtue...he..he...
Anyway, sounds like you have found a good tranny techie anyway, but if I have the pictures, I guess having a copy would be helpful for you. No promises, but I think I saw some Paragon diagrams there somewhere.....

Peter B said:

Hendo, I wish I'd seen this post earlier, I was down at the boat today, checking on the charger, and the fact I forgot to turn the auto bilge pump back on after I was doing some voltage checks. I have a diagram of the Paragon box in with the engine manual....I think. I'll have a look when I'm down there again on Wednesday. They are well named anyway, as the faultless way it works, (once correctly reassembled of course), makes it a paragon of virtue...he..he...
Anyway, sounds like you have found a good tranny techie anyway, but if I have the pictures, I guess having a copy would be helpful for you. No promises, but I think I saw some Paragon diagrams there somewhere.....

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Hey Pete! Yeah no dramas mate. I've had some very helpful emails and a very informative call from Wes today. He's walking me through the process. I'm really impressed with his customer service and am very grateful for having been given his details. I was speaking with a marine transmission shop over here and even they said to ring a bloke called Wes in Qld and it turned out to be the same bloke!

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RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Rust? She's gotta come apart mate. NO question!

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Did a bit this arvo. Came up great IMHO. Still got a lot to do tho :-/

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Hi there kbad, Your Bertram reminds me that the most exciting, ( read scarey) boat outing I ever went on was in one of those. It belonged to my brother-in-law's boss, and he took us out across Moreton Bay to a place called the Blue Hole to fish for whiting. We caught plenty, but the wind came up stronger than forecasted, and you can only get in or out of it above half tide, so we were delayed heading back, by which time it was BAD. To make it worse, to have enough fuel to get home, we,had to go on the plane, or so the guy said. I guess semi planing would,have been very thirsty. Anyway, we were airborne quite a lot of the time, crashing into the next wave taking solid blue over the top just to add to the fun. I was thinking all the way back, " if we hit a log or something, we are gone." We didn't, and we got back, and I must say it gave me a profound respect for how strong those hulls are. I was a yachtie at the time, you see, so we never travelled like that. In a yacht it would have taken a lot longer, but been a bit of a doddle really.

Peter can get quite interesting out here the Navy has nicknamed it the "washing machine" pick the wrong day and you will regret it. Hendo will bear you in mind re the fishing always looking for deckies, the fads are about 40 mile out from Rockingham so you need to pick your day.