For years, Dad always did his own hull blacking.
Basford was quite heavy - it had a Lister HRW3 which in itself was a long story. Dad originally bought a Lister JP2 vintage diesel and had it restored by a chap at Norton Canes. It ran well for about 5 hours and then the big ends failed. The restorer quoted for new white metal bearings but couldn't tell Dad why they had failed so quickly. As the boat was intended to be used (once habitable, they were always away continuously from April to October), Dad sold the JP2 and contacted Lister who agreed to build him an HRW3 from new old stock but fit a modern alternator. It worked well.
Interesting Paul as I have a 1936 Lister JP2M (marine version) in my boat. I bought it fully rebuilt by MPS, a father and son business near Poole, and drives a two foot prop via a modern PRM reduction gearbox and lives in its own walk through engine room. With new pistons, liners, injectors and pump its been totally reliable over the modest 2000 hours I've run it. Can't be quite so complimentary about its oil retention though
