Make and Break Engines at the Wooden Boat Museum

Charlie Donnelly (pictured far left) speaking two stroke marine engines to workshop participants.

On Saturday, June 29th, I drove to the Wooden Boat Museum to participate in a workshop on two stroke engines. My work last summer  focused exclusively on the make and break type of two stroke engine, but the Wooden Boat Museum has broadened their scope by including the jump-spark versions of these simplistic engines. 

About thirteen participants attended this first workshop which was really just a starting point for workshops to come. The museum wanted to get a feel for who was interested in attending workshops on the repair, restoration, and maintenance of these antique engines. The Museum hopes to generate enough interest that they will be able to  put off a series of day long workshops over the next few months and into the fall. Topics pertaining to the restoration of these engines, including pouring babbitt bearings and installation methods, will be covered.

With these workshops participants would start with the very basics of the engines and begin to get their hands dirty in the workshop shed. The main model for these workshops would be the Barnes engine (pictured left) which has been donated for restoration to the Museum. Barnes engines were made in St. John's, Newfoundland, and are very difficult to come by - even more so in excellent condition with matching paper stickers and all! This great find will be restored through the series of workshops lead by Charlie Donnelly, who hopes to have the Barnes engine running smoothly again once the workshops conclude. 

For more information on these two stroke engine workshops contact the Wooden Boat Museum by phone at 1-709-583-2070.