The wrong sort of. . . . .

Winnie the Pooh had a problem with the wrong sort of bees and got stung.

I am heading for a problem with the wrong type of gearbox! I was offered a rebuilt gearbox at a very reasonable price by my local marina. It was a Hurth 150, the same make that was in my boat, and the front to back dimensions are identical meaning that it would fit between the engine and the propeller shaft without alteration. It was of a larger power rating so would not wear out so quickly, but the input and output shafts differed by about 20mm in the vertical dimension meaning that the engine would need to be raised this distance. I didn't think that would be a problem when I bought the gearbox.

However.... there was a problem: the engine has been shoe-horned into the engine bay beneath an overhang at the rear end without even this amount of clearance. To raise it less than 3/4 inch would mean that the coolant tank cap would not be removable. So the cheap option was out and I am now going to have to bear the sting of a full price new gearbox.

The local marina proprietor was very accommodating, accepting the gearbox back onto his shelf and returning my cheque. I insisted that he take a small 'handling charge' which I hope will at least buy him a drink for his trouble.

Some Irishman's Law comes to mind.