To plan the layout for a new boat is an interesting challenge, and
whilst boat builders are most helpful, the final decisions are yours.



The outcome will have a long term effect on your boating. As you are seeking to capture the special feel and atmosphere of a traditional working boat, it needs care when planning for your aims to be achieved.
The bow, the sheer of the cabin, the traditional painting and lettering, all needs to be ‘right’. But all of these elements are for nothing if the sight and sound of your engine is inappropriate to that image. It’s no good having a traditional boat with all the traditional paintwork and scumbling if the engine sounds and looks as if belongs on the M25

I am sure that converted car and tractor engines have their place, but not in a proper boat. Converted car engines that were designed to pull along a one ton car at 75mph for typically four hours at most, and cannot be considered ideal when used to drive a eighteen to twenty ton narrow boat at 4mph for nine or more hours per day, every day for a fortnights holiday.
The two are simply incompatible.

A much better solution is a restored Vintage Marine Engine, designed for the purpose and built to last, built to be easy to maintain, to have sufficient power and torque at low revs to turn a large propeller slowly enough for it to be efficient. For all the engines power to be turned into useful work rather than just making wash and bubbles, the gain of course is in better fuel economy, and reduced pollution .

The Vintage Marine Engine of your choice should look imposing, have good spares availability, sound nice, be able to run slowly when cruising at normal canal speed, to have plenty of power and revs in hand to deal with even extreme conditions.

A large capacity, slow running, relaxed sounding Vintage Marine Engine is the only correct solution to powering a traditional canal narrow boat.

I have been narrow boating since 1971 with Vintage Engines.
My 1929 Yarwoods built tug featured on the front cover is fitted with a 1940’s Kelvin J3, rated at 33shp at 1000rpm.
It normally runs at 350rpm when cruising at the 4mph limit and still manages over 4.5hours to each gallon of diesel.

I do not believe a new, converted automotive engine could achieve these results
The Oil Engine Company was established in 1987 to supply Vintage Marine Engines for use in Narrow Boats, and a wide variety of engines were supplied.

Quite early on I was asked to provide a fully rebuilt Kelvin Model J. At that time very few had been installed in narrow boats, little was known about them, and spares and information were almost non existent.
On completion of the Kelvin J3, I stood back and felt this was the perfect engine for a narrow boat. Tall and narrow, individual cylinders surmounted by individual heads, modular design, with two, three and four cylinder versions made.
Plenty of power, and the ability to run amazingly slowly for long periods, and to do so with real fuel economy. ‘More of these Kelvin’s, I felt would be ’a good thing’
Nowadays I encourage owners to rebuild their own engines, as the Kelvin is such an easy engine to rebuild, this is well within your capabilities.

As the late George Bergius told me “All the Kelvin engines were designed, by my Father Walter, to be operated and serviced by unskilled operators.
The vast majority of our customers were fishermen and the member of the crew who could replace his own bicycle chain was appointed engineer !”
As I purchased more and more Kelvins of various models, it became clear to me that there was a need to inform and explain the quirks of what is a very simple design, but one where things have been done just a little differently to what today we would call the norm. To that end I wrote a article for the Waterways World magazine published in June 1994, detailing the background to the company and their engines. I also started The Kelvin Register for owners and enthusiast of these superb Glasgow built engines.

Built by the Bergius Company, all the Kelvins designed between 1904 and 1958 were from the pen of Company Founder, Walter Bergius. For until the advent of the Model P in 1958 he designed the engines himself, no chief engineer or draughtsman were employed.

Being designed by a skilled engineer, and with the company run by engineers, its no surprise to find that the Kelvins were of a very practical design, and that they used simply the best materials for the job, rather than today, when engines are built to a price and the cheapest materials are employed so as to last the short life envisaged.
The RCD quotes a life expectancy for a modern marine engine of ten years.
Walter would have been horrified, his engines have lasted in active service for
upwards of seventy years, and continue to do so!

However to enable a quality rebuild to be achieved something had to be done about spare parts, and so The Oil Engine Co. set about the expensive task of re manufacturing parts in small volumes.

Today I am able to offer Kelvin Model J & K parts that have previously been out of stock for twenty years and more. New Cylinder Heads, Valves, Valve Guides, Pushrods, Cylinders complete with Liners, Cylinder Liners, Pistons, Little End Bushes, Main and Big End Shells in various sizes, Flywheel Bolts, Water Pipes, Starter Motor Brackets, Exhaust Manifolds, All ballraces and chains are available, along with starter motors, rebuilt injectors and injection pumps, etc.
In addition to all the new Kelvin parts. I have accumulated over the last twenty years, a very considerable stock of used parts. If you seek a part for any Kelvin, I may have just what you require!

As demand grew I also established The Vintage Marine Engine Club to cover ALL Vintage Engines. After publishing 80 issues of the magazines I felt it would be better to merge the two different magazines into one. So that today there remain two clubs but they share a colour 36 page A5 sized magazine. Current issue is number 129. Back issues are available