Srodbro Posted January 13 Share #1 Posted January 13 During the course of building a model of Ronald Amundsen’s Gjoa, I have become curious about the vessel’s engine. In his book on the Northwest Passage voyage, Amundsen says: ”Our little motor — a 13 H.P. of the “Dan” type — which was connected to everything that could possibly be driven with its aid, was easy to work and practical in every part. The motor was the pet of every one on board. When it was not working we seemed to miss a good comrade. I may say that our successful negotiation of the North West Passage was very largely due to our excellent little engine.” I have search for info on this “Dan” type engine, and come up empty handed. I am wondering if there has been a mis-translation or typo, and if this should have read “Day” type engine, meaning an early two-stroke gasoline engine. Anyone have any insight on this? Thanks. thibaultron 1 Quote Steve "If they suspect me of intelligence, I am sure it will soon blow over, ha, ha, ha!" -- Jack Aubrey Builds: Yankee Hero, Fannie Gorham, We’re Here, Dapper Tom (x3), New Bedford Whaler, US Brig Lawrence (Niagara), Wyoming (half hull), Fra Berlanga (half hull), Gokstad Viking Ship, Kate Cory, Charles Morgan, Gjoa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaffrig Posted January 13 Share #2 Posted January 13 Here’s a link to the norwegian wikipedia site. https://wiki.cdd.no/index.php/Motorfabriken_Dan and here from putting the engine back in the vessel after restoration. https://frammuseum.no/nb/blog/2017/07/09/originalmotoren-tilbake-pa-gjoa/ Hope this helps a little! Gaffrig. Canute, Harvey Golden, thibaultron and 2 others 5 Quote Current builds : Bluenose, Billing Boats Lynx, Panart Finished models : Hannah ship in a bottle, Amati Le Renard, Artesania Latina Endeavour’s Longboat, Artesania Latina Henriette Marie, Billing Boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srodbro Posted January 14 Author Share #3 Posted January 14 Ahhh…Excellent! Thank you for the links. The wiki.cdd.no link led to two others, which finally provided this: “From the start in 1894 until 1925, DAN exclusively built 4-stroke glow-head engines, but around 1925 the first 2-stroke engine was tested.” So, clearly, the engine is four stroke. There is clearly a wealth of info about these engines in the attachments; unfortunately, the only other Danish words my Bestafar taught me were “ aquavit” and “ skal ”. That said, my question has been answered. Thanks again. Gaffrig, mtaylor and Vlax 3 Quote Steve "If they suspect me of intelligence, I am sure it will soon blow over, ha, ha, ha!" -- Jack Aubrey Builds: Yankee Hero, Fannie Gorham, We’re Here, Dapper Tom (x3), New Bedford Whaler, US Brig Lawrence (Niagara), Wyoming (half hull), Fra Berlanga (half hull), Gokstad Viking Ship, Kate Cory, Charles Morgan, Gjoa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Pellett Posted January 15 Share #4 Posted January 15 These semi Diesel engines used to be very popular for applications like commercial fishing boats. They allowed diesel fuel to be used instead of the highly volatile and dangerous gasoline. The glow plugs allowed a lower compression ratio and a lighter engine. The glow plug was initially heater with an external heat source but once the engine started combustion in the cylinders kept them hot. Even though not a true Diesel, Gjoa’s engine is still massive. Roger mtaylor, Bob Cleek and Srodbro 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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