[Varley]

I was deputed to ride Stenice to the refuge of Portland Bill (from Immingham) as a two out of three generator casualty.

Cranage was obviously a desirable attribute and the berth assigned was equipped with at least two magnificent examples. When enquiring discretely as to the cost of hire I was told they were no longer operational as the copper in their supply cabling and transformers had been thieved.

(The failure mode, that I missed, was that the alternators and engines had been flexing around the the coupling and NDE bearing of the alternators had 'rasped' the bearing housing down to let the rotor and stator touch. I had only reported that the housings were worn and the bearings were in perfect condition. I did however belay other work on arrival to take airgaps on the remaining machine. Not a cigarette paper could have filled the lower gap. A colleague (avoiding the potential of drift embarrassment) meeting us in Portland diagnosed the reason. I am not aware of the solution.