LUBRICATING THE SEA HORSE ENGINE: Halving the weight and doubling the speed affects lubrication. How Doxford solved the problems

THE Doxford Seahorse engine design involved building an engine with the same power per cylinder as current medium/large slow speed engines, but with half the weight and more than twice the revolution speed. Extended test bed running was necessary for the 4‐cylinder 7450 kW (10,000 hp) prototype which has been running since late 1971. The results of these tests and the problems that arose with their solutions were described by J. F. Butler, MA, CEng. FlMarE, technical director of Doxford Engines Ltd to the Royal Institution of Naval Architects in London on December 10, 1974. We were interested in the references to the lubrication of this engine, because the reduction in weight without loss of power presented tribological problems.