Parsons marine gearboxes

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Parsons marine gearboxes

Parsons gearboxes have been in widespread use since the 1920s. They are either manual, with a gear lever mounted on the box, or remotely operated. The remotely operated boxes are known as Marinomatic and are hydraulically assisted.

All the Parsons gearboxes have a direct drive "reverse gear" and many have a reduction gear on the back. They engage forward gear with an internal clutch. The meshed gears do not rotate in forward gear. Most use an internal brake and epicyclic gears in reverse. There is minimal wear to the brake band and gears, because they are only used in reverse. The gearboxes were fitted to numerous types of engine, as well as to the Parsons marine engines.

How to identify your Parsons gearbox

The main box, or "reverse gear" can be identified from the table below. We'll add some photos to make this easier shortly. Look for the Marinomatic head or manual gear lever, which side the dipstick is on and the shape of the casing. All the gearboxes should have a brass plate with a unique set of numbers. We can identify the gearbox from these numbers - or if there is no plate, we can identify it from photographs. Various reduction gears can be fitted to each "reverse gear", so please refer to the relevant manual to identify your reduction gear.

Gearbox	Used with	Notes
Type A	Parsons Goosander diesel (11 SHP)	Manual, 2 way friction clutch
Type B (early)	Petters AV2M	Manual
Type B	Parsons Prawn petrol (24 SHP) Also 102E4M	Manual
Type C	Parsons Sea Urchin petrol (35 SHP) Also 105E4M Perkins Four-99 and 4-107 BMC Vedette Petters PJ	Marinomatic
Type D	Perkins Four-99 and P3/144 208E4M and 209E6M	Manual or Marinomatic
Type DA	Parsons Pike II based on Ford 2712E diesel (72 SHP) Also Perkins Four-99 and P3/144 208E4M and 209E6M Bedford 220 Ruston and Hornsby engines	Manual
Type DA	Parsons Pike II (65 SHP) Also Perkins Four-99 and P3/144 208E4M and 209E6M Bedford 220	Marinomatic, Mk I, II or III
Type F	Parsons Merganser, Peregrine, Pike and Porbeagle Also Perkins engines	Manual
Type G	Parsons Marlin (65 SHP), Barracuda (86 SHP)	Manual
Type HG4	Parsons Barracuda turbo (108 SHP) Also FH6M, Bedford 330, Cummins V6 & V8-185M, Perkins 270D engines	Marinomatic, Mk I & II
Type HG4 4/100	Parsons Barracuda II based on Ford 2715E (108 SHP)	Marinomatic
Type HG4 30/100	Parsons Porbeagle II based on Ford 2712E (72 SHP)	Marinomatic
Type MG4	Parsons Porbeagle II (65 SHP)	Manual
Type MG4 4/100	Parsons Barracuda II based on Ford 2715E (108 SHP)	Manual
Type MG4 30/100	Parsons Porbeagle II based on Ford 2712E (72 SHP)	Manual
Type H	Various	Marinomatic, the largest Parsons marine gearbox
Type 65
Type 76/100	Parsons Force 12 (158 SHP) Also Cummins V6(N)-215M	Marinomatic

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