On the way to Hastings whenever I put some revs on, the boat would shake horribly. I put it down to towing the dinghy against wind and tide but I knew it was something more than that.
Slipping out of my Francis Drake procrastinator mode I ran Galatea forwards while tied to the dock. Sure enough the diesel jumped up and down like it was more ratlike than I in wanting to jump ship. Mercifully I tracked it down to a loose engine mount and she's now as smooth as a rat tail.
Quite a few sailors sail the world without an auxiliary engine and I tell myself this to allay the fact that I am mechanically challenged. But I am also reminded of the resilience and resourcefulness of my good mate Brett who once lifted the engine of my sister's mini off it's engine mounts in order to create the space to replace a pulley. Me, I would have said 'can't be done, get a new car' (Which she ultimately did for other reasons). I remember helping Brett break down the 6hp single pot Pedder diesel, rings included while bobbing at a mooring at Brooklyn in our twenties. It is odd that as we age we become less resourceful, less adventurous, when there is so much less to lose!
Gonna blow the clappers here in Hastings so gonna stay another day and do my laundry. I am similarly challenged by coin thieving laundromat..