After our first two sails around Moreton, we decided to take a closer look at the condition of things before the serious trip to Newcastle. First stop was the engine, an original 1976 Perkins tractor diesel, marinised for boats. While it doesn’t look the best, it still seems to go strong and reliably. The coupling from gear box to propeller shaft however, was about to disintegrate! Of the four bolts holding it together, all were loose and worn, only two had nuts, and one was sheared off. If I hadn’t replaced the bolts, the coupling would have flown to bits and the propeller could have pulled the shaft out of the boat. This would leave a nice hole for water to flood in, and given us that sinking feeling. Continue reading