Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for this. I built the boat from scratch and
installed, as engine bearers, two parallel angle irons so that the
engine and its mounts could be slid forward and lifted out. We had a
new engine installed by a yard in Brisbane 5 years ago but in sailing
up the Red Sea we were motor-sailing behind the reefs south of Suakin
(south of Port Sudan) when the damned thing suddenly seized solid. I
could not even turn it with a large wrench applied to the crankshaft
pulley. With nothing locally or even nearby but desert we had no
option but to sail 50 miles day and night to the open sea across an
area marked "uncharted" on the charts with dotted lines showing the
possible position of reefs. The mechanics at Port Sudan, who were only
truck mechanics, had to have the engine in and out in the same day
otherwise customs duty was payable. Unfortnately they undid the engine
mounts before I thought about it. When they stripped it at their
workshop they found that a nut from the crankshaft had come undone and
had jammed in some gear teeth. This from a new 2 year old diesel.

When they put it back in we tested it at revs and everything was
great. It was only when we put it into gear to leave that we found it
was massively unbalanced which I corrected as much as possible by
adjusting the threaded mounts. At cruising revs of 1800 it is OK. It
is only at lower engine speeds in gear that it vibrates.

Port Sudan is not a place for yachts to go. As the wind was coming
directly out of the narrow, reef lined harbour mouth, and there was
nowhere we could anchor 90 metres deep) we had to call for a tow by ba
pilot boat. This was to cost us, with harbour fees nearly US$2,000.
There was no way to get this money as the banks have no connection to
our banking system. My lawyer couldn't send money due to a US embargo
on funds transfer. We were very fortunate that the Chief Pilot was a
religious man (I had to wait in his office while he finished his daily
reading of the Q'uran) who argued on my behalf with the Port Captain
that they should not be charging me but extending hospitality. They
waived all fees and we became their guests, being taken to their homes
and to their beduine relations in the desert. So much for a country
where you are warned by your government not to go as it is deemed
unsafe.

The boat is now on the hard in Spain and I intend returning to get it
ready for crossing the Atlantic from the Canaries at the end of this
year so I am very, very grateful for all of your help. My wife and son
(and for the moment, I) are back in Sydney as he had to start High
School. I shall be sailing by myself, not by choice but because we
have no option.

Thankyou once again. It is wonderful also to look up a newsgroup where
the Russian porn masters have not yet posted. A few religious zealots
I can handle though I am mindful of the definition of a Christian who
is "someone who fervently believes that the New Testament is a
divinely inspired book eminently suited to the needs of his neighbour"

Peter Hendra
New Zealand yacht Herodotus