This. Should Not Have Been Removed.

Jackson

After spending the night on the boat in moderate comfort amongst all the things that still have to find a home we killed time waiting for the rain to abate by chasing small deck leaks. When finally the rain cleared we made a satisfying breakfast of French Toast, then hunkered back in for another small squall, after which the rain and winds died off. Perfect for a shakedown cruise. We thought.
Now, you remember the outboard issues we were having yesterday, well, they weren't done.
We got everything ready, started the outboard, and as I put it in gear and began to motor out of the slip a mysterious crunching noise was heard, and the motor's tiller slipped away from my hand. I grabbed, just as the power head dunked itself in Little Sodus Bay. It turns out there is a LOT of torque generated in my cob job outboard mount and the wood mounting plate couldn't take it. It just decided it couldn't take the stress and let my all important mounting bolts slip through it's fibers, dropping poor Jackson in the drink.
So, God be praised, we drifted across the marina and ran lightly aground before hitting anything important, and by the time I looked up there were already marina personnel ready to give a hand. They got a rope around Jackson and hoisted him out, then pulled Cassandra back for another night in the slip where she'd been staying.
Both old an new mounts are at home in the garage now being modified so this will never again be a problem.