In 2005, The UK’s RNLI lifeboats were launched 8421 times for all causes. Of these, 1710 launches were to vessels suffering machinery failure, 1298 being to leisure craft (387 of these were sailing vessels and 911 were power craft). These numbers don’t include failures dealt with by professional breakdown services or friendly tows. Some knowledge of the operation of diesel engines and their systems, their maintenance and the ability to carry out simple repairs would have reduced the need for the rescue services to attend these craft signifi cantly.