How many of you brave leaners will actually lean back whilst say mid channel in a single
My Irish Sea crossing was 80nm over water each way and I had the engine leaned to best economy all the way. As I see it, leaning the engine correctly, especially at altitude, brings the mixture closer to the optimum and therefore reduces, rather than increases, the chances of engine problems.
The particular aircraft I was flying makes it especially easy, with a fuel flow meter and egt and cht monitoring for every cylinder, but I'd still make the effort in any machine.