From your motorboat engine dying description and since you say vibrating my first guess would be an attic ventilation fan a c condensor outdoor fan garage unit heater fan or hydronic heating system circulating pump possibly with bearings starting to get loud due to lack of lubrication or just plain old age wear and tear.
Vibrating sound in eaves of attic.
The most common noise inquiries we get from homeowners are concerns about sounds coming from the attic.
Fireplace dripping sounds if you hear dripping from your fireplace when it rains it could mean that rain is finding its way down your chimney.
It could even be from the heating cooling system or branches of a nearby tree scraping against the roof.
So scratching sounds in the attic at night could be from a number of different nocturnal animals.
On the outside we can hear something vibrating too and it sounds like it s coming from the soffit vents.
You need to put a stop to this or the metal firebox inside your fireplace could rust creating a fire risk.
We had a re roof done a couple of years ago and not long after a noise started coming from the gutter areas when the wind blows in a certain direction we get quite a load what can only be described as a groaning vibrating sound.
On a windy night we can hear it inside and it is very loud the stronger the wind the louder the noise.
The source of the problem could be as simple as loose flashing or a dislodged chimney cap.
When the wind blows from the east something is vibrating in our attic a low hum that sounds like there s a motorcycle outside.
Fast moving scurrying noises are often rodents like squirrels or rats says bob.
Assuming this vibration noise occurs only when the a c is running which should be real easy to check out and you cannot find loose mounting bolts or loose metal ducting thgat is vibrating then you should not quit using the unit and call a heating and a c tech to check it out.
Add a wood block thick enough so the eliminator and block equals the block thickness if you must.
But most of the time it s an animal and it s pretty easy to tell when the noises are coming from something living.
Remove the top brick of the stack at each corner to insert the vibration eliminator.