New Boat For The Weekend......
Discussion
Well new to me anyway!
Finally found the replacement I was after for my old Fletcher, an immaculate Larson Bowrider with reams of history and a properly nice owner.
Back to Bath from it's old home in Surrey was an uneventful tow, the family delighted with the new arrival.
Friday comes and it's time to relocate it to the Isle of Wight, an easy run down to Southampton for an evening crossing and we're done.....or so I thought! Two miles off the ferry, I lose a hub on the trailer.
Oh well, after a bit of a wait, RAC organise a flat bed so it can continue to the yard a Bembridge, I'm trying to keep smiling at this point! I'd done a cursory check of the hubs but maybe I should have looked closer
Next morning, we're ready to go and I watch my new pride and joy make a gentle entry to the water, this is what I call a forklift!
and finally...
All warmed up, levels checked and loaded, we're off for the maiden trip. 50 meters from the pontoon and mid harbour channel, zip, no power at all. Quickly traced to a corroded terminal on the fuse box, some hasty rearrangement of the wires soon sorts it.
A great day out follows, the weather's kind and the sea is great. All woes forgotten! Out again on Sunday and more of the same, I'm delighted. Right up to the point when the alarm goes off as the volts drop and temperature rises. Drive belt snapped, not shredded or worn, just broken! Quickly on to the mooring.
And how hard should that be to fix? Anywhere else, easy. Isle of Wight on a Bank Holiday, forget it! Even Halfords don't stock ordinary belts any more and the chandlers are all shut!
I still love the boat and all will be well but why do they do this to us?
Finally found the replacement I was after for my old Fletcher, an immaculate Larson Bowrider with reams of history and a properly nice owner.
Back to Bath from it's old home in Surrey was an uneventful tow, the family delighted with the new arrival.
Friday comes and it's time to relocate it to the Isle of Wight, an easy run down to Southampton for an evening crossing and we're done.....or so I thought! Two miles off the ferry, I lose a hub on the trailer.
Oh well, after a bit of a wait, RAC organise a flat bed so it can continue to the yard a Bembridge, I'm trying to keep smiling at this point! I'd done a cursory check of the hubs but maybe I should have looked closer
Next morning, we're ready to go and I watch my new pride and joy make a gentle entry to the water, this is what I call a forklift!
and finally...
All warmed up, levels checked and loaded, we're off for the maiden trip. 50 meters from the pontoon and mid harbour channel, zip, no power at all. Quickly traced to a corroded terminal on the fuse box, some hasty rearrangement of the wires soon sorts it.
A great day out follows, the weather's kind and the sea is great. All woes forgotten! Out again on Sunday and more of the same, I'm delighted. Right up to the point when the alarm goes off as the volts drop and temperature rises. Drive belt snapped, not shredded or worn, just broken! Quickly on to the mooring.
And how hard should that be to fix? Anywhere else, easy. Isle of Wight on a Bank Holiday, forget it! Even Halfords don't stock ordinary belts any more and the chandlers are all shut!
I still love the boat and all will be well but why do they do this to us?
Ah.....
I just leave my credit card at the yard
Actually, to be fair about it, boats are like houses (lots of systems and things to go wrong or wear out). We are all taken in by the glamour and apparent shinyness of our 'new' boat, in reality if we were buying a car(or even a house) at the same age, we would be a lot more fussy.
Just like a house, if you are 'handy' then you can keep on top of everything yourself, I bought a 'stick and rag' setup in 2013, and after a painful year I now understand how it all works and have done lots of preventative upgrades and look forward to a 'cheap' experience this year
I just leave my credit card at the yard
Actually, to be fair about it, boats are like houses (lots of systems and things to go wrong or wear out). We are all taken in by the glamour and apparent shinyness of our 'new' boat, in reality if we were buying a car(or even a house) at the same age, we would be a lot more fussy.
Just like a house, if you are 'handy' then you can keep on top of everything yourself, I bought a 'stick and rag' setup in 2013, and after a painful year I now understand how it all works and have done lots of preventative upgrades and look forward to a 'cheap' experience this year
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