Boat Trailer for ‘Sharpy’

Seen from above

Side View

Road dirt on wheel

Gavin Atkin is well-known for his small boat designs. I met him several years ago at one of the Beale Boat Shows.


Recently I was looking at postings by the UK Homebuilt Boat Rally Yahoo Group, and I came across an offer from Gavin for a free boat trailer. Being an opportunist, I emailed him in the hope that the trailer would be suitable for ‘Sharpy’. She’s the lightweight, one man keel boat I am building. He suggested that I might like to look at his trailer, but before doing so, he would send me a photo and give me measurements, etc.. Then, as he had to visit a friend in Chelmsford, he offered to drop the trailer off at my place, which would not require him to deviate far from his original planned route.


What could I say? A free trailer, plus free delivery was mine for grabs. As good as his word, he turned up one evening with the freebie. As far as I was concerned, his good deed put to rest the acronym TANSTAAFL, which stands for, ‘There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!’


Now that I have the trailer, I’ll need to take a few measurements for working out how to build a support cradle for ‘Sharpy’, so that she will not be subjected to unfair loading when being transported on the trailer. Ideally I would want her to remain on it whenever she is not being sailed. If the lifting keel can stay in the boat, that will make the job of preparing her for sailing so much easier. In fact, all I’ll have to do is attach the trailer to my car, and off I go. Her spars and sail would also be kept on the trailer. That would be far better than having to take the boat out of a storage rack in the garage, get her onto my car and put her keel parts in the boot. I would also need to remember to take the pair of wheels that would be used for getting the boat to the water’s edge.


Derek Munnion, the designer and builder of his own ‘Sharpy’, carries his boat on an adapted roof rack, which has a long roller that extends over the boot of his car. This makes it comparatively easy for him to push his boat upwards and forwards onto the roof rack, and of course, he does not have the hassle of finding a parking place for a road trailer. There are pros and cons for transporting the boat on a roof rack, but I would prefer a trailer, mainly for ease of handling. Hopefully, I’ll be able to adapt the trailer to satisfy my needs.


Thank you, Gavin.


Links


Gavin Atkin’s Boat Designs

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/gavin/index.htm


In the Boatshed (Gavin’s online boating magazine)

http://intheboatshed.net/


Gavin’s Free Boat Design Resources

http://home.clara.net/gmatkin/design.htm


Gavin Atkin’s Homepage

http://home.clara.net/gmatkin/homepage.htm


Gavin Atkin - Medical Writer

http://gavinatkin.wordpress.com/


Gavin at Linkedin

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/gavinatkin


UK Homebuilt Boat Rally Yahoo Group!

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-hbbr/


TANSTAAFL

http://bills-log.blogspot.com/2008/01/tanstaafl.html