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Friday, May 04, 2012

‘Sandpiper’, snuggles into her Boathouse




Yesterday I said goodbye to ‘Talitha’, but not to her trailer. The new owner did not want it, primarily because he could not find a way of taking the object with him. There was not enough room in his van which does not have a tow bar. Rather than cutting the frame into small pieces for welding together later, he donated the item to me. As I have no immediate use for the vehicle I have placed it for auction at Ebay starting at £0.99! You can follow the bidding by entering 160794413574 into the Ebay search box. The auction ends at 1957 on 10th May.


Now that I have room in my garage after ‘Tailitha’s’ departure, I have replaced her with ‘Sandpiper’. As with the former, there is enough space for articles I normally store next to the end wall of the garage. There is also room for the mast, furling rod and boom beside the right-hand wall, and there is access to the freezer on the other side.


I am pleased my new (second-hand) boat can be kept in my garage, because she will be out of the elements, no longer exposed to rain, frost and sunlight, destroyers of any boat, particularly one with exterior wooden parts. ‘Sandpiper’ has wooden gunwale rubbing strips, a plywood sliding hatch and substantial covering boards along the top of the transom where the outboard will be mounted – that’s if it fits. If the drive shaft is not long enough for the propeller to reach the water, I shall have to obtain an outboard bracket that can be lowered and raised.


I have bought a second-hand, short shaft, Honda 2 hp BF2 outboard engine, one of the older types, but I have yet to collect it from the previous owner. The four stroke air cooled engine only weighs 12 kilograms, and it has a centrifugal clutch and a stop button. I’m hoping it will be an ideal outboard, on account of being light, yet powerful enough to drive the boat under most conditions. Maybe it won’t cope against a Force 6 or more wind, in which case, if I’m faced with that situation, I’ll have to improvise a solution. Such is the fun of sailing, as long as it does not become a life-threatening drama involving the rescue services!



Link


Road Trailer at Ebay




Ebay item number: 160794413574

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