Adventure to Poole

Having hired a car with a towbar and a suitable flatbed trailer (details below) we had an early start to avoid the worst of the traffic around the M25. There seems to be a critical time after which the journey becomes painful – I've found that if you join the motorway by about 6.15am at J24 it runs steadily round to Heathrow with only the occasional chewy moment. 15 minutes later and you can be guaranteed to be stationary several times before passing the M4 – and people drive this way every day!!!

So a successful trip down to Poole with a short diversion for breakfast in Sandbanks to see the sea and introduce my Spurs mad son to 'Arry's gaff. (For those not au fait with the arcane world of soccer, Harry Redknapp is a legendary football manager who was until recently in charge of Tottenham Hotspur FC while Sandbanks has become famous for having some of the most expensive real estate in the world, with some wonderful views across Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island.) Then off to find the boat with a small detour due to my poor navigation (Note to self – don't find yourself at a dead end with a 16ft trailer on the back!).

The boat was chocked up so needed to be put onto the old trailer that she came with and after we applied a little brute force and a lot of ignorance she was suitably mounted. With the flat bed tilted we managed with the help of the winch to pull her into place and with lots of strapping and ropes we had the boat and trailer fixed on and ready to go. Paperwork sorted and I was the proud owner of 64 / 64ths of a West Wight Potter Type D, named Jaqueline. As you can see from the photos, it appears to be D 11 but we have no other clue than that.

The journey back home proved to be slightly more exciting than the trip down. The first issue came when I realised the boat was no longer pointing straight forward. A quick stop involving some retightening of ropes and a new one connecting the bow with the flatbed solved that one. Another 10 miles or so and I realised that something else was not quite right – the boat seemed to be listing to the left which is not a good thing either on water or land. So another stop was called for and it became clear that the left wheel of the old trailer had become detached from the rest of the structure. The deteriorating effects of ferrous oxide had put paid to my hopes for having a very cheap road trailer. However with retightened strapping we made it back home without further incident but left with the problem of how to unload without a functioning trailer.

Luckily I had access to a wheeled dolly and with the application of a little more muscle and with the help of a previously unknown neighbour who was passing at the time (Thank you Ed – the little boat obviously engenders affection) we managed to take the boat off its trailer and put her safely onto my drive resting on a piece of carpet which is where she rests now. It is surprising how different (small) she looks on the ground rather than on a trailer.

Jaqueline looking slightly forlorn in the rain

Hopefully I'll have time to give her a good clean at the weekend and study what really needs doing quickly rather than cosmetically. There are a lot of patches of poorly applied filling on the top moulding but the hull seems to be sound. The keel is stuck so a liberal application of WD40 should free up the keel bolt and then we can see what state that is in. I'll also hopefully put the rigging up just to test it and try the sails for size – depends on the wind.

I've also been giving her name some thought – Jaqueline has no meaning for me except attached to Bisset! My mother, who died recently, was born and brought up on the coast of Pembrokeshire, arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. There is a small beach just down the hill from the family home called Aberbach (Little Bay) where Mum learnt to swim and to me that seems a rather good name for a little boat. Here's a picture of the bay just to prove it's beauty credentials and I hope to visit it in it's namesake sometime soon.

Aberbach, Pembrokeshire

So the adventure starts – I hope you enjoy the photos as the project progresses and with a little luck and some elbow grease she'll be afloat by the summer (if we ever have one!).

Towbars and trailers

Not having a vehicle with a towbar is somewhat of a disadvantage when you are planning to buy a trailer sailer so borrowing or hiring one is the only quick solution. Hire companies with vehicles that have towbars are few and far between so I was lucky to find a local one on the Interweb that was something of a specialist. The company is AMT (http://amtvehiclerental.com/) and has locations in Bristol, Leeds, Livingstone and luckily Enfield. The vehicle I hired was a Rav 4 with a 2.2l turbo diesel, cost just over £70 for the day and proved to be perfect for the task.

The trailer came from GT Towing (http://www.gttowing.co.uk/) who seem to supply most of the Northern home counties and have been around for years. They have a whole range of trailers for hire as well as for sale and perhaps most importantly for those of limited means or long pockets, stock a wide range of spares including bearings, seals and greasecaps.