The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted that when my Karnic was being given the full Ceramic Pro treatment last season, one of its trailer’s wheels was looking a little wonky. I say ‘a little’ but in truth it looked like it had staggered out of an Edinburgh pub at 2am after a Scottish victory in the Calcutta Cup. It was touch and go whether I could tow it the 10 yards from its winter resting place to the slipway before the whole thing collapsed onto the concrete.
It survived long enough to refloat the boat but the prognosis didn’t look good. It’s a twin-axle SBS trailer that I bought from new in 2006 as part of the boat package and has led a pretty tough life. Because our slipway is relatively shallow, both axles have to be fully submerged to stand any chance of launching or recovering the boat, so even after a good hose down there’s bound to be some salt lurking in cracks and crevices. The galvanised steel frame has survived relatively unscathed but the painted soft steel suspension arms started to rust as soon as the protective layer of paint began to flake. However, it wasn’t until both axles were removed and turned over that I realised just how bad they had got. The two halves of the steel casings had rusted right through and split open like an overripe mango. With all torsional rigidity lost, they simply buckled and twisted as soon as any turning force was applied.
DIY PATCH-UP
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Lofoten or Bust- Part 4- Grandezza owner Per Harrtoft heads back to Sweden after an epic 3500nm adventure deep into the Arctic Circle to visit the mythical Lofoten islands
After ten memorable days in the Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway, we are on our way back south towards Sweden. We have already made it as far as Trondheim, a charming place even if it was raining so hard we had to cycle round the city centre clutching umbrellas. But now we are back on board Deamare, our Grandezza 40 Fly, eating up the miles at a steady 31 knots.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YACHT TRANSPORT
As the name suggests it's a means of having your boat moved professionally from one location to another. It might be as simple as hiring someone to tow your RIB a few miles down the road or as complex as shipping a superyacht halfway around the world.
HANDLE A SINGLE SHAFTDRIVE BOAT PART 1
Single shaftdrive boats are relatively rare these days but the reduced costs of buying, servicing and fuelling such a simple but reliable drivetrain does mean they are making a bit of a comeback.
COCKWELLS MOTOR LAUNCH
There can be very few boats that have appeared three times at the Southampton Boat Show and been sold off the stand each time.
INSTALLING AN AUTOPILOT
Rick Channon makes solo boating simple with a Raymarine Evolution Autopilot
GOOD AS NEW
Why fit a brand new engine when Volvo Penta's remanufacturing service can rebuild you an old one to the same standard for a fraction of the price?
BENETEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 54
Alex Smith heads to France's Beneteau HQ for a UK exclusive on what might just be the best Swift Trawler yet
ΧΟ EXPLR 44
Can XO's all-new aluminium flagship really make it big in the Med?
BUYING OUR FIRST CLASSIC
Instead of whiling away their retirement playing bowls, Rob and Shona Adams decided to invest their time and money in a classic Silver gentleman's yacht. Would the gamble pay off?
PRINCESS S65
Torn between the V and F Class flagships? The new S65 might be the boat you've been waiting for...
