Tideway 10 GUNTER OR LUGGER?

The trailerable TW10 has the benefits of her sister vessel, the Tideway 12, but is lighter and easier to launch and recover by hand

Fond as I was of my Tideway 12, I let her go while looking for something lighter and easier to launch and recover by hand on ’ use the car as a towing aid.

A lighter Tideway 10 (TW10) could be the answer and so on a cold rainy day in early January my wife, Brenda, and I set off to drive 120 miles north to the Royal Harwich Yacht Club and collect the TW10 that I’d bought after seeing an online advertisement. I talked with her owner and decided to pay in advance from the information gathered.

One of the things to be prepared for when collecting a trailer boat is the condition of the road base wheel bearings. You really do need to take replacement bearings and hubs with you and be prepared to change them before towing away. It’s only through inspection that you can be sure they won’t let you down on the motorway. I’m a non-mechanical sort of chap but was shown how to do this by a mate. If you intend to trailersail it’s worthwhile learning how to do the job and then you’ll have no worries.

It’s a simple 10 minute job to change the traditional tapered type bearings. For the sealed-for-life type of bearings you will need a mechanic with a workshop to change them, but even I can inspect and change conventional tapered bearings on the road side and this is why I like them for marine use.

On inspection, I was happy the existing towards the South Coast in very heavy rain. I was towing without a boat cover and when I stopped at a layby the boat had enough water on board for a bath – I’d forgotten to remove the drain plug. Boat out plug out, boat in plug in. Should be easy to remember.