Along the Old West River

The River Great Ouse flows from Bedford through St Neots and Huntingdon toward Earith.

At Earith two wide, non-navigable drains,  the River Delph and the New Bedford River,  flow Northward toward Denver and the tidal Great Ouse.

A narrow lock,  under the B1050 Shelford Road,  opens into the Old West River next to Hermitage Marina,  where,  for a year or so,  Richard had kept his 60ft wide-beam boat.

He'd spent that year,  with his three sons,  fitting out the boat as their new home.

Now,  very nearly habitable,  he wanted to move the boat from Hermitage Marina to Cathedral Marina at Ely.

When he first bought the boat,  as a shell,  he'd arranged an Inland Waterways Helmsman's course with the LS.   After one day the course was abandoned because of strong winds.

The LS,  being honourable,  had offered the candidates another day,  to be arranged,  to complete the course.

Now,  a year or more later,  Richard asked whether the offer was still open:  would the LS help him move the widebeam from Earith to Ely?

Certainly he would:  how could he refuse such an offer?

It dawned a beautiful,  cloudless September day,  and he was early.   The boat was ready and Richard and Charlie were ready to go.

Dave arrived a few minutes later.

The engine checks revealed an immaculate,  gleaming,  unused engine room.

The big diesel engine,  silent for months,  rumbled into life at the first turn of the key.   The bow lines were cast off and the boat was sprung from its riverside mooring.

The Old West River has no perceptible flow.   It once carried all the water of the Great Ouse from Earith to the Cam at Pope's Corner but was bypassed by the Delph and the New Bedford.   Its channel has been narrowed by reeds and weeds encroaching from both banks.   Two narrowboats might pass easily,  but two widebeams?

The school holidays were over and it was a Friday:  perhaps there would be little or no traffic.

They met one cruiser and were overtaken by another.

It was a perfect day out.

Charlie lounged on the foredeck,  and the three others (all children for a day!) gossiped and drank coffee on the cruising deck.

Where the River Cam joins the River Great Ouse at Pope's Corner the waterway is wider and busier.   Richard practised turning in the river,  with the wind and against the wind,  while the LS lounged and watched.

He practiced coming alongside at the 48-hour EA mooring while Charlie learned and practiced lassoing the posts.

Ely Cathedral across the new bypass

The two railway bridges and the new Ely Southern Bypass  mark the final stages of the voyage.

The approach to Richard's new mooring was straightforward:  Charlie lassoed the bow bollard and the LS (roused from somnolence) caught the stern mooring.

A truly wonderful day on the river.

Thank you,  Richard,  Dave,  Charlie.

Trailer repairs

Rumour has it that trailers are neglected.

Websites and magazine articles give lots of detail on the care and maintenance of trailers (see Cleaning,  here),  but who actually does this?

The LS likes trailers.

His car is a smallish hatchback which can carry some equipment:  camping gear;  peripatetic presentation materials;  Christmas presents;  you know the kind of thing.

For bulkier things (trips to the tip;  timber from the merchant) a trailer solves most problems.

The trailer under the Sandweaver was clean and tidy at first inspection,  but,  as detailed here,  had a few problems.

After the first shakedown cruise the scale of the trailer's problems became clearer.   Most of them were beyond the skills of the LS (Actually,  they were likely to be hard work;  outside the ethos of Lazy Sailing.).

Some years ago the baby son had bought a big oak log from a timber merchant in Essex.   He planned to rive it into staves for a chair,  but first it needed to be moved from Essex to Cambridge.

By trailer,  obviously.

The trailer was hired from Anglian Trailers,  near Bury St Edmunds who were meticulous about the lad's driving licence:  they weren't sure that it qualified him to tow such a big trailer.   He has subsequently taken a trailer course,  and is now fully qualified.   But on the day,  his Dad drove the car and trailer.

The hirer was less meticulous about trailer maintenance (despite advertising trailer servicing and maintenance on their website!) and it had to be taken into the workshop for the lights to be repaired.

So the LS 'phoned Anglian Trailers and explained his problems.   They were very kind,  very chatty,  very free with advice and totally unhelpful.

Snipe Trailers were even less helpful.

TrailerTek offered only straightforward servicing.

For some years the LS had offered Inland Waterways Helmsman courses.

The manager of Jones' Boatyard,  at St Ives,  had seen the value of this and had often referred his clients to the LS for own-boat tuition.   Margaret suggested that he might know of a trailer workshop.

He did:  F S Trailers in Huntingdon.   Paul was very cheerful,  with a 'can-do' attitude:  "bring it over and we'll take a look".

So the LS took it over,  and Paul took a look:  "the bearings are shot,  and the stub axle might be bent;  leave it with us and we'll quote for those,  the new tyres,  the breakback mechanism and new mudguards".

The LS expected this to cost a bit.  It did.   Less than £250.00,  within a week!
He picked it up on his way to Thrapston and it towed like a dream.
He took it home late that evening:  it towed as though it wasn't there.

He now knows that he has a trailer he can trust and,  with luck,  he can go sailing this season.