A source of inflatable sausages is sought for a peculiar application, namely the reduction of the water-draught of a boat. A friend lives on a boat in Cardiff but he wishes to sail to London in the quest for higher pay. Travelling by sea is a distance of 520 nautical miles which would take ages and be quite dangerous. As the man is a tightwad he proposes to use the sails to avoid burning diesel fuel but the wind may not be in the right direction! The man refuses to pay for haulage by lorry and as the boat seems far heavier than its official weight I shall not be towing it again. (the deceased Commodore who was the boats previous owner had increased the ballast considerably) During a rub-down of the hull the old waterline was discovered and it was about six inches lower than the present one! Three marine surveys failed to spot this but the trailer tyres noticed the difference so it would appear that trailer tyres are smarter than some marine surveyors! My advice is to use the Kennet and Avon Canal as the savings on the cost of diesel fuel will pay the navigation fees several times over. The boat is a Colvic Springtide 24 (long keel with bilge plates) and whilst it might transit the canal without any modifications a couple of large sausages might be extremely useful.
Posted: 11/04/2015 13:27:14 By: Davey |