Through our gas supply we come under the  heading of essential services, based on the fact that a lot of low income families and small business’s are reliant on bottled gas.  We have spent a day trying to isolate  our small sales office  from the customers, or isolating the customers from us, depending on your point of view.   We are working with the government recommendation of staying   2 mtrs apart, which  frankly  goes  against everything that the business  has  been about for the last 50 odd years.

Needs must!

Sunday, photographed the Merlins ,  it was quite challenging  I could not fly the drone safely, and the gusty conditions meant we were continually trying to be in a windy spot. However in view of the changing situation we were very lucky that it happened , all other events from now on have been cancelled.

Monday ,  started welding up 49er trolleys,  job to be finished by the weekend,  as I put on my leather apron, respiratory  mask (they are so good these days  you can’t smell  two pack paint through them),  a thin leather glove on my right  hand, a gauntlet on my left, and finally my  hi tech welding mask,  I did think I should be at least protected against this hideous  bug!

Tuesday, opened discussions with tenants both residential and commercial to put their minds at  rest that we are committed to working  with them on the on-going  crisis.

Wednesday, went down to Wickes brought a stack of emulsion, if our tenants  are stuck at home  bored in isolation, they might as well paint their  flats, so it’s not all bad news!

There were rumours flying around all day Saturday that this was to be the last show in North London, so it came as no real surprise when it became official on Sunday morning. The show is on the move after 25 very successful years at Ally Pally. I am still a little unsure that going south is a good idea,  I hope it does not put off the large contingent that travel  down from the north.

The show was busy and  well organised, this year my boat of the show  was the Ovington Int 14, interestingly in 1985 we brought  a 14 from David Ovington at the Crystal Palace venue. Sadly he is no longer with us but his company lives on and so does their ethos of producing quality racing dinghies.

Busy day, great event lots of old faces and new ideas

There will be a completely new layout for the Dinghy Show this year, whilst I have misgivings about all the traders being in one corner, the organisers felt  it was time for a change, and I really hope its a success.  All of the orders  to be collected over the weekend are now ready, and it really is a mixed bag  OK trolleys, Flying Fifteen road bases, a firefly combi, and a stack of 14 ally trolleys.

I really hope that people will come and enjoy  this amazing event which requires an enormous amount of effort to put together, from the organisers, to the class associations, and the traders.

We have had three cases in the last week where people have brought second hand  Sovereign trailers/ trolleys having seen them on line, but none of them are any use.

We have been producing trailers for over 40 years, they are all well made and therefore there are literally thousands and thousands out there, the problem is that most of them are for specific dinghies. So if you are looking to replace a stolen Wayfarer base, then it has to be a specific Wayfarer (108) trailer and I am sorry to say that any trailer base wont fit, even though it has one of our stickers on it!

If you see a trailer or trolley on line that you think might fit your dinghy please phone 0208 202 8629 speak to one of our technical people and just confirm that it will be okay, it could save you a lot of unnecessary travel and expense.

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This is half of a years stock of hubs, all the steel is in, now it’s the running gear

We have had some very positive feedback from our German Dealer from the Dusseldorf Boat Show

where the new 2.4 is on display on one of our new lightweight trolley’s.

The rain has stopped for a while which gives us a chance to get outside work organised, luckily today was the day Mike Mac chose to bring his MRX up for a service. It is always a pleasure to help people with their boats,  although this particular person in his senior years is still winning nationals, which is quite incredible!

Well in this case a lack of spare wheel  cost £360, when a customer tried to get to his destination (3 miles) on a flat, basically it destroyed the tyre and rim initially, then the hub and suspension and finally the trolley wheel.

It is very important to have a spare, but to change a wheel unaided you will also need a jack and spanner.

Spare wheels start from £35 to £50 for the two most popular sizes, a jack and spanner say £25.

It is well worth being prepared!