Its not been a brilliant week, but we have prevailed!

Monday our very expensive pulse Mig welder (which doesn’t like the heat) went on strike.

Tuesday we had a H&S inspection which took 3 hours, not really what you need when there is a lot of work to get through.

Wednesday the f*****  back up welder expired, ( yes there has been a marked deterioration  in the language in the work shop).

Thursday new pricing on aluminium and it has virtually doubled in price!

Friday flat tyre on the van, and a woman in a people carrier  drove  into a trailer being delivered.

Interestingly this was seconds before impact.

Finally I am not watching the football tonight!

                                                                                                                                                        Very

Part of our extending range of heavy duty trolleys is the new Rigiflex  360 beach trolley, designed to be launched by a tractor.  There are 4 hull bunk pads  over a metre long to give compete support to help preserve the UV resistant material which the boat is constructed of. Standard equipment includes 10″ wheels,  protected docking arms, prop stand, and towing eye.

We can make an ally base unit  to fit most Sovereign trailer bases, please contact us for prices.

Well we have all experienced change recently, but for sailing clubs unable to provide normal sailing/racing there has been a lot going on in the background. Local clubs to us  have all been reviewing  there  facilities and most have been making improvements where possible. The Harp have done a huge amount of work on the shore line, and we recently delivered a trolley  to Hayling for there newly acquired Pilot 500 to be used as an inshore committee boat.

I was delighted to see that Minz  had  won Y & Y’s  Concours D’Elegance this year, I photographed  Brenda  sailing her at Hayling last year, and I must say the boat on the water looked quite stunning.

As a bit of a traditionalist I  feel  you can’t beat  a varnished wooden deck, I know they are a pain and need to be loved and looked after, but really,  it’s all worth it.

Ben Dingwall has varnished  many different types of wooded boats, but Solos like this one look absolutely amazing I in  spite of  its age,  in fact sometimes the older the boat is the better it  looks!     Don’t forget this is a brush finish!

After the huge efforts to provide a new a committee boat and the amazing job the Welsh Harp Sailing Association have done on the  infrastructure  of the club, the Merlin open isn’t going to happen. It was always going to be marginal,  but we were hoping that because it was  the last proper Merlin open meeting for the fleet last year , this could have heralded the start of a new and more normal season.

 Mind you  the event is always cold and generally windy and  with three back to back races  its tough on crews,

                              Livvy we salute you!

Someone is in for a nice surprise when we are finally allowed to go to the sailing club!

Normally at this time of year we would be very busy preparing for the dinghy show, this year  would have been our 36th appearance as an exhibitor having started at Crystal Palace in 1985.

Pickets lock (1978 to 1982) although it was not open to retailers we were there to  support  the Merlin’s  and Wembley Sailing Club,  so the O Neill’s have been a  part of the Dinghy show for over  40 odd years!

It’s so sad that the club sailor who finds and restores a dinghy to a fantastic standard  (probably  a boat he sailed in his  youth), will not be able to take it, show it,  and let all of us admire it!

Like this stunning wooden  merlin.

Finally its not about the event, it’s about the people and meeting friends!

This is the first production 5.5mtr Rib trolley ready for the galvanizers and then on to the South Coast, the second one will  be welded up early next week.