How do you move three quarters of a ton of boat and its unroadworthy trailer? Answer: Contact Nick Lancaster, a specialist boat mover based at Preston Marina. Some people collect stamps, others collect pottery or china. Nick seems to collect trailers, it seems that he has a trailer for almost any boat you care to mention. And where else could you get a big 4 wheel drive vehicle, a boat trailer and a highly skilled 'boat shifter' for the sort of money Nick charges!

I drove to Preston Marina to meet Nick and after a quick coffee we headed of to Burneside to deal with my BB11. The morning started well and we left Preston in bright sunshine but as we drew closer to Kendal the weather turned grim and then we hit the rain, or rather the rain hit us. In torrents, just what you need when the rest of the morning will be spent lashing a boat onto a trailer.

As you can see from the pictures we reached Burneside in another burst of sunshine which lasted long enough for the BB11 to be dropped onto the trailer. Dropped is not quite the right description. Nick used Maiden Marines boat hoist to lift the BB. After first strapping the BB on to her own road trailer we then placed strops under the BB's hull and lifted the whole thing as one.

Nick reversed the trailer under the boat and with a gentle tug she was on. A further tying and strapping session ensued until Nick was happy with the load. Next stop Manchester.

At the other end of the journey Nick drove the whole load into the workshops (I don't even like to drive my car in!) and after a quick look at where the BB was going to reside we started undoing all the straps. The BB was off the trailer and in the workshop before I had time to think about taking any more pictures.
Nick drove me back to Preston Marina and after another coffee I was heading back home. An interesting day.

If a boat is going to be damaged it is more likely to happen out of the water. Hiring Nick to move the BB was one of my better decisions and I only hope the rest of the restoration goes as smoothly as the move.

Now the work can start!