Road trip North of the border!

rbcoomer

rbcoomer

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23 Nov 2010
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The Tropics of the English Riviera!
www.swfbr.org.uk
Off early tomorrow on an 1150 mile round trip to Scotland to collect a 'new-to-me' boat! Very much looking forward to trip and a new project! :D

If any forumites spot a weathered old green Discovery towing a red 1980's Fletcher Arrowbolt back tomorrow night or Tuesday give us a wave! I'll do a project thread if anyone's interested once back in Devon and have some pictures. ;) (Assuming of course that my bank balance can sustain the thirst of the Land Rover... :eek:)
 
Good luck with the acquisition and the project rbc, sounds like you've been well and truely bitten by the boat bug now :)

It's going to be a decent trip by the time the boat is back in your yard.

I drove once from Inverness to Wool, in Dorset to have a look at a tank museum, and back the next day.
11 hours one way iirc, and that was sitting on 80 with no boat behind. I'll reckon you'll be glad to get home ;)
 
Completed!

Well, 26 hours - pretty much non-stop from Torquay to Ballachulish and back but we did it!

Yes, great to meet you too Gordon - she's a fantastic project and I'm now like a kid with a new toy - albeit a very tired one now :D She dwarf's our little ArrowFlyte, but shares all those great Fletcher lines.

John and I relayed the driving, limited to 50mph due to some trailer issues (brakes disintegrated we think)! There was not much we could have done roadside, but as there was no heat in the wheels or tyres and Land Rover stopped with relative ease, we opted to ignore the clinking, scraping and rattles and press on through the night at a steady pace whilst roads were empty - stopping about every 50-80 miles to check load and trailer. Discovery towed like a dream - even through the Glens up some long inclines!

Finally got our 'new' Arrowbolt 21 in the drive, turned around (no mean feat) and in her new 'dry berth' by about midday today. Found some interesting Scottish souvenirs in the form of mosses and a heather growing inside (:)), but hope to have her back to former glory by the spring. Taking loads of pictures so will start a 'restoration' thread in due course. A few busy days of work, but will hope to start cleaning her up at the weekend and get a list of parts needed etc.

Great to visit Scotland too, and already started a list of places to come and see again. There was a great urge to stop the car and climb a few of them wee hills, but we resisted - probably a good thing - shattered now. ;)
 
...almost forgot mandatory forum picture! Myself & new toy at Glencoe...

PICT0037.JPG
 
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AndieMac said:
Big drive rbc...how many 'little chef's' did you pass? :)

Has she a sterndrive or no motor? Interesting to watch her renovation.
Click to expand...

Hi Andy,

Yes, she has sterndrive and a Volvo Penta 5.0 V8. :D An AQ231A I believe, but will need to confirm once I've had a proper look, found engine number etc. She's sat in the elements for about 3 years Gordon thinks. If the engine is original, the hour gauge reads 426.3

PICT0104.JPG


The leg has been replaced and new gimble bearing and gear linkage fitted, but beyond that I don't know. We established that the leg wouldn't raise and only the 'down' relay clicked (pump didn't run), but I'm expecting to remove, strip, service and probably replace quite a bit! I hope to spend some time over the weekend and establish a detailed spec and parts list - then I can start costing and prioritising the jobs. At this stage I'll start a 'project' thread for her.

Regards,

Robin

P.S. loads of Little Chefs etc, but my Missus provisioned us with rolls and snacks for about a week I think :)
 
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SWMBO and I holidayed in Ballachulish about 200 years ago (well last century anyway). Fantastic place, and a good toouring base. We did hundreds of miles in a little AH Sprite.

Hope the refurb goes well, looking forward to the updates.
 
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