I used Ford 'Transit front axles for both sets of wheels - although, now I wish 1'd used lorry wheels because of their greater carrying capacity. The axles were cut in half - not rec¬ommended unless you know what you're doing - to widen the track enough so that the keels wouldn't foul them. I welded carefully jigged angle iron to support the cut ends of the axles, which were then bolted, via spacers to the cross members and side beams.

In an effort to reduce costs, Martin Parker built a float-on-float-off trailer.
When buying my first cruiser, Muddy Waters, a 26ft Colvic Sailer, my under¬standing with my wife was that the running costs would be low - well, almost. In practical terms, this meant a cheap drying mooring and a launching trailer on which to transport the boat, where I could work on it without incurring launch¬ing and storage costs. In my inno¬cence, I thought I could just buy any old boat trailer to do the job - but soon realised that what I wanted wasn't available, and if I had one made specially it wasn't going to be cheap.

LANDING in St Kitts after an Atlantic cross¬ing, I remember well how miserably my legs took up the business of walking again. Eighteen days at sea had reduced them to rubber and it was almost a week before I could stride out again.
Which goes to show that sail¬ing isn't a very perpendicular activity, being conducted for the most part parked in stately fash¬ion on one's stern. This makes the design of a cockpit a very important matter. If you're going to spend a lot of time there, you might as well make it as comfortable as possible.

Radar can be used by itself, or in combination with more traditional methods to keep a check on your GPS plot
THE average yachtsman will probably gain most benefit from using radar as a navigation aid - especially in pilotage waters - rather than for avoiding collision. It's too easy to become impressed with the sophistication of modern electronic navigation systems, to the point where you can forget the importance of simply using your eyes to con the vessel and fIx position in clear weather. Of course this doesn't mean you shouldn't back up visual information with the appropriate electronics. Quite apart from being sensible navigational practice, to do so will help build confidence in your ability to use these systems when the need arises, most notably in restricted visibility.