As most of you will probably know, I was not happy with the Marlin and it's up for sale on eBay if anyone interested, "I know a lot of people really like them, but it's not for me". I wanted something big enough to take our dogs and a couple of passengers. I was considering asking John & Ian, to see if they would sell me an Otter. I started pricing up materials to build another super Surveyor (16' X 7'6") Anyway to cut a long story short, I spoke to Ronnie Legge and he said that reluctantly his Super Surveyor was up for sale, so we agreed a price and Becky & I drove down from Loch Fyne to Lancashire last Friday to collect it.
We stayed in a Travelodge at the Lancaster services Friday night and set off early Saturday morning on our 380 mile trek north.
The trailer towed faultlessly and traffic was good with no significant hold ups. We stopped a couple times on the way for short breaks & refuelled the car at Perth. We planned to stop on the A9 at the House of Bruar for a bite to eat and to let the dogs have a run, before the last 140 miles of the journey. When we arrived at the House of Bruar, I walked around the trailer to check everything was OK, I needed to put another cable tie on one of the Antiluce sideboard catches, "peace of mind to ensure it couldn't come undone". Anyway walked the dogs and bought food etc, then headed on up the road to Tesco inverness. As soon as I got out the car at Tesco, I noticed that the winch battery had gone from the trailer. The battery was held in place by a bolted on battery clamp. That was gone along with the battery. I'm pretty sure if it had fallen off enroute, we would have heard and felt it, as the rear of the trailer is about 6" from the ground, so no way a battery is going under there without hitting it. I'm pretty sure someone nicked the battery while it we was parked at the house of Bruar. Apparently there have been some thefts of tools at a garage in broad daylight a couple miles down the road a few days before.
Anyway it was annoying, but now I have fitted another battery and made up and fitted a spare wheel carrier on the trailer. I've been checking over the craft, but only thing I have found so far is the flashing beacon switch is a bit temperamental, so I'm going to replace that. I'm also going to let the hover run for 15 minutes or so to clear out the carb, then replace the spark plugs. Plugs look new, but I have been caught out a few times in the past with hovers and motorbikes, when an engine has been stood up for a few months, after about half an hour running, a misfire happens. A marine mechanic friend of mine, told me that he gets that a lot with outboard motors. He reckons, the gunk that is in the carb from the evaporated fuel, coats the plugs, then when they get hot, the plugs don't fire as well as they should. Ten minutes and a few quid, why risk it.