Newbridge Navigator on a Driveway in Swindon

Just before Christmas we had been asked to collect and remove a Newbridge Navigator yacht. The boat was sat on a driveway next to a house in Swindon. We believe that the story was that the house had just been sold and the sellers needed to clear the boat. As you can imagine the buyers were anxious to see the boat gone. If the previous owners hadn’t arranged for disposal the new buyer would be liable. It’s effectively like having someone fly tip on your property.

As a general rule we if you are moving house and there is an old boat in the garden. Always insist on the boat being removed before you complete. Because as we’ve said you could be left with a costly disposal bill. With the boat gone you will have no worries over liability for someone else’s problem boat.

Luckily for all parties this was a straightforward collection. The Newbridge Navigator was sat on an old trailer. Despite not being road safe it looked like it had enough life in it to make it up onto our trailer. We were slightly worried that the trailer might collapse. As all trailers that have sat in a garden for a number of years are vulnerable to this. They look ok from the outside but the rust eats away at the pressure points.

The trailer she was sat on wasn’t the correct trailer for the boat. Her bilge keels were wedged hard into the wheels of the trailer. It would have been a death trap to try and tow. Which is probably why it’s ended up sitting on a driveway for so long.

Over the years we have scrapped plenty of Newbridge Navigator yachts. They just don’t sell anymore and people look to scrap instead. We have always considered them to be sturdy little boats. This one in Swindon was full of rainwater. So before the team could load the boat we had to drill some drainage holes into her. It’s always important to remove any excess water. It makes the boat safer to tow and less likely to put your overall load overweight.

After an hour or so all the water was out and the team winched the boat up onto the trailer. As always we then strapped her down and made sure there was nothing loose on top that could fly off. Once we were on our way the home owners were happy to finally have their new drive clear! It must have been a great relief.