From the beginning...

My very first boat was an old and very decrepit Kingfisher 20, bought  cheaply from an ad on Gumtree. Her maiden voyage in my ownership ended badly when the wooden tiller snapped off at the rudder stock and resulted in a tow into port from the wonderful RNLI.

She was very much a project boat, and I was initially enthusiastic about giving her a new lease of life, but sadly I never completed her much-needed refit. Lack of time and money and a less-than-happy wife meant she was eventually sold on.

During my short period of ownership though, I came to appreciate her thoughtful design and brick shit house construction, and I had a yearning for her bigger sister, the 26, in junk rig form, a dream I didn't think would ever come true. 

Over the following years, a few(!) boats passed through my hands, some good, some bad, and I learnt a lot about boats, and how to repair them. 

I'm sure I'm not alone amongst many other boat owners that I'm often to be found wasting idle hours browsing through boat ads, and dreaming impossible dreams! 

On one such day earlier this year I was doing just that, scrolling through Gumtree, and suddenly she was there, the boat I'd always wanted, a Kingfisher 26 junk, and at a price I could afford! The fact she was 300+ miles away didn't deter me, the rose-tinted specs were working overtime! 

Before I could stop myself I had sent several messages to the seller, asking lots of questions and still not quite believing that the published price was correct. I expected him to say it was a misprint and that it was actually 'x' amount and beyond my meagre means, but no, the price was correct. 

A 50% deposit (£500) was soon sent, via PayPal, with the promise I would pay the balance 3 days later, on payday! 

Then the doubts crept in, along with much excitement. I had bought a boat, 300 miles away, without even seeing it. I had no idea how I would get her home, or even if she actually existed! I had done my due diligence and checked the seller out as much as I could and he seemed genuine, but I had bought a boat on the strength of a few blurry photos and the sellers description. What could possibly go wrong...?