Free Line 109 — October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 195
GRAHAM
ALEX
PAUL HANSON
STEVE
STEVENS
BENNETT
BRIGGS
moulded seats. One would take a Coleman compact inflatable bed for a
sleeping bag and the other side was ample for tackle and creature comforts.
It also had an area of about 6x6ft at the back, just enough room for full
size unhooking mat and still have room to move. The boat was solid but
bright yellow… well, fifty shades of yellow to be precise. The previous owner
actually said that if he’d kept it, he would have put the Trotters Independent
Traders’ stickers on it… but it had to go!
I stripped it down to the good fibreglass, removed the remains of an old
pilot screen and rusty screws, took off the rotten window rubbers and
wooden handles, painstakingly removed the flaking emulsion paint from
the inside of the cabin, filled all the holes, sanded it, masked up all the good
white gel coat and painted it green. It was now the carpiest boat on the river.
I named it ‘Project G’, and at the start of the 2015 season, I was ready to go,
buzzing to explore a new section. I still had the tiller mount 4hp outboard
but had replaced the points, and it was now running perfectly. I only had the
FR E ELINE 81
