Milton Keynes Shetland Collection

One of the perks of collecting boats from all over the country is that we get to visit some great places and meet some lovely people. Last week we were asked to come and collect an old Shetland from Milton Keynes. All we knew about her was that the Suzuki engine was probably dead and she’d been moored at the end of the garden for a number of years without any use.

The plan we had was fairly simple. Drive an empty trailer up to MK and meet the owners, check the boat and see if any life could be put into the engine. If the engine was definitely dead we would bring a spare to attach next to the old outboard. Then take the car and trailer down to the marina we’d be heading to so it was close to the slipway when we arrive. Next, get back to the boat and set off down the Grand Union to the marina where we would have the trailer ready to winch the boat out on to, then back to the yard.

When we arrived at the property we were impressed with the neighbourhood and how each property had their own little mooring adjacent to the house. The owners were a nice couple who had in the past used the boat to visit the local pubs along the waterways but now sadly it was no longer being used and they couldn’t justify paying to insure and license her year after year.

After a cup of tea and some biscuits, we were on our way. The owner even kindly offered to come and pick us up from the marina once we had dropped the trailer there. This was most welcome as it saved us valuable time but also the taxi fare.

Luckily for us the stretch of the Grand Union canal we would be travelling down had no locks so it was a pleasant, stress-free cruise down to the Milton Keynes Marina. The journey took us just 40 minutes to negotiate the twists and turns of the canal. Once we had reached MK Marina we quickly had her winched up onto our trailer and strapped down.

Barring a bit of muck she is actually a really nice boat that could still be cleaned up and sold on (watch this space). All she’d need is a new outboard engine and the Shetland would make a great little boat for someone.

If you have a boat that you no longer use and are paying out every year to keep, why not save money and dispose of her with Boatbreakers. We can usually have a boat collected within two weeks of the original enquiry and often even sooner.