Orkney Coastliner 14

A lightweight sea boat that is easy to launch and recover

- 

The River Rother at my home port of Rye dries out on each ebb tide and the banks are very steep.

If you're relying totally on a single engine with a boat that can't be sailed or rowed, then you have to hope that you don't suffer engine failure, for if you dry out on the bank the chances of your boat turning over are high.

I once had an old motor cruiser with a 1950s petrol engine and my share of good hope must have been running out.

Just by chance when going to buy a pot of antifouling from Sea Cruisers chandlery, I noticed a neat little Orkney Coastliner boat in their shed. She was light, would be easy to launch, had oar crutches, was beamy with plenty of freeboard, could carry a spare outboard motor and looked just right as she sat on her light trailer.

This could be the cure I needed to cease relying on good hope when coming back up the steep-sided river to my mooring. So, I bought her there and then and didn't bother with the pot of antifouling. This caused a few raised eyebrows when I brought yet another boat home to join my fleet. The plan was to tow her to various slipways along the coast and keep her in the garage.

My first call was to Oakley's Marine in Brighton which supplied a new 15hp motor with Morse controls. A steering wheel and mechanism was also fitted. I already had a spare 3.5hp motor which I was to carry in the boat together with some long lightweight Plastimo oars. The Coastliner's high freeboard needed long oars.