Booked the day off work because Dave has finally managed to get the crane people organised enough to make it worth going to Hoo to look at the boat. Slight snag that it coincides with younger daughter Bethany being able to talk to the school about her AS results so we didn’t get started on our way until 11:45. Just before that Dave phoned to say we needed to be there by 4:30 because the crane people had to go by 5:00. No pressure then.
Traffic reasonably good so we stopped at the services on the M11for me to eat lunch and Dave as we left to tell him the satnav reckoned we 
would be there in an hour. Somewhat confusing trying to find the yard but we made it just as the crane crew were about to give up on us.
After a rather rushed adjustment of the trailer to get the decking under the bilge keels we loaded the boat and moved it outside of the yard so the crane crew could lock up and go home. Dave and I took about another half hour to get the sails, electronics, compass and mast loaded and everything secure. I 
am a little puzzled by this boat because it didn’t overlap the end of the trailer as far as I had expected. Also the cabin layout is not the one I anticipated from the Snapdragon 23 drawings which I had studied on the Snapdragon & Mirage Association’s website. Compared to the expectation the actual boat has the bonus of a hanging locker and toilet compartment instead of having the heads in the forward V berth cabin. That wasn’t so much of a surprise at the time though because I knew it was fairly common to sell a partially finished boat as a kit or bare hull for the owner to finish off. So someone might have adapted a different cabin layout to fit.
Fair amount of traffic on the approach to Dartford crossing but got back to the M11 services again in time for an evening meal.
Slow moving traffic queue as we approached the A1 junction and we were warned about something by a polish lorry driver who didn’t speak any English. Couldn’t work out what he was on about and the stopping places for miles were full of trucks so we couldn’t check it in the light. While also in the queue Grace phoned to tell us that some yobbo had picked up a brick and thrown it through the lounge window.
Finally pulled off the A1 at Peterborough services to try to see what the problem was. Nothing obvious at the time except that the front offside wheel of the trailer was at a bit of an angle from the intended vertical. I couldnt see much in the dark and wrongly assumed that was due to the rubber suspension unit being maybe a bit old and perished so allowing the stub axle to twist in the rubber suspension block. Carried on home with no further problems despite fairly heavy rain.
Parked the car and trailer at the end of the road at 12:30 am. Not enough light or helpers to get the trailer reversed onto the drive as Helen and Grace were cleaning up after the broken window. No point getting anyone out to board up the window so I just got on and did it. Finally off to bed at 1:45.
When I got up for work and went to reverse the trailer onto the drive I got the scare of my life. The tilting wheel was not a suspension unit 
problem but because the axle cross beam on the trailer had snapped leaving the suspension unit only held on by a short piece of very distorted tube welded to the outer frame.
On looking at the rear axle that was also cracked in the same place so we had been rather uncomfortably close to losing the boat on the journey back. Jacked the trailer up and left it on axle stands to go to work.
Looking at the trailer in the evening it was apparent that both of the nearside suspension units also looked as though they were having the same problem. The substantial steel reinforcing plate welded onto the bottom of the tube ends close to where the suspension unit bolts on and was concentrating all of the stress on a small piece of un-reinforced tube which was bending.
Boat jacked up and the decking trays supported under the bilge keels. Takes the load off the failed axle beams and should mean it is safe to work on the trailer and boat.
I have been reading through the paperwork and the mystery of the boat deepens a little, it is registered as being 22 feet long (including the transom hung rudder) which would explain the lack of overhang on the trailer. Looked on the snapdragon association website again and they only show two Snapdragon 23 layouts, one for lifting keel and the other for bilge keel / tri-keel versions. Took the main sail out of its bag and it has the expected dragon on the sail so she is a Snapdragon but no sail number or other obvious identification to show which one. Looked at some of the other technical data on the Association website and everything eventually became clear, I have actually bought a Snapdragon 670 rather than a Snapdragon 23 as advertised. The cabin layout is right and the mainsail had a red head which also indicates a 670 so the mystery is definitely solved. Doesn’t matter at all as the cabin headroom is the same and the layout is more practical than I expected. Here is the general layout drawing from the Thames marine documents on the SMA website.
Having a slightly shorter boat may also mean moorings and insurance are a bit lower cost as 23 feet seems to be a trigger for counting as a big boat.