Need a beveled gear-driven side-shaft timer for 1910 Saginaw twin-cylinder prototype marine racing engine or just some new mooring lines, then a boat jumble might be the very place to find it, as well as being a great day out with a nautical flavour. Boat jumbles are held throughout the year, all over the country, at a place near you.

The first Boat Jumble I attended was the Beaulieu Boat Jumble, soon after I acquired my Contessa 32. Having gone way over budget on its purchase, I was seeking to outfit it at modest further cost.  There were so many stalls there, ranging from the commercial guys such as Jimmy Green down to the impoverished live aboard trying to generate a bit of cash from the contents of their aged rusty bosun's locker hoping to pay for the next leg of their trip, that I was sure that every single odd bit of chandlery that I needed for my boat was there for the finding. I'm positive that my assumption was correct, but after searching through the remains of aged rusty bosun's lockers on dozens and dozens of stalls, trying to find that obscure replacement locker clip I was after was becoming more and more unlikely. I did get some odd bits of string from Jimmy Green's and a couple of second hand fender, (just needing a buff up, a bit of air and a piece of string) but eventually was overwhelmed by it all and, after a pleasant lunch at the restaurant, spent a happy hour at the Beaulieu Motor Museum (included in the entry ticket).

Some time later, after performing a floatation test on one of my winch handles, somewhere off the Kentish coast, I was on the lookout for a replacement. After buying a couple of expensive modern equivalents, that promptly fell to bits when given a bit of grunt, I was looking for something more substantial, but at over £50 a throw this was starting to get a little pricey. At my next boat jumble, the Suffolk Boat Jumble at Ipswich's Trinity Park after a lot of hunting and enquiring at every likely stall, I was on the point of giving up, when I spied, buried under a pile of other boaty stuff, the glint of a pair of chrome plated, very heavy, Harken winch handles, beautifully engineered and would definitely come in useful if ever boarded by pirates demanding a King's ransom (or Salcome harbour masters for that matter). After a bit of haggling (ever tried that in a Chandler's shop?) I got the pair for £50. Now every time I use them, some more pride and joy gets added to my pride and joy.

However, I was now hooked on the wonderful world of Boat Jumbles and the possibilities of searching through other peoples marine junk and finding that 7/16 BSF manifold air bleed adjusting screw. Now where could I fit a Russian Submarine's periscope sight on my Contessa (it has been described as a 'submarine with sails' due to its propensity to ship water when doing what no gentleman should do and beat to windward).

To find out about a boat jumble near you look at www.boat jumble association.co.uk

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