Late last week I had the insurance renewal for the van come through the post so this morning I got on with getting some alternative quotes since the current policy expires on the 17th. Now I realize that we are only on Day 212 of ownership of the van but the van conversion project had a false start, a duff van and a court case before we bought the Crafter. Thus the insurance policy which was started for the first van and transferred to the Crafter expires in mid-October date.
When the policy was first taken out and again when it transferred it was commercial vehicle insurance and cost me in the low £600s. With the No Claims Discount that I have accrued the renewal notice that I have received is in the high £500s. However with the conversion approaching completion I approached a couple of brokers who give discounts to SBMCC members and even without the van’s V5 documentation being modified to a Motor Caravan I have got the premium down to the low £200s. Apparently next year once the V5 has been changed I will be able to get the premium even lower.
After a few weeks of vegging out in front of the television or computer I have finally got in kite mode. Having seen and admired the Holland Kite Team’s kite trains and spent some time talking to the late Herman van de Broek at the Dover Kite festival back in 2008 I have wanted a kite train. So this summer I splashed out a grand total of £13.00 can bought 5 x 30 kite trains from China through e-bay. The trains have been joined to give a single train of 150 kites, but I haven’t flown them as I didn’t have a small sled.
One of the key tips I received from Herman was to use a small sled to stabilize the end of the train. So this evening I put together a small tailess sled and hopefully I will be able to fly the complete setup at this weekend’s OSOW meet with the Great Ouse Kite Flyers. To save on time and weight there is no stitching in the sail, rather it is hot cut 39g/m2 Porcher fabric with the 2mm carbon spar adhered with strips of the same fabric and ATG tape.