The Musketeer sailed across to the Isle of Wight this month, its first outing since joining the fleet, writes Stacie Pardoe. Towing the lightweight TD to our holiday base was effortless, and it was also simple to set up.
On board, the rear dinette, with its variety of possible bed arrangements, proved the star attraction for the youngsters. Teenager Josh relished the thought of his own double bed, and six-year-old Liam loved the excitement of using the overhead bunk.
[tl:gallery size=300×200]The sleeping arrangements may have been straightforward but setting up the beds wasn’t so easy. The puzzle of cushions needed to make up the rear double had us scratching our heads in confusion. We got there in the end after one or two false starts, but precious time would have been saved if the cushions had been labelled.
Otherwise, this area is fantastic. There was plenty of space in the four overhead lockers to store the boys’ clothes, while the open shelves were ideal for storing their games and toys.
I was also impressed with the kitchen storage. There is one huge locker that has plenty of room for the weeks’ groceries. Cereal boxes, tins, jars and packets all stacked in easily, so the second locker was freed up for our finest melamine tableware. Besides the lockers there are also plenty of cubbies and drawers to store cutlery, tall bottles and more.
The central chest has a TV point below so that we were able to watch TV comfortably from the front or rear dinette.
There is only one power point near the chest but we got around this using a short extension lead. This was a handy solution when there is a struggle to watch TV, charge games consoles and mobile phones and, most important, straighten my hair.
It wasn’t long before the Sprite was back in service for our recent Reader Rally at Stowford Farm Meadows in North Devon. With all our kit in place, it felt homely and was ready for further touring. We have no doubt about its capabilities on a rally field and I am looking forward to using the Musketeer TD again.
Price £11,541
Berths 5
Overall length 6.45m
Width 2.23m
MTPLM* 1291kg
MiRO* 1052kg
User payload 239kg