A Bangor man will be all at sea this weekend when he tries to sail his Renault Laguna car across a harbour — after turning it into a boat in the name of charity.

Peter Martin transformed the car into a boat and gave it the name Sir Tristram to raise money for soldiers who have been injured in Afghanistan.

He plans to set sail on Saturday and is hoping to raise money for the charity Help for Heroes through sponsorship and the sale of the craft on eBay.

The craft can still function as a car, despite having been fitted with a bow and an outboard motor.

Peter, who will set sail with a couple of friends — ‘first officer’ Carl McConkey and ‘cabin boy’ Rick Myles, is now hoping Sir Tristram proves to be seaworthy.

“Every day we hear of casualties from Afghanistan — but we don’t always hear about the large numbers of troops who are injured or disabled,” he said.

Peter admits to a previous failed attempt to convert a car into a boat when the vehicle, named Sir Galahad, sank two years ago.

“Like all great inventors and explorers they didn’t always get it right first time but they kept going and didn’t accept failure,” he said.

The launch of Sir Tristram will take place at the Donaghadee harbour slipway at 11.30am.