Silver Spray

[Mark,SS]

Permission to come Aboard ,,,
Greetings ladies and gentlemen of the WBF.
May I introduce Myself .
My name is Mark and am the caretaker of the Silver Spray , which was introduced to You All by Snow , in His thread , Best summer in Years Down under .
I have joined the forum , and started this thread as a courtesy to Snow ,so as to answer the enquiries , without highjacking his fine column .
Keep the thread running Snow , it is of great interest ,especially as there is quite a number of us launchies , running around on the coast of our far away country of NZ , as viewed from The northern Hemisphere.
As a direct reply to Rufustr , Hi , Aussie contingent I believe ,,
Mark here , going by the pen name Mark,SS which is self explanatory ,
Now the Silver Spray is a small ,fast displacement launch of 26 Ft on deck . She was built in 1926 of NZ Kauri at Judges Bay ,Auckland .
Her original build configuration was a flush-decker with a dog-box house or semi enclosed cockpit. Her present sedan top is a later modification , post 1939 , yet of 1940s joinery techniquies . This coachwork like the hull is of very high standard of construction and is of Teak . Her motive power is provided by a 4108 Perkins diesel , 39-45 Shp . on Borg Warner velvet drive box 1.5:1 the fan is a 14x 9 3 blader and She gallops along at in excess of 10 kts cruising speed .
Please don't ask , why she exceeds rather dramatically Her theoretical hull speed , cause I just plain don't know .
I have cared for the Silver Spray now for 21 Years in which time have had numerous adventures together . As with all romances there are good , bad /happy and sad tales . For the most part , I derive great pleasure out of this little ship and if some of these antics are of interest to You and the other members I am happy to continue .
Need a little time with the Photo thing here , as I'm still an apprentice to the computer technology , though if Snow or Yourself would like to paste the pic ,from Best Summer ,,, that would be great . Thank You all for Your interest .
Mark

[dhic001]

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/P1120267.jpg

Theres your picture Mark, and welcome to the forum. there are a few of us Kiwis around here, and we don't often get confused for Australians! Nice and interesting boat you have there.
Daniel

[Mark,SS]

Thank You Daniel for posting the Picture , BTW we have met , at ,Silver Spray and Zeltic crossed at Warkworth ,during the Mahurangi Festival earlier this Year
Sweet little steamer Mate .
Yes I'm in the Kiwi contingent ,I was acknowledging Rufustr as the as the Ocker
Cheers ,Mark

[dhic001]

Thank You Daniel for posting the Picture , BTW we have met , at ,Silver Spray and Zeltic crossed at Warkworth ,during the Mahurangi Festival earlier this Year
Sweet little steamer Mate .
Yes I'm in the Kiwi contingent ,I was acknowledging Rufustr as the as the Ocker
Cheers ,Mark

Of course, appologies, rather a lot happened that weekend, and some of it has managed to slip my mind. My comment about being confused with australians was a little dig at another forum member who wrote about my posts about Australian Steamers!
Enjoy the forum.
Daniel

[rufustr]

Mark,

Welcome again.

There are quite a few Aussies here and no doubt some will drop in on your threads from time to time.

Please continue to post about Silver Spray and any other adventures you may have had.

I have a thread about a Tasmanian boat resembling yours and I will post a link to your thread on mine.

http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2125948#post2125948

Rufus.

[Mark,SS]

Rufustr , I just read the Latura story , and the similarities are more cosmetic than structural . Nice Boat , and a very dedicated custodian to have survived such an extensive refit . Latura is of chine construction whereas Silver Spray is round bilge , no flair in the bow and a whole lot less curve in the transom , indicating to me that Latura was of very modern design for her time ,
Silver Spray is if single skin construction, ex 3/4 planking ribbed at 6 inch centres The 40's refit introduced a structural bulkhead ,cockpit to saloon and a single ring frame under the fore deck supporting the front of the coach-house , and running through the bilge , onto which the engine beds are subsequently supported .
The entire hull deck , and coach-house is as I got the boat but the mechanically and interior were a total cot case. As a prudent boatie I set too to make a sea worthy safe little pleasure boat , from an unreliable rundown launch it turned out to be ,admittedly with great bones . Recognising the potential I persevered for a few seasons until finally I decided the mechanics , electrical and interior were beyond it and the only fix was a keel to cabin-top refit .
Word of advice here to the new blokes ,,, think twice before trying this at home (take the medication and lie down till the urge goes away )
The initial plan was , a "couple a months and about 20 k budget "
Like all that have walked this well trodden path the whole process turned into thousands of hours work , unknown amounts of money , gallons of blood , and all kinds of frustrations . On the other hand , there are equal amounts of pleasure ,the satisfaction of a good result , and the confidence of a safe sea kindly little vessel .
So let the saga begin ,,From the beginning as I can recall events ,
Once upon a Saturday Morning ,,, Reading the morning paper ,looking for an old boat as a knockabout I blundered on a launch about the right size for fishing and week-ending . And purchased it .
What I actually got ,subsequent discoveries
Silver Spray (original Name )
Built 1926 By Joseph E Slattery at Judges Bay , Auckland for a gentleman /Building contractor located in Wakatakataka bay ,just around the headland .
Her Specs are: LWL 25 ft
Beam 6ft plus sponson side deck taking her out to 7-ft
Draft 2-ft 6
Loa 25 ft 11 in
Original engine Gray Marine now 70's Perkins 4108
Kauri hull , Teak house .
the general description is covered in My introduction .
The first undertaking was a full exterior strip back and repaint when I discovered the coach work was solid teak of old style construction .
Mortice and tenon joints and through pegged . This being buried under layers of paint .
Next stage was to do a cock pit upgrade So on with the designer hat and worked up a sketch of a functional cockpit with integrated galley
At this point the project slowed up , all the usual hicc-ups . finally I completely finished the fit out of this area of teak Next stage was introducing a teak deck , aft /side decks . At this point proceedings ground to a halt lack of funds , and other life situations took over and the project languished other than sporadic bursts .
I'll pick this up later and continue later ,
Mark,SS

[paladin]

Welcome aboard, Mark....damn fine boat....beautiful...

[Jay Greer]

Welcome aboard mark. Great boat! And good to have you with us. My friend Chris McMullen of McMullen Wing Co. just outside of Aukland takes care of a similar boat which he is also quite taken with. Yours is very nice indeed!
Jay

[C. Ross]

Welcome aboard Mark! A beautiful boat, and we can always use a few more power boaters on the forum.

Has Silver Spray always had the sail rig? Can you say a little about how you use it?

[Lew Barrett]

No kidding Chris! Welcome aboard, mate! She's a beauty, and with that steady sail, she can pass in any port with any crowd!

[snow]

Hi Mark
Great to see you have tracked down the WBF & I'm pleased that the photo I took from Raindance as you powered past me off Waiheke Island on Waitangi weekend started it all. I want to know more about how you get 10+ knots out of her !!!!!! Where do you keep Silver Spray ? I'm at Bayswater marina.
If you want some help with the photo posting process - shout & I'll email you with how to do it.
Cheers Alan H

[Mark,SS]

3rd attempt to get this up ,,,
I am humbled by such a warm welcome , by yourselves
Mr Paladin ,Pleasure to acquaint .
Jay Greer ,Hi , I am known to Chris , A maestro in the art of boat-building , he surely is and all round decent bloke . He is the creator of "Fritha " an enquiry made in this forum .
Evening Mr Ross , The sail set-up I run is a cobble up from a P class , a snub nosed little trainer most Kiwi sailors cut their teeth in as nippers
Having lifting out the specs for rigs on motor cruisers from text from
Motor cruisers by K M Miller & John Irving 1935 . I set too and laid up this 1/2 size kit The rig in theory should carry 230 sq ft yet Im not that brave , presently 100sq ft +/- Main and foresail about 50 each The idea is for a steady as Silver Spray is rather tender and no ballast . I generally run with the main close hauled .
As a steady it stiffens up the boat and gives a lovely ride plus the look is not too offensive to the eye . In the economy stakes the fuel savings are astronomical knocking the consumption to about 1.5 ltrs per hr while achieving over 6.5 kts on a lazy daze run to nowhere in particular . I started playing with the rig while on holiday got it functioning reasonably well on the trip home to Auckland from Whangarei . 2004
Greetings Mr Barrett The Silver Spray rebuild took place whilst I was joiner responsible for the the Lady Margaret refit That has been covered in part by Jase &John B . I'm happy to flesh out that fascinating history further on .
Hello Snow , I'm sure we will meet in "jafa" town , And will surely give You ahoy at the first opportunity . Our first overlap was on a run home from Oneroa Waiheke , To Wakatakataka Bay Incidentally I got to Bean Rock Light with the wind building and was enjoying a brilliant ride only to get reigned in by Coast-guard and got a ticking off for exceeding 12 kts in the fare-way . I really do not know why this little boat exceeds its theoretical hull speed We need the help from the sages of the pages on this one . She seems to be running in her sweet spot at 10 kts ,more when She's in the mood and not much under in heavy weather . We will get together at some stage (soon ) I may have a solution for Your helm seat , quandary as I solved that most satisfactorily with a Somerset Chair ,that disappears into the bunk . TTFN ,
Must get back to the program and finish the refit bit before we loose the plot . Once again cheers folks , and is my Pleasure to contribute
Mark,SS

[StevenBauer]

Looking forward to more, Mark. She is a little gem.



Steven

[snow]

3rd attempt to get this up ,,,
I may have a solution for Your helm seat , quandary as I solved that most satisfactorily with a Somerset Chair ,that disappears into the bunk .
Mark,SS

Now that interests me . Any photos ? Cheers Alan

[IanG]

Mark, welcome aboard. It is good to see another CYANZ member on these forums.

Here is my one of my favourite photos of Silver Spray:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3577/3338106747_daa8dcd580.jpg

[snow]

Hi Ian
Warkworth in flood ? Love the parking signs. :D

[AlanL]

Silver Spray is a georgeous little launch and very well maintained :)

Great photo that, but how did you avoid the wheel clampers for parking in a disabled pozzie? Or is that one on the way? :D

Looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers
Alan

[John B]

That was the Hamilton trip wasn't it ?

a few from the 06 season.( posted here at the time )
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/Waione_photos/2006/171_7143_1.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/Waione_photos/2006/171_7144_1.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/Waione_photos/2006/171_7145_1.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/Waione_photos/2006/171_7147_1.jpg

[snow]

Silver Spray is a georgeous little launch and very well maintained :)

Great photo that, but how did you avoid the wheel clampers for parking in a disabled pozzie? Or is that one on the way? :D

Looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers
Alan

Alan
Love the web site link - very nice boat & stunning photos. Very envious of those photos of you with the motor up & on the 'beach' at Kawau Island, & I thought I could anchor in close.
Cheers Alan

[Mark,SS]

Hi Everyone , The Photo IanG posted was taken in August 2006 in Hamilton a city about 100 miles South of Auckland . The river is known as the Waikato River . For the Silver Spray's 80th Birthday I decided something special should be done , so after reading a book ,King of the River , about the commercial river trade on the Waikato which ceased about 1945 . I figured Boat and I better see if the river was navigable and just have an adventure . Well Auckland is on the East Coast and the river on the West coast So a chat to a local boat Haul bloke resulted in " Yep Hiab lift at the viaduct , no probs Mate . Reckon we just go down highway 1 an sling you in the river any where we can , Job done ! " ( a very well found plan indeed ) to which I replied Next Monday 0900 tide ,
July is the middle of winter here , but the designated Day out turned perfect , running up the harbour to the viaduct My gut instinct was telling me that it might be a while before I see this place again .
It turned out a very dodgy lift out , the Hiab was at maximum capacity and the boat needed setting down on the Wharf and shortening up of the slings and a second hoist to get it set down on the truck . After heading south encountering absolutely No access to the river We arrived at a rowing club in Hamilton . By this stage It started raining and bitterly cold .
Trucker says, "Yer goin in 'ere !
Me "Eh !" (This fellow is Mad ) . A very soggy riverbank and overloaded lift
No point in arguing this was only going to end successfully or be a monumental cock-up . Just run with it I thought .
"Jus be ready to get out of the way if the truck starts to go You are on yer own soon as I swing ya over the bank " . This lift was simply petrifying , Me and Boat swinging out into a completely unknown locality , spongy river bank ,Swing and going down simultaneously
For My part it was Splash start and reverse in a single movement ,
without any regard for the slings !
All I thought is" God I Love My Perkins ."
Figuring out where I was with a local street map boat and I only needed to cross the river and travel downstream a mile or so to a little jetty , offered as a base , via friend only the day before .
The situation deteriorated weather wise , constant rain and temps hovering around freezing point , meant a miserable time till finally I developed a tooth ache . Needing to get this seen to I caught the bus to Auckland , and went to the dentist . Arriving there My Phone Goes and the lady said The wharf is under water , and Silver Spray is on a dreadful lean What do I do ?
Let the thing sink , there is not a damn thing I can do at present and I wont let anybody get Hurt on My account ,Final !
Clive the Dentist Chimed in , Double root canal with Pain Killers To Go for You . Quick as I can ,sounds like a boat problem to Me
So with this sorted I hailed a cab around to My shed fetching out My truck and on the road Having the presence of mind to call a buddy calling for help . Getting back to the jetty after dark ,Mike and I were confronted by the frantic lady who had My phone details , and people all over the show , some wise guy had set up a massive search light across the river , and the whole place lit up like daylight ,
I had previously tied The dinghy up in the trees , It now afloat , the boat laid over ,port side deck under . Im onto the duck board cut the offending fouled spring line faster than super hero .
Cranking up the engine ( God I love My Perkins springs to mind )
I cast over the other lines and nudged into the trees and Mike jumped aboard . So at this point disaster averted , here We are in this river ,at night , in a flood , raining , cold , and a bloody agonised Mouth . Turning to Mike the only conversation was: better tie up some place .
Seeing some stakes sticking out of the water and a sign I recognised as a boat ramp but it it was under . We simply tied up to the signs and made a cup of tea . Reasoning we could figure things out better in daylight The next morning revealed We had crossed the boat-ramp , grass verge park benches and the barrier posts , to be tied up perfectly in the disabled parking section of the Grantham St carpark ! It being totally under by about 3 ft .
Turned out to be Silver Spray's 80th Birthday ( Aug 1926Launched)
Little bit more on this one , Will continue tomorrow
Mark,

[rufustr]

What a bloody fantastic story Mark.:cool::cool:

I have an interesting tooth story as well.

Please keep on with your tale.

I thought you were fishing off the duck board in that photo.:cool::cool:

[Duncan Gibbs]

I think we have an NZ Dingo on our hands people! :D

Welcome aboard indeed Mark! Absa-bloody-beautiful boat and a good yarn to boot! :)

[AlanL]

Alan
Love the web site link - very nice boat & stunning photos. Very envious of those photos of you with the motor up & on the 'beach' at Kawau Island, & I thought I could anchor in close.
Cheers Alan

Thanks Alan :) One thing we are blessed with here are some beautiful boats.

[C. Ross]

Oh, this is fantastic. Great pictures John, and welcome indeed Mark!
I look forward to future posts....
Cris

[BETTY-B]

I was wondering where the party was... It's over here in the classic power yacht dudes thread! Sweet!

Welcome aboard, Mark. I cant wait to hear more. What a fine, lucky boat you have there.

DAN

[Mark,SS]

Hi every one ,
Back to the Hamilton trip : Next Morning I rowed ashore and went to the police station and reported my position and notify them the situation was under control and the vessel was still under command .
On My return , 2 gents ,1 a reporter and the other the head of Parks and Reserves were waiting . They accepted My invitation for coffee and we retired aboard for a natter . Mr Lee weighed up my predicament quickly and offered Me his car-park for as long as I needed .
The reporter took the Photo which turned up in the Waikato Times ,with an article about the flood , biggest in 25 years .
A couple of days later another bloke shows up with a big wad of papers . Gaining My attention I rowed ashore to be confronted by a little man with a purple face.
"Hello "I said
This fellow suddenly went off like a packet of fire crackers . ranting and raving until he ran out of breath .
Quietly I said "get In " pointing at the dinghy ,
"What !!"He screeched .
"Get IN , I do nothing without a nice cup-pa "
Aboard the launch this character sparked up again like before .
Where's Your resource consent , who are you , you must go I could Fine You ,You should not be in My River , on and on went this verbal diarrhoea till finally he says "and I'm the Harbour Master for the Port of Hamilton ! "
(Yeah Right Bloody place hasn't been a port for 50 Years )
Quietly I picked up a copy of the Rules of the Road and said
''We must agree this is an extreme situation ,worst flood in 25 years
certainly it is , Now I am the skipper of the Silver Spray from the Port of Auckland on a passage to Cambridge via the river , a public thoroughfare Thank You for such a warm welcome Sir .
As skipper it is My responsibility to take every and any action necessary to ensure the safety of both My vessel and Crew , Rule of Responsibility , read it" placing the book in front of him
I figured this paper shuffler was harbour master in title only and decided to give this prat a run around ,
"It's like this Sir I am in the carpark, Your river is on the other side of that fence , and a Mr Lee has validated my Parking Permit .
"But You can't stay here , You have to go "
"Ok lets get You ashore first ."
Back at the road this clown started performing again Meantime I'm winging it with My own line in BS not quite sure what my actual rights were .Finally I got fed up with this little upstart .
''Listen here Mr Bloody Harbourmaster unless You have something productive to offer Bugger off until You have !! At which he took off like a startled rabbit Mike got a ride back to Auckland and I worked my way back into the river as it receaded a bit .
Making My way back to Wallis McNairs jetty , I tied a bow-line to an exposed horn on it and set too recovering my lines tangled up with branches that bad come down stream , running a new setup out of the trees and My big anchor in the river, got situated nicely and the jetty appeared where it should be when I woke Up next Morning
Next it was back to Auckland for the tooth problem and actually get some work done .
This whole production took a week , and I was a little frayed .
Will continue ,,,,
Mark

[rufustr]

And?.......................:cool:

[AlanL]

Ahh, petty bureaucrats. That's why boat hooks were invented :rolleyes: :cool:

[Mark,SS]

To the Finish line , Home :
What started out as a bit of an excursion kind of mutated , and started to become more time consuming than I expected .
I commuted to Silver Spray , and continued exploring the river, taking the boat onto Cambridge , at a place called Heaphy's Park The absolute end of the navigable section . Here the river is obstructed by a rock shelf and rapids , making fast to the abandoned ferry steps dating back to the 30's . From here I encountered a local and we went further south in a tinny , about another 10 miles through the rapids in a most spectacular gorge to Karipiro Hydro Dam and fished for trout .
Having gone South as far as was possible by boat I returned to Hamilton to plot going home . Gathering all the Lands and survey Maps . I drove the entire length of the river , checking all of my estimated 100 +/- miles to the coast , calling into the occasional pub to feel out local knowledge . mostly negative .
Going against all the information I decided , It's do-able .
Heading down river , yet travelling NW I came across a barge with digger on it clearing trees bought down by the flood , in a place called Pukete ,5 miles on coming along side I met the contractor to be informed "It Can't be done Lad ! You will Be dead headed at Taupiri ,
and if You manage to stay afloat You will be trapped in the sands at Mercer , and I will make a fortune cleaning up the mess ! Pullout just over there and get trucked Home ."
"Thank You , Mr Arnett ". Proceeding on another 20 miles sure enough , crunch , I hit a submerged tree . knocking into neutral the current carried me into the willows . Getting untangled from this I actually continued on to Mercer . At which point I came to a stop , then swung broad-side to the current . Powering on We pirouetted
And faced back upstream . I figured in a nano second Plan B has merit , returning upstream to the jetty .
Back in Hamilton I arranged a crane and truck to pull out at Pukete as recommended .
On pullout day , steaming yet again to Pukete I arrived this time to find the river level had dropped to its minimum level , too low for me to get close enough to be plucked out !
Paying off the contractors , I returned to the Jetty
Bugger it , this was going take a bullet proof plan to get home .
Knowing the river flow is controlled by the power authorities ,
I marched up to the reception at Mighty River Power and politely said
to the the lass at the counter . " I need to discuss the low river level
with some body that actually has some influence around here ,if You please . "
"Yes Sir Just a moment . " Her thinking I had some had some clout
ushered me straight into an office and left .
"I've got a simple request . I need some of Your water Mate ! "
The important bloke bemused by this started to laugh .
" We are entering a drought lad and want a bit of water , How much ?"
If You don't mind , Could You let go Karipiro Dam I need at least 12m on the gauge at Victoria St Bridge. "
This fellow went into hysterics , Finally composing himself
" Look lad I'll order us a cup-pa and You better take it from the beginning , nice and slowly.
Next thing I expected was the funny little men in the little white coats with a nice cosy straight jacket .
I explained My excursion and getting caught in the flood . But now I'm nipped in the river and as he controlled the river flow with the dams I need some water to get my boat out and get off home .
At this point the penny dropped . He had seen the article in the paper .
"Ok " He said " We need to do some flow tests and other checks
I'll have them run on an extra hour , and that may give You enough water This will take place late September or early October .
That's the best I can do , I'll ring You with the details "
"Mighty obliging of You "My reply and away I went .
Back In Auckland the Chap called with the details wishing Me the best of luck but no Guarantees
So re ordering the crane and truck Gordon another boatie mate
and I off to Hamilton and I'm off again to Pukete in the boat. With all kit assembled , I just managed to get get under the hook woth the boom on maximum reach ,not quite enough water . The Phone goes and the Mighty River bloke enquires how I got on .
" Just under the hook but not Quite enough water "
" Well Make haste the level will start dropping soon , good luck ." click
I pointed this out to the crane driver , an ace , and he said he would do the pull " just ignore the overload alarm !"
Easing Me up and placing the boat gently on the sand ,shortened up and placed the boat on the truck
Arriving back to Auckland We re floated at Okahu Bay bang on high tide Gordon and I strolled around the corner , lowered the cradle at the boat-shed , followed by a 5 minute run around the corner putting the Silver Spray back in her House .

Mark

[AlanL]

Mark, an adventure worthy of a book. Did you get any other pic's?

It is unfortunate that many of our once navigable rivers have become so heavily silted, Waikato used to be a very busy waterway.
I had thought of doing a run from the Port Waikato to Cambridge in Beatrice :)

[rufustr]

Thanks for the story Mark.

Sounds like you have had lots of adventures with Silver Spray.:cool::cool:

Feel free to post some piccies when you get a chance.:D:D

[Mark,SS]

Hi Rufus , Yes I get away in the Silver Spray at any opportunity I can . As part of the restoration , I built a custom trolley on railway for it , in it's own boathouse . By putting the 1930 winch on a remote control , I am able to launch and retrieve single handed . So if it's Fish and Chips for tea , just chuck the spuds in the boat and catch the fish when we get there !
I have plenty of pic's and will post asap , Still got trainer wheels on this poota don't Ya Know .
AlanL Greetings , Your dory , a far superior boat to run the river .
At under a foot of draft and a propellor guard , just the ticket !
Game on if You are ! I am more than happy to share the maps and even go with You . I am an ex Whangarei lad and know Pahi /Paparoa well . Just a thought here Myself and other readers , would love to hear about some voyages on The Kaipara , that harbour is massive , full of history , and very pretty .
The conclusion to that tale is . I wanted to so something special to mark Silver Sprays 80th Year hence taking an East coast old salt and visit a West coast river .Even catching Rainbow and Brown trout .

Thank You all very much for expressing interest in my antics
I will post photos , along with cover notes as soon as I manage to navigate the posting aspect . We are truly blessed here in NZ to have such an abundance of wilderness both on water and land .
Mark

[snow]

A boat shed - thats almost cheating ! That could be another cool thread - blokes boat sheds.
Are you using Photobucket to store photos ? Check out

http://photobucket.com

Cheers Alan

[The Bigfella]

Excellent story there Mark.

I take it you like your Perkins?

[IanG]

Snow

A boat shed - thats almost cheating ! That could be another cool thread - blokes boat sheds.

Florence Dawn is going back her boatshed this weekend, over a month earlier than usual, due to work commitments in warmer places.

Our shed is not as fancy as Mark's. We float in on the top 1.5 - 2 hours of the tide. I will try to remember to take some photos.

[riverat]

Hi MarkSS, good yarn there, believe it or not I spent the first half of my working life on the river, mainly driving the 65' triple screw tug "Tere" between Port Waikato and Hamilton. Also dug a lot of shingle at Cambridge too.Ah for the "good old days" I left in 1970 and river trade dried up in the mid 70's. Have you ever seen a steel launch called "Te Atatu" getting around?? regards ray

[Mark,SS]

Greetings to You Riverat , The Waikato voyage was loosely based on a book about one Caesar Roose , and his industrial prowess , Written by Jeannette Thomas ,His Daughter . One of His enterprises was to dredge sand and shingle to feed the insatiable appetites of the building industry . What is now the Grantham St car-park was once Rooses' sand depot . His Home was at Mercer , which as You would know ,was the hub of sand dredging on the river . Basically the dredge sat in the river sucking up sand and the river just kept washing more back into the hole
In the industry We referred to this as No 1 wash mixed sand It is a fine sharp white , ideal for solid plaster and mortar . Or Mercer No 1 .
The dredges and other enterprises are now gone , along with all the work boats
I have not seen , Te Atatu , though if She was/is a "happy" boat she will still be about . I'm far from superstitious yet those vessels with a positive aura seem to be extremely long lived , Those without seem to be trouble until their demise .
Will post Pics , soon folks , promise . Too much work on at present , to practice computer techniques .
Hello Big fella , Yes I am very satisfied with My Perkins . It is a 4108 ( for the non technical followers it is a British engine . )
It is 4 cylinders ,1760 cc , These engines are high revving 3000 to 3600 and this one is metered to run max ,no load of 4000 . Factory Spec .
BTW I am compiling the restoration to date of Silver Spray , and protocol seems that I post this in building and repair , so will pop up there .

[BrianW]

Great thread!

Looking at the pictures of Silver Spray tied alongside the sailboat reminds me that no matter how well ya do that, it still always looks wrong. :)

[rufustr]

Bump until Mark gets organized with his story on Silver Spray.:D:D

[snow]

Greetings to You Riverat , The Waikato voyage was loosely based on a book about one Caesar Roose , and his industrial prowess , Written by Jeannette Thomas ,His Daughter . One of His enterprises was to dredge sand and shingle to feed the insatiable appetites of the building industry . What is now the Grantham St car-park was once Rooses' sand depot . His Home was at Mercer , which as You would know ,was the hub of sand dredging on the river . Basically the dredge sat in the river sucking up sand and the river just kept washing more back into the hole
In the industry We referred to this as No 1 wash mixed sand It is a fine sharp white , ideal for solid plaster and mortar . Or Mercer No 1 .
The dredges and other enterprises are now gone , along with all the work boats
I have not seen , Te Atatu , though if She was/is a "happy" boat she will still be about . I'm far from superstitious yet those vessels with a positive aura seem to be extremely long lived , Those without seem to be trouble until their demise .
Will post Pics , soon folks , promise . Too much work on at present , to practice computer techniques .
Hello Big fella , Yes I am very satisfied with My Perkins . It is a 4108 ( for the non technical followers it is a British engine . )
It is 4 cylinders ,1760 cc , These engines are high revving 3000 to 3600 and this one is metered to run max ,no load of 4000 . Factory Spec .
BTW I am compiling the restoration to date of Silver Spray , and protocol seems that I post this in building and repair , so will pop up there .
Waiting for you to pop up - more stories & photos please.

[raiseddeck]

Check out some of the Atkin raised deck designs which look similar:

http://www.atkinboatplans.com/

" Chum
A 26' 3" Raised-Deck Cruiser
By William Atkin

A motor cruiser this time. A small one. With just enough room for two and with all the fixings needed for comfortable cruising. She is well under the government's taxation ruling, 26 feet 3 inches, and rather more shoal in draft than the average boat of this length. However, for all her lack of length and draft this little Chum is a friendly sister of the sea and can be depended upon to plug along under her modest power plant, blow high or blow low. "

[raiseddeck]

Check out some of the Atkin raised deck designs which look similar:

http://www.atkinboatplans.com/

Especially the FAST, V-hull " Bamaling "
A 21' 7" V-Bottom Raised-Deck Day Cruiser
By William Atkin

A 21-Foot Day Cruiser
A smaller edition of "Bam", a 26-footer designed a few years ago for day cruising. " Bamaling" is not in any sense a reduction in proportion of "BAM"; she is rather a similar idea worked into an entirely new design.

Bamaling is 21 feet 7 inches in overall length; 21 feet water line; 7 feet 10 inches in breadth; and 1 foot 9 inches draft. The freeboard at the bow is 3 feet 10 inches, and at the stern 2 feet 7 1/2 inches. She is of V-bottom model having straight sections below the chines and moulded sections above.

Also: " Chum "
A 26' 3" Raised-Deck Cruiser
By William Atkin

A motor cruiser this time. A small one. With just enough room for two and with all the fixings needed for comfortable cruising. She is well under the government's taxation ruling, 26 feet 3 inches, and rather more shoal in draft than the average boat of this length. However, for all her lack of length and draft this little Chum is a friendly sister of the sea and can be depended upon to plug along under her modest power plant, blow high or blow low. "

[snow]

Very long time between drinks ????????????