new toy

[frankS]

Picked up a new ( old ) toy yesterday, 13 foot Dehaveland and registered trailer. No motor as this boat is only going to be used for fishing Bermagui harbour and maybe part of the river.

I have a 9.9 Mercury I can throw on it IF later on I want to go the registered boat way, but for now I will just throw a transom mounted electric on it's rear and that should give me enough momentum to get where I want to go in it.

Mainly my mate who lives down there will be using it, but it will be handy little craft for the times I venture down that way.

Certainly nothing fancy but that's what we want , just a couple of strokes on the oars or a quick burst with the electric should get us some fish to eat.

Frank

[zmk1962]

Nice. Love your forward planning Frank !

cheers Zoran 

[Scratchie]

Both boat and trailer look like a smick unit! Nice  Frank! 👍

cheers scratchie!!! 

[kingie chaser]

Looks pretty tidy.

Should bring some fun for you Frank 😀

[noelm]

Remember when Dehaviland used to be built in Bankstown? that would be just up the road from you Frank (I think) I went there lots of times picking up boats.

[kingie chaser]

3 minutes ago, noelm said:

Remember when Dehaviland used to be built in Bankstown? that would be just up the road from you Frank (I think) I went there lots of times picking up boats.

I recall De Havilland building aircraft in Bankstown.

Not associated at all?

[Rebel]

Great boat. Have lots of fun.

[noelm]

3 hours ago, kingie chaser said:

I recall De Havilland building aircraft in Bankstown.

Not associated at all?

Yep, same company, I am not 100% sure if planes and boats were built there, but that's where I picked boats up from, maybe Frank might know the exact setup, OMC were also there, in Canterbury road.

[dunc333]

 nice frank ,yes 100% the same company  though i think different factories though my mate has a 18 footer dehavilland still. just repowered with a suzuki 70 4stroke (max for hull rating}and going strong and funny enough his factory where the boat is kept is just across the road from bankstown airport. cheers dunc333

[noelm]

Back in the "old days" you couldn't catch fish unless you had a Dehaviland offshore, I think they were 14' and max freeboard was about the middle of the boat, the stern and bow were lower, kind of like an upside down banana, in the later years they made a decent centre console called the "Titan" but most of those would be scrap now I guess.

[frankS]

Thanks guys for all your kind comments. I have been out of action for a couple of days.

I should not have this boat, fair dinkum ! it belongs in a museum , it is absolutely gun barrel straight and there is not a dent or scratch on it anywhere. It almost looks like it has never been in the water. Every time I look at it I just can't believe how straight it is.

Give it a couple of weeks with my mate and it will have blood and guts from bow to stern and will look nothing like it does at the present.

I made and fitted a couple of grab rails and fitted some el cheapo rod holders and put the OLD electric Minn Kota on, only 28 lb motor and nearly 40 years old but still going strong, 85 amp hour battery and away we go.

As I said first up, this boat is only for fishing Bermi harbor and maybe the lake from time to time .

Frank

 

[frankS]

Noel. These boats were made with aircraft precision , being made by a aircraft company they were built to withstand the worst of conditions.

Many readers won't believe what I am about to type here.

The way they used to test these boats besides normal water testing in pretty rough conditions is they used Yarra bay in Botany bay for added water pressure tests. They suspended the boat harnessed under a helicopter which hovered approx 60 to 80 feet above the water , Water police stopped all boat traffic in Yarra bay and they released the boat and let it drop and crash into the water. It was that perfectly balanced that the boat landed flat on it's hull , didn't hit nose first just dead flat, they then recover the harness with trained crew and repeated this exercise so that the boat had been dropped from quiet a height onto the water, you can imagine the impact and the stress that would be placed on the rivets etc. They would then take the boat back to the factory and examine it for any structural damage.

No other boat manufacturer went to this sort of level to ensure their boats were the toughest thing that could be bought.

Clark boats came close but after a number of years the Clarks rivets etc begun to show signs of loosening.

I think I have a showroom quality boat that should never be subjected to the treatment it will receive in the future.

Frank 

[antonywardle]

Don't forget to take a fire extinguisher with you

 

Nice looking boat frank

[noelm]

They were pretty well regarded in their day, the big 21' Trojan was used by lots of Government departments back then, I used to sell them when I worked in the industry way back in the early 80's, the Offshore was an easy "sell" I think Dehaviland made a Seaplane at one time too.

[Welster]

I have never been in one but have eyeballed the riveted DeHavilland hulls a few times and I like them.   Very cool. 

[Welster]

On 9/24/2020 at 6:37 AM, frankS said:

Noel. These boats were made with aircraft precision , being made by a aircraft company they were built to withstand the worst of conditions.

Many readers won't believe what I am about to type here.

The way they used to test these boats besides normal water testing in pretty rough conditions is they used Yarra bay in Botany bay for added water pressure tests. They suspended the boat harnessed under a helicopter which hovered approx 60 to 80 feet above the water , Water police stopped all boat traffic in Yarra bay and they released the boat and let it drop and crash into the water. It was that perfectly balanced that the boat landed flat on it's hull , didn't hit nose first just dead flat, they then recover the harness with trained crew and repeated this exercise so that the boat had been dropped from quiet a height onto the water, you can imagine the impact and the stress that would be placed on the rivets etc. They would then take the boat back to the factory and examine it for any structural damage.

No other boat manufacturer went to this sort of level to ensure their boats were the toughest thing that could be bought.

Clark boats came close but after a number of years the Clarks rivets etc begun to show signs of loosening.

I think I have a showroom quality boat that should never be subjected to the treatment it will receive in the future.

Frank 

You reminded me of these Triumph boat (USA) tests.   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wrxhoon1]

11 hours ago, noelm said:

 I think Dehaviland made a Seaplane at one time too.

They did, the Beaver and the Otter both seized production in the 60's i think.

They are still running in the West coast of Canada and Alaska .

 

[Killer]

12 hours ago, noelm said:

They were pretty well regarded in their day, the big 21' Trojan was used by lots of Government departments back then.

We had a 25ft Trojan for patrolling Port Hacking back in the '80s. Started off with a diesel inboard and then twin 115hp outboards.  It did sink in the berth, three times :).  Eventually found that when they replaced the Johnsons with Yamahas they left bolts in the old mounting holes and put the timber transom cover over them. They eventually corroded and let water in. Took a few days (and the boat didn't go out every day back then) to fill enough and then down she went. The boss at the W.P tried to put the blame on me, but it was found to be the dealers who fitted the outboards. Whew!!!

[frankS]

I briefly had a trojan back in about 86 . Took a bloke fishing in it and he fell in love with it and made me an offer I couldn't resist and he took it back to Queensland with him , I then bought the Savage lancer which I still have access to although it hasn't seen water for many years now. ( has 2005 90hp Etec with 86 hours on the clock ).

Frank