Pearl Lugger /Gaff Cutter

[spoinky]

"Little Dirk" is a pearl lugger built in 1927 that worked in the Shark Bay area.
There are lofting plans including offsets here: http://www.anmm.gov.au/emuseum
Look in the vessel list of search.
Maybe not clear enough online, but maybe ask for a copy.

LOA: 8.89 m (29.17 ft)
LWL: 8.75 m (28.69 ft)
Breadth overall: 2.88 m (9.44 ft)
Draft of Hull: 0.72 m (2.38 ft)

[jmk89]

Beautiful boat spoinky. But what are you going to do - are you going to build it or are you just trying to tease Shane???

[spoinky]

what's wrong with teasing?

I am in the middle of making a 15ft clinker whitehall rowing with sail.

Next dream plan is a 32ft Galway Hooker

[Wild Dingo]

WHAT FREEKIN BOAT??? Bloody no search I did came up with anything for something named "Little Dirk"

As to flamin well teasin a bloke... man aint I gots pains an woes enough already without yous mob arcin up on me too??? strewth is there no friggin end to me miserys???? EH???

nah just jokin mates... cant find the boat so to quote the old Schultz of Hogans Heros show... "I know nuffink I see nuffink there is nuffink!"

Now as I recall from me luggar dreamin days me ol mate young Tony Hunt or TonyH as he is wont to call himownself from time to time knows about such things as "little fella luggars" so maybes he will wander in an edjoomakate us all on this here matter of "Little Dirk"... as I must say she aint one Ive heard of before this

As to her length... NICE SIZE BABY!!! 29ft is just about the ducks knuts in my book

[jmk89]

WHAT FREEKIN BOAT??? Bloody no search I did came up with anything for something named "Little Dirk"

As to flamin well teasin a bloke... man aint I gots pains an woes enough already without yous mob arcin up on me too??? strewth is there no friggin end to me miserys???? EH???

nah just jokin mates... cant find the boat so to quote the old Schultz of Hogans Heros show... "I know nuffink I see nuffink there is nuffink!"

Now as I recall from me luggar dreamin days me ol mate young Tony Hunt or TonyH as he is wont to call himownself from time to time knows about such things as "little fella luggars" so maybes he will wander in an edjoomakate us all on this here matter of "Little Dirk"... as I must say she aint one Ive heard of before this

As to her length... NICE SIZE BABY!!! 29ft is just about the ducks knuts in my book

Took me a bit of a search too (but it was on the boss's time...)

Click on ARHV and then search and all will be revealed

Happy drooling, mate

[Wild Dingo]

Well I'll be buggared eh!! That worked! I told you before old son your a bloody legend!

So I wonder where in blasted bloody blue blazes it is hiding in Carnarvon?? I was just up there a week or so back and in my wanderings around town and out at the main town jetty or out the back of Pelican Point and Babbage Island I didnt see it anywhere... mmmm I think I can feel a road trip coming on again

Interesting bum on her eh

mmm might have to put that roadtrip back a tad cause Im heading down to Albany next week for a few days tryin to find the old fella that designed and built Crest... gotta try to have a yarn with him before he kicks it (over 90 now and sadly gettin a bit frail) then find her wherever they are restoring her... THEN I can sort the time to run up to Carnarvon to find Dirk!!! Albanys gonna be an interesting trip since first I have to go out to the seatainer where I boxed everything and tossed it all away and try to find his letters to me so I can find him!! damn nuisance... ah well no worries gives me something else to do eh!! Its all good

[GaryK]

Someone mention pearl lugger?
I was in Denham an January and snapped these pics with the phone (sorry about the quality).

Dingo, if you want to looking at it, this one lives on a mooring right infront of town.

cheers

[Tony Hunt]

Nice to see some else starting a pearling lugger thread for a change!

LITTLE DIRK is one of a handful of remaining examples of Shark Bay luggers. These were built specifically for pearling in the shallow and (comparatively) protected waters of Shark Bay, so were much smaller and shallower (often centreboarders) than their Broome-based sisters, and were usually cutter rigged.

LITTLE DIRK is also interesting becasue she is an example of the "cartwheel" stern, an unusual form only built in small numbers around the early 1900s, mostly by a Fremantle-based shipwright named Gourlay. There is another example sitting on blocks in the boatyard of the Cruising Yacht Club at Rockingham, named BRITANNIA. She's in poor shape and someone has stuck a lead fin keel on her, but she is nevertheless restorable and is of considerable historical interest.

The WA Museum has GARBO, the hull is damaged but is being set up as a display.

GALLA GURCI is, I think the lugger at Denham, she has a very unusual stern (I'm told that she was used for carrying sheep to the islands in the off-season and so was shaped as a loading ramp!). There is a web site about her http://www.boatshed.org.au/GallaGurci.htm.

KOORULDHOO was a lugger built in 1910 for use as a research vessel by WA Fisheries, specifically for the Shark Bay pearl and scallop fishery. Lovely little boat, sadly my information is that she was wrecked on a reef in Safety Bay last year and is a total loss.

Great little boats and a nice size, it would be wonderful to see someone build a modern replica.

Shane

Last time I saw CREST she was still sitting at her mooring berth in a creek off Moreton Bay, near Brisbane.

Cheers

Tony

[Tony Hunt]

Here is Britannia, showing her unusual "cartwheel" stern (and the afterthought fin keel, and her sad state, etc. The cabin is an aftermarket addition too, of course).

[Fugley]

G'Day! Tony
what do you know
about Abrolhos Pearl she is for sale on boat point
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-fo...aspx?R=2880351
I hope this link works
cheers Fugley

[Tony Hunt]

G'day Fugley. The short answer to your question is only a little. I've spoken to her owner but I haven't seen the boat in person. Her history is unclear and at this stage I can't connect her for sure to any known pearling lugger. The name ABROLHOS PEARL has never appeared in any pearling industry records I've seen (and I've seen a lot) so I assume it's a recent thing. The boat itself does resemble a pearling lugger from some angles, but the stern in particular is atypical of luggers - see the picture below. The counter may have been sawn off though (it certainly looks sawn off!), to give the big transom visible in the picture - this kind of surgery has been done to a couple of WA luggers (basically because there was rot in the counter). All sorts of boats were used in the pearling industry in it's later days, not all were purpose-built luggers. She more resembles a fishing boat from southern waters than a lugger, to my eye.

So at the moment she's a bit of a question mark. Nice enough boat, although the owner tells me she needs a bit of work.

Anyway, here's a the picture:



Cheers

Tony

[Wild Dingo]

Gidday there Tony... how have you been mate? You comin over to visit soon or what? Let me know and we can hook up and have a couple of coldies and yarn for awhile...

Anyways... While I was up in Broome recently we did the toourist thing and walked over the luggars on Roebuck Bay... werent allowed inside either of them just the deck... quite an experience for the nippers me I wanted to set sail NOW... but they wouldnt let me... bastards!

But anyways... Crest... I have yet to wander down to Albany to see the old fella who has all the info there is to have on her and her construction... I keep heading north instead of south mate ITS WARMER!!... but the old blokes up over the 90 seasons young so it had better be soon I guess he sounds interesting on the phone though has all his facalities but is getting on physically.

Gail my sisters life partner is mad keen on Crest from the photos Ive sent her and keeps going off her lid at me for not coming to visit so we can knock on the old blokes door and irritate his earholes with our endless questions... so Im guessing I will head down there in a week or so gotta see a bloke about a camper down there anyways and I really dont need an excuse at present for a roadtrip... but need to sort a couple of things here before I buggar off again

Anyway thanks for all the info

HEY!! I had a gander at that book you told me about... redbill... not bad eh! She did a fair job writing it... and of course your wee lines of redbill are worth having a gander at!!

Cheers mate

[Tony Hunt]

Hi Shane

Nice to hear from you too mate. I hope to get over to WA in the not-too-distant future, it would be good to catch up.

In the meantime, and speaking of CREST, if you do get down to Albany to talk to Mr Austin, feel free to ask him about the chainplates on CREST. They now have modern bottle-screws attaching the shrouds, connected to the original bronse chainplates with shackles (see pic below) but I was wondering how the original set-up was worked? I assume the shrouds were set up using dead-eyes and lanyards, so how were they connected to the chainplates? A sketch would be good...



Cheers

Tony

[Wild Dingo]

No worries mate will copy that pic and take it with me when I get there

Let me know when you lob up... nice short road trip to Perth would be better than my usual road trips of late!
Shane

[raisey j]

Hi fellas
there are still a couple left here in Qld. The DAHLIA at Hamilton island and the CENTURION was up at Maryborough a couple years ago having a big refit. Some godbotherers had her and were going to convert the natives further north. She was in excellent condition too and still had her original 5LW Gardner. I was in Darwin after cyclone Tracy and saw a heap of them, maybe 5-6 pushed up and burnt on the beach. I am sure there is one or two still at T.I. regards Ray