Howdy,

Did my weekly visit to duckflat.

They continue to do the work on the big 42ft steamboat, a little bit slowly because David (the main builder) did his back in - he's on the mend though.



More pics here Len's 42' Riverboat with a Vosper 1905 compound steam engine - a set on Flickr

The really exciting thing about this trip is that duckflat were given a book of old moterboat (and a few sailing boat) photos. Look like they all date from the 1950s.

Most of the photos are Murray Bridge and some on Lake Albert - an incidental shot of a 12sq metre sharpie but focussing on a smaller boat with a bowsprit. It looks too high off the water for a VJ and by this time VeeJays had twin leaning planks.

The photo that dates the set the best (from my point of view) is the sailing boat on the water below. That's the 12 sq metre sharpie. There was a fleet of the boats built for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Fully planked, and if I remember correctly the hullweight is about 500lbs. By 1960 the Australian "Lightweight" Sharpie had appeared with a hullweight of 170lbs and a bermudan mainsail rather than the orginal gunter lug.









About 40 pics of different powerboats here on Flickr - 1950s powerboat pictures - in a book that was found. - a set on Flickr

Best wishes
Michael