The resurrection of 'Bruno'. Rego No. JT205N.

13th July - 2021

This journey started way back in December 1999. I received a phone call from my friend Graeme Bethell one Saturday afternoon, he was in all sorts of strife. He was calling me from Burraneer Bay where he was stranded in his boat on a sandbar in the middle of Burraneer Bay. He asked me if I could check out the tides to see when the next high tide was due. 

The original condition of 'Bruno' when 
we purchased her in August 1999

Reason being he had run aground in his 'Putter' & wanted me to rescue him from the sandbar. As luck would have it the tide was on the turn & would be on its way in again in a couple of hours.

I said to Graeme, hang in there mate & I will come & tow you off the sandbar in a couple of hours when the tide has risen high enough, in the meantime I organised my dinghy with a tow rope & proceeded up the river to where he was stranded.

Mission accomplished, I was able to drag his boat 'Bruno' into deeper water. We motored back to my place & celebrated with a few cool beers.

A second aerial view of 'Bruno's' original condition
when we purchased her in August 1999

During the afternoon Graeme mentioned to me that he was completely over the boat because he was also having engine problems & the vessel also needed a heap of tender loving care as he had not kept up with the maintenance, & as every boat owner knows there is always plenty of work to do on a boat that is moored in the water all the time, as you can witness by the first photograph in my story.

For better or worse we came to an agreement that I would take his boat off his hands for the pricely sum of $500. Heaven only knows what I had got myself into as you will see as my story continues.

Family tradition: In 1960 my Dad purchased this 18ft
half-cabin clinker hulled launch - it was named 'The Gem'

I have a very soft spot for 18ft half-cabin (clinker built) launches, because in 1960 when I was but a lad (13 years old) my Dad purchased an 18ft half-cabin (clinker built) launch named 'The Gem'. We moored the boat at the Gunnamatta Bay Marina as you can see by the black & white photograph (above), for those of you that know Gunnamatta Bay Marina this was way before the current multi million dollar marina that is built there today. 

Our family spent many wonderful days out on the water enjoying the magnificent Port Hacking estuary and the Hacking River in the Shire in the early '60s. I suppose those delightful memories made me jump at the opportunity to turn back the clock 39-years to my youth to reminisce about that period of my life.

I needed the help from my mates to turn the
hull over before starting to repair the hull. 

I was still flying with Qantas Airways as an International Trolly Dolly in 1999 when I purchased 'Bruno' so I had plenty of time on my days off to resurrect this dilapidated old craft.

Once I had removed 'Bruno' from the water to commence the restoration it suddenly occurred to me that I was in for one hell of a job. Anyone that knows me realises that I do not do things in half measures. The transom of the boat was completely rotten out & from the top plank of the hull including the cabin was also in not much better condition.

To ensure it was water-tight, I completed a Fibreglass
encasement & covering of the old wooden hull

I decided the only way to repair this boat to my standards would be to replace the transom & completely rebuild the half-cabin from the top plank of the hull up. Needless to say this was turning into a huuuge restoration, I could not do all the woodwork myself, so I decided to hire the services of a professional Shipwright (at mind you $55 per hour in 1999). 

I was his lackey, I completely burnt off all the old paint from the hull & dismantled the transom & removed the half cabin & decking from the top plank of the hull so we could start all over again. As you can see in the photo I needed the help from my mates to turn the hull over before starting to repair the hull. 

I had also made another major decision regarding the hull. Everyone knows that has ever owned a wooden boat that they (all leak water), I decided that we would overcome that future problem by completely fiber-glassing the clinker hull with very fine fiberglass. I still wanted to retain the clinker look of the hull that is why we used very fine sheets of fiberglass that would follow the shape of the planks on the hull as is witnessed in the photographs.

I firstly installed a 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine
but I later replaced that with a 189 Holden engine.

As you can see in the photo above, the boat was fitted with a 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine. I also needed to make the decision of 'do I retain this engine or replace it with something like a petrol power plant?'. More to that decision later in the story.

Towards the end of December 1999 the boat was ready to be relaunched, (see photos below). We spent many hundreds of hours restoring the boat & not to mention the many, many thousands of dollars to get the boat to this stage. (more on that later).

We launched the boat to much fanfare, including smashing a bottle of French Champagne Veuve Clicquot over the bow as we launched the boat back into Port Hacking.

Towards the end of December 1999, the
boat was getting ready to be launched

Another major decision before relaunching, I decided to retire the name 'Bruno' & relaunch my new 18ft half-cabin clinker launch with our family's original boat's name from the 1960s. 'The Gem'.

My parents were delighted that I renamed my boat, especially my Dad. He was overwhelmed. Before their passing we also spent many wonderful days reminiscing about our time spent on our original 'Gem' half a century ago cruising up & down the picturesque Hacking River on the new 'Gem'.

In this shot you can clearly see the classic lines 
of the completely restored unique clinker hull

Not that long after I relaunched 'The Gem' in the early 2000s, I also had to make another major decision about the engine. The 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine was a pain in the butt. When cruising you could not hear yourself think, it was so damn noisy & vibrated right through the hull of the boat. I bit the bullet & decided to fit a 189 (petrol) Holden engine, I completely marinised the engine & fitted a silk drive Borg Warner gearbox. Pure Gold.

Now I was completely satisfied with my new toy. It is now 15-years since I installed the new power plant & gearbox, not one ounce of trouble, & guess what, the hull does not leak one egg cup of water.

What 'The Gem' a classic 18ft half-cabin clinker
looks like today - some 22-years later

My son Nathaniel is now 30-years-old, he has grown up with this boat, he actually uses it more than I do. When he was younger we would invite his mates to go fishing, Wow! What a great time those young boys enjoyed over the years, my son & I have taught dozens of our friends, male & females, to catch their first fish. It is such a delight to witness someone catch their first decent sized fish, trust me. There is nothing like feeling that tug on your fishing line & landing your catch successfully.

The final photograph (below) show you the finished product, hanging off my pontoon in Port Hacking. I am very proud of the restoration & over the years our family has enjoyed countless experiences that money can not buy.

Now for the Nitty-gritty that I know you are all hanging out for. Remember earlier on I told you that I purchased 'Bruno' for $500 after hauling Graeme off the sand bar.

Now I have a classic 18ft half-cabin clinker
boat that nobody else can have

What you see now in the latter two photos, 'The Gem' actually owes me $50,000 & that does not include my labour, however, I have a Classic 18ft half-cabin clinker boat that nobody else can have, of which I more or less rebuilt myself, this was not a cheque book restoration.

Summing up this journey, as you know I love old things that nobody else can have, it takes a lot of time & energy, however the final result is very satisfying. If that is not a good story, I don't know what is.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. Stay safe, cheers for now from the 'Squire from the Shire'.

Warbo


NB: My next episode will be to tell you all about our Canadian Yukon & Alaskan adventure. Nathaniel & I spent 14-days on a raft traveling down the Alsek & Tathsenshini Rivers which is the 10th most remote place in the world where we encountered experiences with grizzly bears & icebergs.