LUXURY CRAFT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 262, 4 November 1932, Page 5

LUXURY CRAFT.

SCHOONER FOR AUCKLANDER. SEVENTY-FIVE .FOOT VESSEL. ELABORATE ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT A luxury auxiliary schooner which, when launched next February, will be the largest and most up-to-date in New Zealand waters, is at present being built in Stanley Bay for an Auckland man. The vessel will be used to cruise to the Islands and Australia. The craft, which is being built by Mr. Colin Wild, will be 75ft long, with a beam of 17ft and a depth of (sft Oin —a shallow draught for a vessel of such a size—and a tonnage of about 80. Twelve tons of lead are being used for the keel. Her mainmast will be 80ft long, and her foremast 65ft long. Both masts were specially selected in Vancouver. The vessel will be diagonally built with three skins, making a total thickness of 2sin —all first-cla6s selected kauri. The keel has been made out of one "stick" of kauri 14in square and 54ft long. The decking will be of Burma teak, 2Jin wide and 1 Jin thick. Under the teak decking will be a diagonal deck of lin kauri.

The main cabin, which will be in the centre of the vessel, will be 12ft 6in by 16ft 6in, the galley will be Bft by Bft, the bathroom Bft by Oft 6in, and the owner's cabin lift by 14ft. The craft will also have a crew's cabin and two small cabins, each Bft by Oft Oin.

Motive Power. The engine room will be aft. The main engine, which is being specially imported, will be an eight-cylinder Par--Bona of 100 horse-power. In addition there will be a separate generating plant and for this a Parsons 15/20 horsepower engine connected to a 10 kw. generator will be used to supply lighting r.nd power. Storage batteries will be of 30,000-watt capacity, and these will supply an electric stove, which will bo set in gimbals, an electric hot water heater for the galley and for the bathroom. Bilge and water supply pumps will also be electrically controlled, and a three horse-power electric doubleanchor winch is to be installed. All controls will be handy to the helmsman aft.

Already the craft is taking definite shape. There is a deck-house over the engine-room, sunk 18in below the deck, 10ft long by Bft. The ship will carry a Marconi sail on her mainmast, two jibs and a staysail. All fastenings will be of copper and bronze. When completed the ship will carry nearly a ton of copper nails and bronze bolts. The engine will be controlled from the deck. The latest ideas in naval, architecture have been incorporated.

No bowsprit or overhanging boom will be carried. The ri<j is designed on the staysail-schooner principle and is comparatively small. It is designed for cruising work, and will comprise 2500 ft in the working sail. The two masts are of single length. Accommodation is provided for a permanent crew of two. A wireless transmitter is to be installed, and the ship will also carry a refrigerator. The main saloon, in the centre of the ship, will be panelled in teak and upholstered in blue leather. It is expected that when completed the schooner will be one of the prettiest and most luxurious that Auckland harbour has known.