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Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33753, 28 January 1975, Page 3

After nearly three years of full-time work, a Christchurch man launched a 40ft motor sailer yesterday. His next task is to learn navigation. It had been a life-long ambition of Mr Peter Partridge, of Hornby, to have a boat. He disposed of his contracting and grading business about three years ago, and started work on his ambition. The boat is built entirely

of steel—l2 tons of it — and has 4} tons of lead in the keel. It has a beam of 12ft Sin and will draw 6ft of water. It will be ketchrigged, and has two large diesel engines, each driving a variable-pitch propeller. It has a 700-gallon fuel tank, enough to get the boat to Australia and back on the motors alone if necessary. There are six berths, the

usual galley and toilet facilities, and radio, radar and a depth finder will be fitted. When fitted out the total weight of the boat is expected to be about 27 tons. It took 50 gallons of paint to cover all the steel with four or more coats of paint. Mr Partridge did all the welding himself, and to make a better job of joins on the underside of the

hull he welded on heavy steel hoops and rolled the boat over in a cradle. Equipment used by Mr Partridge in his earlier business of house removals and contracting came in handy for much of the work. Mr Partridge had to sit Marine Department examinations in welding before he could begin work on the boat. He is not certain what the total cost of the boat will be, as a fire last year destroyed many of his records, but he estimates that it will be worth about $50,000. It will be British registered, and will be called Hoani, if that name is not already in use. The boat was lifted by crane on to a transporter on Saturday and was taken from the building site in Wigram Road to Lyttelton over Evans Pass early yesterday morning. Mr Partridge expects fitting out to take another two months, and then he hopes to do a navigation course, full-time if necessary, before venturing far from New Zealand waters. The Lyttelton Harbour Board has made space available to him near the Diamond Harbour ferry for six weeks, for which Mr Partridge is very grateful, as space in the harbour is very short.