SCOW REFLOATED

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1020, 10 July 1930, Page 7

SCOW REFLOATED

RAHIRI TAKEN TO KEREPEEHI CREWS EFFECTS RUINED • From Our Own Correspondent XGATEA, Wednesday. The scow Rahiri. which struck a snag and sank in the Waikaka Canal, Piako River, last week, has been refloated and drifted to Kerepeehi, where temporary repairs will be effected to enable the vessel to proceed to Auckland. As she now lies on the Lands Drainage Department’s slip, it is possible to see the extent of the damage. Thirteen planks each about 3ft 6in long, 6in wide and 2in thick have been stovein, so it was little wonder the vessel sank in a couple of minutes. Mr. A. W. Bryant, owner of the vessel, sent the scow Owhiti to Waikaka on Wednesday last to take the cargo of sawn timber off the sunken scow. The Owhiti was able to get alongside in the narrow canal and make fast, and the two vessels were then drifted to the wider river so that the Canal would be opened for navigation. The cargo was then transferred, and the two vessels, securely lashed together and with their masts tied to prevent the Rahiri capsizing, were drifted down the river to Kerepeehi. Progress was very slow as the engines could not be used to any extent on account of the difficulty of steering. Repairs could be effected at Kerepeehi as the Lands Drainage Department has shipwrights on its staff: but as the scow will have to go on the slip in Auckland to be inspected the permanent work will be done there. When the water was pumped out on Tuesday it was found that the cabin and the engine-room were in a terrible mess, silt and dirty oil from the engine covering everything, even the ceiling. The clothing and bedding of the crew will be of little further use.

The snag which struck the Rahiri was evidently one of the many in the bank of the canal. When the cut was dug a dense mass of fallen timber was passed through and with the consolidation of the country this has come up. Snags will continue to come up for many years.