AQUALEDA
Aqualeda was launched in 1948 & built using Canadian oregon timber. She measures 33′ & is powered by a 75hp 4 cylinder Ford diesel. Looking at her I’m not sure if she was originally a sedan & later converted to a bridge-decker or started life as a bridge-decker, I suspect a later conversion. Home is Nelson so hopefully one of the southern woodys can tell us more about Aqualeda.
08-12-2022 Input ex ‘Larry’ – below is a photo that Larry took on 07-12-22 of Aqualeda on the Kaiapoi river: For overseas readers, Kaiapoi is a riverside town, just 20km north of Christchurch in the South Island
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New photo added. Alan H
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Hi – email the photo to the address below and we can compare. Regards Alan H
waitematawoodys@gmail.com
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There a boat I saw today (and took a pic of) that looks very much like the ‘Aqualeda’ shown here.. I came across this page when ‘quacking’ (Duckduckgo) the name.
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The term is because they have a raised bridge deck which is more than just a wheelhouse.
I’d go along with your remark about sole levels, but in many of the smaller craft built as bridge-deckers the engine is not fully sole-buried (for space reasons) and protrudes at least partially above the sole. My “Sirena” ( Orams, 1960) is an example.
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Yes, she is, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’re right about her builder.
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If she’s the “Aqualeda” I knew, she was first a sedan layout, then had a dodger added aft and the “handlebars” fitted there, basically to make her easier to handle, access-wise. The bridge deck structure is a later modification.
When I knew her she was owned by Eric Wilkes of Blenheim, a stalwart and one-time Commodore of the Waikawa Boating Club.
I don’t (or probably have forgotten :-D) her build and other history, but maybe other WW-ers from the North end of New Zealand (Hee Hee!) may be able to fill out more details.
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PS Nice, wholesome boat and not expensive.
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It looks like she was built by George English, a Lyttelton engineer.
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The tram top has been made by slicing through the deck beams and jacking up the centre roof section with an in-fill
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Bridge comes through the deck of what would otherwise be a flush decker a-la the early ones Luana, Pacific etc instead of at stern
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When is a bridge-decker not a bridge-decker? In this case, the cabin and wheelhouse soles are on the same level, and the engine protrudes. In a bridge-decker, in my book, the engine is under the wheelhouse sole, which is a couple of steps up from the cabin sole. Strange term – bridge-decker.
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Looks to have always been a bridgedecker, but initially without the raised dodger
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