HINERA
Alan Sexton contacted me the other day concerning Hinera, the Roy Steadman designed / Shipbuilders built 38’ launch. Alan believe that she may have been the last boat built by Shipbuilders. She appeared on the cover of ‘Boating World’ October 1971 edition – copy of article below.
Alan has commented that you can see her obvious lineage from Fiesta, Romany II et al. And maybe built to a budget as the rubber mouldings securing the windows, more appropriate for caravans and fizz boats, did not exactly enhance her.
As launched power was from twin T6 – 354 Perkins that gave her a top speed of approx. 20.5 knots and cruised at 17.9 knots. Alan recalls she was berthed on I pier at Half Moon Bay when first launched, all launches moored bow-in in those days, and her heavy stem and huge flare looked very imposing to an 11 yr old.
Hinera went off Alan’s radar round the 1970’s, do we know what became of the launch?
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I owned a Shipbuilders Steadman 31ft called Delphinus She was built in 1961 I believe that I bought it from Waikawa in 2001 and did her up. I sold it to a guy in Kerikeri after owning her for 10yrs in Auckland. She was triple Kauri with a big flare and powered by a 180hp turbo ford. We got her up to 16nots at one stage and was a great sea boat. She is now on a mooring I think at the Silverdale river. Can send photos if you would like.
Cheers
Grahame
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I’m pretty sure that she was bought by an enthusiast and taken by road to a barn in Wellsford where the restoration started. I don’t believe that they got very far other than dismantling the boat………
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She appears to me, to be a substantial departure, from the majority of the Shipbuilders boats, & in my view, appears to be much too full & much more bluff, at the front end, than most of their boats that I know of, causing her to push comparatively large volumes of water, & probably using up lots of horsepower to do it, & would tend to be very untidy under way, especially at slower speeds.– That’s what I would tend to think anyway.. — KEN R
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