It is fabulous that at last she has come up in the system, I have been waiting for this, but until now have done nothing because I have never had any pics of her
I know quite a lot about her early days & was on board several times during construction in Lane’s shed.
As I have said in other blogs, my late father Ralph Ricketts was the machine shop man at Mason & Porter, owned by the Porter family until the later 80s or 90s, for 35 years, & he designed, & him & his staff made virtually all her mechanical & shipchandlery equipment, perhaps like RAKANOA & the Parkers.
Anyway she of course had the 2 x 6cyl Fodens which were the same as L.M.II had, & (which were put in L.M. II at more or less the same time as Marnine was built.
Me dad made a wonderful muffler & exhaust system for both boats, with lovely little short 316 stainless steel stacks, that protruded discretely about 12 inches up, out of each side of the roof of the dodgers of both boats– . Superb & perfect!!
We all know that with GM Detroit, Foden, Graymarine, & Commer TS3, diesels, it was usual that if you were at Kawau, you could hear boats coming round North Head in those days, however with L.M. II & Marnine, you could virtually not hear a sound.
In Schoolhouse Bay, Kawau Island, one still morning, during a Christmas cruise, ins me own boat at that time, FLYING SCUD, with MARNINE next door, & noticed 2 momentary tiny white puffs of smoke, one out of each stack, & then Marnine just glided totally silently out of the bay, — beautiful!!!
Ok, I digress, CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN;
She was originally built 6 or 8 feet shorter than she is today, & when dad saw her for the 1st time under construction, he said she would never go properly as she was much to bluff or full in the bow. This is exactly what happened, & as a result of this Fred P. had Lanes add 6 or 8 feet to the bow — a very difficult expensive & unusual place to add length, however I have another story I will relate later, about the SOBRINE built for the late Gordon Mace, where G. Lane did the same thing, & also later added to SOBRINE’S bow the same way.
Once these additions were made, this has made her a fabulous craft.
Must mention the interior finishing & craftsmanship.
She was built very much in the era of “formica,” & had masses of beautifully crafted natural timber cupboards & storage compartments, as well as the interior itself being virtually all natural timber finish, (the timber was very light in colour & may have been oak), with teak combings of course, & every cupboard was fully lined with formica, & even both sides of the cupboard shelves, were veneered formica, to avoid any possibility of them buckling, with just a single side done this way.
The Porters owned MARNINE for many years, & as Russell said, used her a great deal, eventually replacing her with their 80 foot Alloy motor yacht SIMRAN, built by Mc Mullen & Wing, a company which they later bought.
Porters & the Ted Clarkes were not only friends, but almost certainly “best friends,” for many years, & once Marnine was built, they shared the same shed in Whakatakataka Bay, for maintenance of the 2 boats.
Update from Ken Ricketts (refer shed photo)
Dec 2013 – she is in Brin Wilsons shed at Gulf Harbour & Ken went aboard & reports that she is in absolutely original in every detail, — the 2 x 6 cyl. Fodens still looking immaculate under the bridgedeck floor & the underwater fittings appear in still perfect condition.
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