Select to expand quotePhoenixStar said..
One used to be the ferry to Heron Island.
And Boyce had a HDV, similar, for years. Iron fastened, not meant to last long.
That particular boat was the Susan owned by Bob Poulsen of the Poulsen family that owned the lease on Heron Island which they sold to P&O.
He hunted all over Australia for that particular vessel because it was the first one rebuilt by a certain boat builder and won him the contract to rebuild the rest of them. She was retro fitted with V12 GM (Detroit) diesels, could achieve around 29 knots and I have seen the photo of Darby Munroe water skiing behind it. The Susan retained the original super structure and looked great. When Bob Poulsen died the Susan languished on a mooring in the Burnett River for some years until it was bought by somebody and taken elsewhere.
They were known as the 65 foot crash boats because of their use as SAR vessels for the RAAF.
Tourism in the Whitsunday Islands was built on the back of these boats and the 100 foot Fairmiles. There were two or three of the crash boats that operated out of Shute Harbour as day tour boats and Tom MacLean had up to 10 of the Fairmiles that he operated out of Mackay doing 5 day island cruises and fishing charters and were called the Roylen Cruisers. I worked on them as engineer for 6 months in 1975. The Vianne had to be pumped for 6 hours a day to keep her afloat.
The MacLean family also owned the lease on Brampton Island. Working on the tourist boats in the Whitsundays in the mid 70s was glory days. There was a continuous flow of gorgeous young women.
I'm pretty sure you'll find that it is and old ex-WWII Fairmile - the Pommy equivalent of the Yank PT Boat. They had a couple of RR Merlins in them. There were a couple of them used as Rotto ferries when I was just a nipper. I was also a serving RAAFie at Pt Cook for a while where 1 of them was still in commission as a SAR boat.
The Packard Merlins were exactly as above - RR Merlins made under licence by Packard in the US. Amongst others, P51s and most Lancasters used the Packard Merlins. They were quite superior to the RR originals, as Packard knew how to keep the oil in them. I don't recall any Hurricanes or Spitties with Packards in them, but doesn't mean there weren't any. I was given to believe that the Fairmiles did have RR engines, not Packards.
Select to expand quotechris340 said..
Yes Phoenix & Cisco,
As an 8 year old in the mid 1970's, I recall being ferried back from Heron Island on the Susan.
The boat that took us out to the Island was called 'Attunga'.
That's stretching the memory back about 40 years.
The Attunga was an ex Bass Strait oil rig personnel transfer boat. She had two V671 Detroit (GM) diesels in her which didn't push her along very fast. Maybe 18 knots tops.
The passenger space was in the hull with head level at main deck height. Even with aircraft seats in it she was not very comfortable on the Heron Island crossing and I shudder to think what she was like in Bass Strait. The hostess was kept busier with handing out sea sickness bags than with serving drinks and snacks.
I was engineer on her for a short while in 1975. We may have crossed paths way back then.
Select to expand quoteHG02 said..
twin V 12 petrol engines
the other half sorry no depth chargers
The 65 foot crash boats were quite distinctive with the fore deck sloping down I guess so they had better vision when up on the plane like this one.
Whatever engines they had in them they certainly got them going.
