Wooden Boat
Association
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Wooden Boat
Association
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BANJO THE BOATBanjo is a 17ft David Payne designed "SNAPPER" boat, and is a modern version of a working boat widely used on the Australian seaboard in the early 1900'sshe is built from totally recycled materials sourced from demolished and relocated houses and includes marine ply, red cedar and hoop pine. Other recycled timbers were used as they become available. It was estimated that some of the wood used in the building of this boat was first harvested in the late 1800s. CONSTRUCTIONThis method of building a boat is called strip planking and consists of small planks of timber (usually machined to size) laid edge on edge over shaped moulds and fixed with epoxy resin, which is then overlain, both inside and out, with a sheath of fibreglass cloth impregnated with clear epoxy resin. This gives the relatively light timber hull great strength and waterproofing, thus eliminating the problems of rot and attacks from marine creatures, problems which have caused the disappearance of many of our early beautiful wooden boats. MOTORBanjo is powered by a twin cylinder 10hp Blaxland "Putt-Putt". Blaxland / Chapman is an all Australian company that has been building small marine motors since 1920. THE BUILDERMy name is Mike Maskell and I'm a 53 year old invalid pensioner. I've always had a love of the water and have been interested in wooden boats since the age of 16 when I participated in a Tall Ships race from Oslo in Norway to Ostend 'in Belgium in a Bristol channel pilot cutter called "THEADORA". Despite being-invalided through Spina-Bifeda, diabetes, arthritis and other complaints, I've always been active and believe in the philosophy that it is better to wear out than rot. This led me to start a project which would not only keep me busy, but would help others become involved in something which I believe to be of long lasting value. Australia has been good to me and I would like to put something back. Hopefully this project will allow young people to become involved in a program that will give them not only a purpose, but self esteem and an opportunity to move on to other fields with some skills in hand and an eye to their future. PARTICIPATING FRIENDSAt this point I would like to thank the following people for their contributions to Banjo, without whose help I could not have got this far: - 3M AUSTRALIA for their supply of abrasives and tools; If you have any unused or unwanted books. magazines or plans on any type of boating and would care to donate them to the Associations library please phone Mike on (07) 3807 3856 and pick up can be arranged. Any parts or information on a single or twin cylinder Blaxland motor, would be most gratefully received and acknowledged. (Note: Banjo’s monthly progress was documented in Australian Amateur Boatbuilder Magazine)
Banjo after launching at Yamba, pre-canopy.
Banjo has been completed and was launched in March 1998, at Yamba in
NSW. She has taken part in various show days including The Bribie Island
regatta - twice. Since then she has been garaged for modifications to lower the
motor, A 5 to 7hp single cylindered four stroke Simplex, by about 8
inches. Due to my
inexperience in following David Payne's excellent plans, the original shaft
tunnel was at too great an angle and all the oil was running to the rear of the
dual motor/gearbox sump and leaking through the seal, creating a fine cartwheel
of oil spray inside the boat. Not a happy situation. The second hiccup is the lack of a decent trailer. I had been using begged, borrowed or, well., begged or borrowed trailers to cart her around and as most trailers are made to suit modern hull shapes, she was getting knocked around from time to time. She deserves better so I bit the bullet and started going without my caviar in order to pay for the bits and keep her at home until she has her own trailer. No easy task, building a duel-axled trailer for a boat weighing around a ton, especially considering the cost of materials, but the first mate, Sharron, and I have quite a substantial investment in Banjo, and she is worth having a little? more money spent on her. The motor has been successfully lowered and with a little bit of floor shaping, amongst other tasks, she is now awaiting the day when I can take her out and do some nautical "showing off" with all the other members of the Wooden Boat Association. I hope to do an article on the building of Banjo's trailer and this, along with articles about her modifications, can be perused in "AUSTRALIAN AMATEUR BOATBUILDER" magazine, a pretty good read for the enthusiast. Stay tuned for further developments as time and money allow. That is where things stand at the moment. The motor has been lowered and will be just fine. I have about 2 to 3 days work to complete the modifications-including reshaping the floorboards and changing the angles in the exhaust pipe. My priority is to get the trailer finished before the boat so that I can move her for hosing out and such outside activities. Mike Maskell
Banjo at Bribie Return to WBAQ Home Page
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