PS Australien Restoration

[michael]

Photo's of PS Australien, the start of her future!

[Excelsior]

So, does this mean that someone is actually about to start work on her?

[Excelsior]

Another couple of pics taken at Yarrawonga about 1936/7...  Interesting to see a car on the foredeck & the derrick removed.

[thewharfonline]

Yeh it sounds like Michael has a very keen interest on getting Australien restored and working again.

And I'm glad someone has that attitude in mind.

I'm pretty sure Michael's had his eye on restoration for awhile...or even purchasing what is left of the boat to restore himself (a little tricky though because of the conditions under which Australien is owned)

I think Michael and I talked about the first step being a leafblower to get that nasty leaf/bilge problem go away.

So maybe Michael starting to work on the boat a bit will get some others interested and maybe one day we'll see Australien on the water again.

Note: Paddleduckers travelling to Oz in the near future, bring your work gear...I'm sure Michael would love to get you involved by lending a hand to work on the real thing!

On ya Michael!

[michael]

I thought she looked good with the derrick crane, something I'd like to see on her again when she hits the water again. She originally had long canopy's forward and aft of her, her rear canopy was never removed, the forward one was, the derrick crane was only in place during Yarrawonga Weir construction, it was removed when she was logging above the lake. The remains of the Federal barge, which she towed are still in the lake just near where Australien sank, altho only the bottom of her remains.
I am in Melbourne this week at School, so will hopefully get my hands dirty on her next week. The only problem is the girlfriend wants me to save for a house... I wouldn't mind a floating house!
Thanks for the additional photo's 'excelsior'.

[anth]

I have looked through pictures...BUT I don't see any engine or boiler are these original pieces still around or will she require a whole new outfit..?


And one day michael probably when your qualified student's will only have to drive to bendigo... :wink:

[Excelsior]

Nah...  The engine & boiler are long gone.  I think she was orignally powered by a 16hp Marshall portable.  I know at one point Warwick had a similar engine from Tasmania lined up.  I don't know if he ever brought it over.  I also heard somewhere that he had a whole heap of new timber for her somewhere too.

[thewharfonline]

It's the rope drive engine we've previously talked about- pretty sure a lot about engine features in the APAM thread, or even a tad in off topic.

We had long discussions about how rope drive would work along with power of the engine etc.

I am also aware of the engine not being around.

Edwards however has her machinary...just the hull is in worse shape then Australien.

Derrick crane is a definate Michael- not enough boats have them any more. And I believe (as I assume you tourism is out of the question) the only reasonable reason to refloat her and keep her afloat is to use her as a house  :wink:

[Excelsior]

The reason not a lot of boats have a derrick anymore is that, unless they're required, they can be more of a hinderance than help.  For mooring, and navigation, you may have to act as if the boat is 30ft longer than the hull because the boom can get tangled in overhanging branches, etc...  On the delivery voyage of the Pevensey to Echuca her derrick was bent by hitting a bridge.  Not to say that it wouldn't be nice to see her with the crane, but there are a lot of reasons why it would be impractical.  

Lastyear I considered trying to purchase the Australien with the intention of restoration, so I've done a little research.  I've been led to believe that it would be extremely hard work to bring her into survey.  At some point in her life the original longitudal wooden beams in her hull were replaced with second hand railway tracks (these can be seen in Michael's pics), which would have to be replaced if trying to get the boat certified.  Apparently to replace them with wood you'd be looking at upward of 50 grand each.  I'd personally replace them with new steel.  Even if you're only wanting to restore her for personal use it would be a good idea to replace these.  Just to future proof her...

I'm not so sure that she'd make a suitable houseboat though.  You'd really have to modify the design of the deck house.  There's room for three small cabins on the upper deck, but to live aboard you'd need some kind of saloon, which would mean building over the aft hold.  Depending on whether you want to keep her historically acurate, or not, this could be done.  Then you've got to consider bathroom, laundry, decent galley.  As a live aboard, it might get kind of tiresome having to walk outside everytime you need the bathroom, or to go to the kitchen, etc...

If you want to do anything with her, make her a weekender, and use her like the Ranger & Etona get used.  That way you can build the original basic design, which would be quite comfortable for short trips, and it would also be much less expensive.  Put the galley back in the sponson cabin forward of the paddlebox & on the other side put in a toilet & shower.  That way you'll also keep the weight down.  I reckon she has a very shallow draft, probably less than 2 feet.

But, unless you actually own the boat, i wouldn't put too much effort in.  Otherwise, you're increasing the value of someone else's investment with no guarantee that you'll get any benefit out of it.  It can cause a lot of heartache & resentment when you pour everything into a project you don't have final control of & the owner then decides to go in a different direction.

[thewharfonline]

Ranger doesn't make for a very suitable weekender...no room to sleep on board. Handles great though (even if I can't steer a boat...ask James...he'll explain)

Back in regards to Australien- I'm sure Michael is also looking for restoration experience, I know in the conversations we've been having that he has become very interested in the shipwright side of the paddler industry. His aspirations of restoring and building boats are many, so I'm sure that he not only sees Australien for his own purposes but for more experience in the trade as well.

I'm sure, as I think we all do, that Michael wants to see the boat refloated as well. Australien has been out of the water for some time now, stepping in now could mean the difference between life and death for the future of this boat.

Pevensey to Echuca her derrick was bent by hitting a bridge.

Didn't the derrik hit the wheel house and the towing pole bend?

The other quite obvious reason you don't see derricks any more is because none of the boats operate in an industry with a need- as such they are purely decorative, Akuna Amphibious for instance. Of course Industry retains it's derrick as it remains more authentic than tourist-ic, the same with Oscar W...although Oscar W can't carry tourists so the derrick then remains purely for historical accuracy.

I know the boys up at the Port would love to see the derrick back on the Pev...it's still lying around I believe...maybe Michael, you could look into it for Australien.

The derrick of course on Australien could be interesting for historical reenactments such as that of the wool loading at Heritage Festival. I'm sure a crowd would be interested in seeing how the 'crane on the front' worked. I would be too.

Might load better than the two wool planks and the steep bank eh Michael!

[albumimg]1003[/albumimg]

[paddlesteamerman1]

Ranger doesn't make for a very suitable weekender...no room to sleep on board. Handles great though (even if I can't steer a boat...ask James...he'll explain)
[albumimg]1003[/albumimg]

Yeah, I remember!!  
The Australien still sounds like a fantastic idea, and it will prove very interesting..
Good Luck..

[Excelsior]

I'm sorry if my last post sounded like criticism.  It really wasn't, but I intended it to be something to think about before becoming too involved.  Another point of view.

[Excelsior]

I just had a thought, I should make clear that the information I got about not being able to get the boat into survey with the rail tracks being used in the hull did not come from the owner.  I got that from another source, who is very reliable, but before I start putting information out that I can't 100% verify...  

And Sean, I think you're right about the derrick bending the tow post.  I can't remember where I read it, so can't confirm.  Although, I'm pretty sure that the incident was caused by hitting a bridge with the derrick.

And yes, the Australien was very attractive with the crane.  She certainly looks much better with the shortened awning over the forward hold.

[michael]

More photo's

[michael]

Well you could say Day1. removed all the plastic and rubbish out of the hull aswell as a couple of large tree branches. had a scratch around in the rear of the hull, but did some cleaning in the 'engine room' there tree rubbish isn't very thick, theres alot of sand and mud under that which i spent removing via the gaps in the planks. The railway tracks are fairly rusted and will probebly need replacing anyway.