1969 Halvorsen 32 Viking: One Man's Boat

When a group of boaties gather over a few grogs and the topic turns to insurance companies, the subsequent conversation is generally unreportable. But Sydney solicitor James Vandervord reckons at least one marine insurance company is tops -- and his story is certainly worth reading.

Vandervord is selling his 1969 Halvorsen 32 Viking, a twin-engined game-fishing boat called Nereid, and he reckons its remarkable condition is owed to the insurance industry.

"The boat is probably an insurance company's nightmare but the beautiful condition she is in today is only because of one company honouring its policies," Vandervord told BoatPoint, "More than $400,000 has been spent on the boat in the past five years and I have the receipts to prove it."

Vandervord, a self-confessed game fishing tragic, and his partner bought  Nereid in Melbourne five years ago and arranged to have her shipped to Sydney. The trucking company did the correct thing and asked for routing from the power companies so the vessel would avoid low hanging powerlines.

Unfortunately a mistake was made and Nereid collected some power cables right across her flying bridge and was all but reefed off her low-loader. Without getting into the legal minefield, let's just say it was insurance bunfight with everyone suing everyone else.

The end result saw much of the topsides, including the flying bridge, completely rebuilt and new engines installed. It was virtually a new boat that the happy owners saw safely onto her mooring after her relaunch.

But again someone had stuffed up and the next morning Nereid was almost sunk on her mooring. She was hauled out and another $200,000 was spent rebuilding the engines, replacing the wiring and correcting all the interior water damage.

But now she is almost better than new.

"The hull was stripped back to bare timber, fully Everdured and painted with polyurethane," Vandervord says. "The coach house has been rebuilt, there is all new teak flooring, dining table, teak seats and even a new teak marlin board. There are new exhausts, engine mounts, props, fuel lines and a freshwater tank."

The galley has a new stove and refrigeration and the helm has new vintage Royal instruments fitted. The hand-operated head has a holding tank and a hotwater shower (which is also available in the cockpit). There is a Raymarine fish-finder/plotter, a CD player and a flat screen TV.

The rebuilt Nereid travelled from Sydney up to Port Stephens for last year’s marlin fishing competition and Vandervord says she performed faultlessly.

Equipped with twin 270hp petrol Mercruiser engines she tops out at better than 30 knots and can cruise comfortably in the mid 20s. When marlin fishing Vandervord says the engines can tick over for up to 18 hours without missing a beat. Fuel use, he says, depends on the throttle setting and admits that run wide open Nereid can slurp large quantities of petrol.

"I wouldn’t be selling her but my partner wants to get out because of other commitments and I wouldn’t use her enough by myself," Vandervord says. "She is set up for offshore fishing and the hull easily handles the lumpy conditions off the coast.

"Her story is really about marine insurance and I don’t mind saying that I’m very happy we had coverage with the company we did. We are often told she is the best-looking Halvo in Sydney and she has a full set of covers to keep her looking that way."