Custom Tamar River launch -- One Man's Boat

When Charlie Cannon launched his new 42-foot river launch, Silvado, at Launceston in 1934, he probably never imagined it would still be drawing admiring looks almost 80 years later and half a continent away.

Cannon used Huon Pine for the launch's hull and local Blackwood for the coachhouse and decks. Launched on the North Esk River, the event drew the attention of the local paper, The Launceston Examiner, which ran a large photograph and description of what it called "a handsome motor boat".

The boat served Cannon, and second owner Sid French, well until 1956 when she was brought by Bill Ashton. Ashton and his wife were much taller than the previous owners, so they had the coachhouse roof raised by 150mm.

In 1960 the Tasmanian manager of WD & HO Wills, Alan Bode, bought Silvado and commissioned Jack's Boatyard (now Tasman Marine) in Launceston to do a major refit that included rebuilding the coachhouse and raking the front to the wheelhouse and installing a stern cockpit with a rigid roof. A hand-cut WD&HO Wills shield remains in the saloon to this day.

Some years later, in the hands of the Robinson family, Silvado travelled down the Tasmanian coast and took up residence in Hobart for 30 years. She was a regular sight cruising the D'Entrecastreaux Channel and Bruny Island.

Adelaide architect Ron Danvers bought the launch when she was shipped to South Australia by the Hindmarsh Marina in 2003 and he immediately began a major refit to bring the old girl into the 21st century.

Freshwater Marine at Goolwa raised the coachhouse by another 150mm for extra headroom and redid the bridge deck. The launch was completely stripped back and the hull (still in perfect condition) was recaulked and all the wiring replaced. A reconditioned Volvo Penta 60hp diesel -- the vessel’s fourth engine -- was installed, along with hydraulic steering and new stainless-steel water and fuel tanks.

The interior was remodelled using Australian oak, blackwood and teak. There is now a double cabin, complete with private head, in the bow and two more bunks in the saloon. Half a tonne of lead, taken from HMAS Hobart, was placed in the bilges to stiffen the launch’s motion in the very nasty, steep chop that can suddenly spring up on Lake Alexandrina when the wind gets up.

A new black-water holding tank was installed and the toilet now complies with the stringent new environmental regulations covering boats using the Murray River and Lake Alexandrina.

The galley is equipped with a gas stove, refrigerator and sink and the wheelhouse has a Garmin chart plotter and VHF and UHF radio. Anchoring is made easy with an electric winch and a bank of solar panels provides 160W for battery charging.  

Danvers keeps the boat at Hindmarsh Island in summer but every winter, when water levels permit, he heads north up the Murray to bask in the Riverland sunshine.

"It is always far milder than Adelaide and the river is beautiful and peaceful," Danvers told BoatPoint.

But Danvers’ love affair with Silvado must draw to an end. He is heading to north Queensland to live closer to his son and together they are planning to rebuild a Mottle 33 yacht they found all but abandoned on a tropical mooring: "I’m looking forward to taking her apart and putting her back together again," he said.

"North Queensland wouldn’t be the right place for Silvado, she deserves to remain as one of the most eye-catching boats on the river," he said, adding that with the new engine the launch cruises at six to seven knots while using just four to five litres of fuel per hour.

"She is ready for another 50 years at least."