Launches Australia Classic 22

"Putt, putt goes the motor, tootle is the horn, tinker is the sailor, with a classic boat reborn." This little ditty came after pottering about the backwaters, chortling along the channels and playing about in picturesque Pittwater in a classic little craft.

No longer the preserve of the grey-power set, classic boats have become hot property in recent times. At this year's Classic and Wooden Boat Festival in Sydney, for example, a record 130 exhibitors turned out.

There were stars like yachty Iain Murray with a wonderfully restored Halvorsen 60 and Ian Kiernan with his Canon Maris, plus plenty of typical timber and brass nuts. All of them - hooked on classics.

Launches Australia - a traditional boatbuilder based in Sydney's Terrey Hills - has, for some time, been helping the market along. As more and more people seek the true romance of boating, the boutique boat revivalists, like Launches, have been hard-pressed meeting demand.

After years of scouting around for suitable plugs, self-confessed tinkerer and boatbuilder, Marshall Lord, has now created a range of classic boats from 17-22ft, harking back to the '40s. The only difference is - shock, horror - they're built from fibreglass.

The way Lord puts it: "You get the feel, look and romance of a classic boat, but none of the upkeep. In other words, you can have your traditional boat and the time to enjoy it, too."

PRACTICAL & PRETTY
My introduction to Launches Australia began some years ago. However, the new Classic 22 is Lord's most practical and pretty boat yet. A jaunty little half-cabin, it glides through the chop, rides over the swells and offers real comforts inside a surprisingly roomy cockpit and cabin.

And true to his word, maintenance isn't a worry. Fitted with a diesel Beta inboard engine, Lord's new 22-footer requires little more than an occasional spit-and-polish, annual antifouling if you moor it and the pulling up of covers at the end of the day.

The freshwater-cooled Beta engine needs an initial 50hr service, but then only a service every 150hrs. The cost for this is $190 and the engine mechanics will gladly come to you.

Beta, England's biggest selling marine engine, is represented by 52 dealers in Australia. The importer personally services engines between Newcastle and Wollongong, and uses its dealer network elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Classic 22 is fitted with a shaft seal - a PSS brand that requires no attention, the boat's electrics are dead simple, the engineering all stainless or brass and fittings such as the bowrail are built solid and through-bolted.

TRADITION CONTINUES
Able to be legally towed behind a Falcon, the Classic 22 weighs about 1900kg on trailer. A displacement hull with a fine entry, broad shoulders, pinched stern and full-length keel, it can carry seven people under NSW survey.

Running lightly laden, it was nonetheless interesting to compare two quite different Classic 22s on Pittwater. The softtop version, pictured here, was fitted with a standard three-pot 28hp Beta motor and three-blade prop, while the hardtop was sporting a four-pot 35hp Beta engine.

While both engines were mid-mounted and occupied the same size engine box, there was a noticeable performance lift with the four-cylinder donk. With two people aboard, the Classic 22 almost planed with this motor.

Should you intend to carry a big load, I dare say the boat's a better performer with more horsepower. Having said that, both engines were beautifully accessible beneath a sound-insulated lid alongside the helm.

Thoughtfully, Beta has placed all its service points at the front of the engine. Thankfully, Lord built a hatch to grant access to the filter.

God only knows why, but we somehow picked up a blob of algae while launching and water wasn't coming through the pick-up. But within minutes, we had the filter off, the element clean and the boat running as it should. And that is pretty much the biggest problem you're likely to have with this classic boat.

With a hollow 5/8" thick glass keel fitted with a sacrificial rubbing strip and a stainless and fibreglass rudder hanging off the aft end, you can beach the Classic 22 without fear of doing damage.

Still, the boat is more fun when you are slipping along at about 6kt, as the engine spins at about 2700rpm. At this speed, you'll be consuming about 2lt/hr.

Drawing for a long while from the 100lt forward tank, think weeks or months between fills.

BOATING CHARM
With such frugal operation, it's no wonder a number of companies are considering building charter fleets on Classic 22s. For commercial and recreational folk, it's reassuring to know that the hulls are built to survey using hand-laid fibreglass, isothalic gelcoat with a vinylester tie layer.

On the engineering side, the hull is beefed-up using two longitudinals, while cabin bulkheads and furnishings serve as cross members. The engine installation and fittings are similarly well thought out. The one-inch shaft is made from 316-grade stainless, all the seacocks are bronze and the wiring is accessible behind pull-out hatches.

Everything else about the Classic 22 is in plain view and designed to lend to the charm of period boating.

FORTY WINKS
I just loved the cabin. Located behind a lockable closing door, partners and kids will take comfort from the private toilet mounted on a platform teak and holly wood flooring. The bow is taken up by a vee-berth, which measures about 1.8m long, and is finished entirely in practical marine vinyl, with piping.

On the opposing side of the toilet, is a sink and 10-gallon water tank, and there is storage dotted about the place. Add some blinds over the windows and no-one would even know you're hiding inside. The finish included a cream-coloured gelcoat, oiled-teak trim and teak flooring, with a good grade of non-skid moulded into the sloped surfaces.

An overhead hatch and sliding windows, and a removable companionway insert, ensure there is plenty of light and fresh air.

Unlike open boats, in which you can end up frying like a chip in the sun, the Classic 22 has a cabin to escape the weather or bed down for the night. Underway, as the motion of the boat and sound of the diesel rocks them to sleep, the kids will probably catch 40 winks.

Just outside the cabin, the captain is sheltered by a canopy or hardtop. From the helm, a good, safe view extends to all points of the boat. The safety-glass windscreen is set in an oiled teak frame. It cuts the wind nicely without creating stuffiness.

You have headroom at the helm, an adjustable stool and even a windscreen wiper in case it rains. It's comfortable driving in drop-knee fashion, standing on one leg and resting the other on the central (but unobtrusive) engine box alongside.

The dash has room to mount electrics and, I must say, I quite like the thought of adding a GPS and sounder - making a few minor adjustments to free-up the cockpit and turning the Classic 22 into a classic harbour fishing boat. Add handlines, a sternpost and away you go.

Then again, there's something charming about the simplicity and lack of frills. As you see it here, there's just a stainless wheel, throttle control, circuit-breaker panel and the Beta's instruments.

The circuit-breaker panel has anchor, running, deck and cabin lights, a wiper and two auxiliary points. The engine gauges include revs with hour meter and three audio/visual alarms for the motor's battery, oil and water temp.

While access to the foredeck is along the cabin sides, you're aided by handrails and a high bowrail. Still, an electric windlass is an option well worth considering. This way, you can anchor at the press of a button and take off for home just as easily.

The foredeck also includes a big teak bowsprit and bollard, with amidships cleats and stern cleats to further assist mooring. There's a teak rubbing rail and oiled teak and holly floor inside the boat and the teak touches add to the 22's classic-looking hull lines.

Finally, there is the cockpit and here, thanks to moulded seating around the peripheries and optional cushions, you can carry up to seven people in comfort. Each moulded seat has sealed storage beneath it, with additional storage lockers in the coamings.

One other thought: you could add a heat exchanger to the Beta engine and have hot water running through a deck shower. With a 55amp alternator, the engine could also run an invertor for a microwave.

As it is, the boat comes with two batteries for house and engine demands.

Really, the only must-have not present on the testboat was an icebox. Something tells me you'll end up reaching for a few light ales while classic boating.

OLD & NEW
With three aboard, we pottered about Pittwater, mosied up McCarr's Creek and Taylor's Bay, sauntered around Scotland Island and chortled past Church Point.

God only knows why, I even rolled a Drum cigarette to get into the wholesome spirit of things.

And although the billy wasn't boiling, Marshall Lord is working on a third version of his Classic 22 that features a mini-galley over the engine box. This way, you'd have everything you need for spending a weekend onboard.

Like Bjorn Again, bobbed haircuts and platform shoes - suddenly, everything old is new again.

Whether it's a sign of getting old, I'm not sure.

But I enjoyed cruising on the Classic 22. There's a lot to be said for going a little slower and taking in the view.