Paddlewheeler replica: One Man's Boat

Anyone who has spent any time idling along the lower reaches of the River Murray cannot have failed to gaze fondly on the old riverboats tied to the docks or making their way sedately up or down the muddy waterway.

They all look to be at least 100 years old with their glistening brass and weathered woodwork, and the scream of their steam whistles as they coming chugging around the sweeping bends can send a tingle up your spine.

But not all these historic vessels are quite as old as they look.

Mark Koen's 10 metre side-wheeler Eliza-Ann looks as though she may have been launched in the late 1800s but by paddlewheeler standards she is almost brand new. The iron and timber topsides were cunningly created to make Eliza-Ann fit in with the rest of the fleet in the historic "Source to the Sea" race in 2001 that took an armada of paddlewheelers down to the mouth of the Murray.

Her steel hull was built by two brothers in their riverside factory in 1998 but she sat inside until another local decided he would like to take part in the 2001 race. He bought the hull and had it towed to Max McDonald's boatyard at Mannum in South Australia for fitting out.

McDonald started by installing a Fordson diesel motor and attaching it to a hydraulic system to drive twin side paddles. He also installed an air compressor to allow the vessel to have the necessary ear-splitting steam horn.

"The engineering part of the boat is all totally up to date but we built the topsides to look the part," McDonald told BoatPoint, "It is rough on the outside. In fact it was made to look like it could have come out of the ark. But it fits in perfectly with all the old boats on the river."

"Now it must be one of the most photographed boats on the river. Whenever Mark goes for a cruise, you can see people lining up along the river banks with their cameras.

"I’ve fiddled with the injectors on the engine so she blows a wisp of white smoke from the exhaust stack and most people think she is a steamer. The air compressor lets the air horn have a real shriek to complete the picture."

Koen, who works locally in the wine industry, bought the vessel eight years ago and has since spent most weekends and holidays slipping quietly up and down the river with family and friends.

"She is fitted out with four bunks, a kitchen with a four burner stove and a gas/electric fridge and a hot water heater," he said. "The bridge and the living area and kitchen are upstairs and the beds and the bathroom downstairs. The bathroom is fully fitted with a toilet and a shower."

"It is a wonderful boat for just pottering about the river. She runs on the smell of an oily rag because her comfortable cruising speed is only about four knots. That might sound slow to some people but there is no hurry on the Murray.

"She only draws about 400mm, so she can go anywhere. The paddle wheels operate independently, one can go forward while the other is in reverse, so she can spin in her own length. In fact, when we are going along I usually steer with the paddles by speeding one up or slowing one down and don’t bother too much with the rudder."

Koen says he is only selling Eliza-Ann because he recently bought a Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle.

"If it is a beautiful sunny Sunday, my wife and I head off on the Fat Boy so Eliza-Ann just sits there. I want to see her plying the river on a regular basis."

Eliza-Ann is heading back to McDonald’s shipyard early next month for her annual haul out and touch up, so Koen says she will be at her best for the busy Christmas period on the river.