Terrara 18 Diesel Launch

Paul Kennedy is a Nowra-based boatbuilder with a penchant for classic boats. Not the wooden variety, mind you, he prefers modern renditions that have the looks and the lines, but not the maintenance, of the old chuggers. And he is not alone.

Retro boats, in case you missed the boat, are big news this season. Everything old is new again. Style is more important than ever, but so too sophistication. Most funky retro boats are hand-built and finely crafted. But they are made using modern methods and fitted with lots of cutting-edge conveniences.

In the end, well, the classic old boat ends up costing a proverbial arm and leg. So bravo Paul Kennedy! He has plugged a hole in the market with this affordable classic boat. You get comely lines, a cute cabin and an economical diesel motor - all for $30-something grand.

The Terrara 18 Diesel Launch provides uncomplicated access to the water. And there is an interesting story behind its birth. As many retro-boat makers will tell you, the best craft are often not new.

Kennedy scouted the harbour from top to bottom, noting all the classic craft swinging on moorings, looking for a jaunty little dayboat to resurrect. But after many hours fighting off seagulls, he returned home empty-handed.

Surprise, surprise, the classic craft he was seeking was right under his nose. A local boatie had an original river fishing boat with clinker sides, Terrara Queen, which was around 65 years of age.

The Terrara Queen was named after the old commercial centre of the area, Terara (with one 'r'), which was vacated before the Shoalhaven was dammed to stop it flooding all the time.

As luck would have it, the owner had grown tired of maintaining his old timber boat and Kennedy was able to make a mould. He bogged the hull to change it from a clinker style to a smooth-sided carvel style. This was the first step in creating the boat you see pictured here.

MAKING OF A CLASSIC HULL
In-house marine architect Malcolm Griffiths modified the round-bilge hull. His initial aim was to give the boat more form, stability and stiffness. Because the hull is made from fibreglass, it is lighter than the original timber boat. Some 230kg of lead were added to the keel to create a low centre of gravity.

At rest, the 18-footer's bow sits ever so slightly down in the water and the transom appears slightly raised. But once you take up position in the cockpit and grasp the tiller, the trim is oh-so perfect.

The boat has a steady motion that allows you to move from one side of the cockpit to the other without dipping a gunwale. It also has a surprising amount of freeboard and lots more buoyancy.

Underway, the boat seems steady, dogged and determined - almost headstrong. A full-length keel gives directional stability and tracking, while a big rudder provides responsiveness about the moorings or, for that once in a month visit, the fuel bowser.

The forecastle has some extra height for seaworthiness and water deflection.

The hull is solid glass, but the floor liner and decks are balsa-cored to keep the weight down low. Tipping the scales at just under 1000kg, the boat is fully trailerable. However, methinks it will live in the water more often than not.

A simple building technique lets Kennedy Shipwrights assemble the Terrara 18 speedily and at low cost. The liner, for example, incorporates the engine mounts. It is attached to the hull, a bulkhead is glassed in, then the deck moulding is added. The build time of 200hr for this boat (No.3) is expected to be reduced considerably on future boats.

CLASSIC DETAILS
The Terrara 18 Diesel Launch costs from $31,900 ex-factory. If your budget allows, you can specify lots of bronze or brassy bits and timber touches to enhance the look of the white deck and cabintop.

Options such as a staysail, boom-hung canopy, portable loo, custom hull colours and upholstery will personalise the boat.

This Terrara 18 certainly looked the part with a smart Oxford-blue hull, teak cabin-top handrails, timber bowsprit, rubrails, toerails with cutouts as fairleads, and nice oval windows.

The walkaround decks were topped with bronze fittings, a slight upgrade on the usual stainless steel or chromed brass, and there were bronze skin fittings. Full marks for things such as a full-sized anchorwell.

The transom-hung rudder is removable for beaching and, like the deck details, is a lovely handmade bit of work, with a beautiful stock and solid pintles and gudgeons.

A central bilge compartment has an automatic pump with a float switch that allows you to leave the boat on a swing mooring come rain or shine. The battery hides inside the cabin, out of the weather, along with a little 12V switch panel for things like navigation lights.

Teak-planked moulded seating for five people encircles the cockpit, where a two-pot diesel Nanni motor resides under a raised hatch just aft of the cabin bulkhead. The motor has a wet exhaust and is freshwater-cooled.

The engine hatch doubles as a neat impromptu seat and the space to starboard is available if you want wheel steering. If, like me, you prefer the feel of a tiller in your hands, you can always plonk a director's chair there, as you gain a lot of protection from wind and spray behind the cabin.

With a canopy fitted, you would derive much-needed shade when boating on the Terrara and, well, I wouldn't mind seeing what this boat looks like with a little timber rig. The factory intends to offer a windscreen over the cabin edge for more protection.

Destined for hireboat fleets and charter work, the boat's engineering is made to survey standards. Options such as a staysail, boom-hung canopy, and rodholders are worth considering. Certainly, the boat would make a lovely trolling platform when the tailor are schooling.

The 10hp Nanni spins a 1in shaft through a Volvo dripless seal to a three-blade bronze prop. It can be upgraded to a 14hp model, but boatspeed is unlikely to change. Certainly, the 10hp donk wins out on fuel economy.

CABIN FEVER
The cabin contains a V-berth with infill that converts to a good-sized bed for catnaps or maybe even sleep-overs. A portable loo can be mounted in a rebate, and cabin height is such that you get seated headroom over the lounges.

Kennedy and I sat inside comfortably and chatted while a gale whistled outside. I noted storage space under the V-berth and a hatch to the anchoring gear that has been designed with less-than-flexible retirees in mind.

The boat has positive buoyancy in the form of underfloor air tanks. While the cabin isn't self-draining, a step from the cockpit keeps water at bay. Being lock-up, you can seal the cabin off from the weather or remove the door entirely on sliding hinges in fair weather.

POTTERING ABOUT
I grasped the pretty tiller in my hands and drove standing and later seated on the transom, where rolled edges make for a comfortable perch. By design, the throttle is at toe level.

Despite a little spray, the boat handled the gale-force winds lashing the harbour with aplomb. Actually, it was really quite delightful gadding about Mosman Bay and Athol Bight. Even more so considering, at a top speed of about 7kt, the motor is burning less than one litre of fuel an hour.

The simple pleasures in life, indeed. And when wanderlust strikes, you can tow the Terrara 18 south to Mallacoota or the Gippsland Lakes, go north to Lake Macquarie or the Clarence, or mosey about the Hawkesbury. With the optional removable swim ladder, a refreshing dip in the briny is never far away.

I stepped ashore and thought, yes, the Terrara 18 is a well-crafted, well-priced, well-meaning little boat. Even my partner declared she loved the look of the boat. All that's missing is the grey beard, but rest assured I'm working on it.