Big gains in slow lane

After a lifetime association with powerboats of all sorts and sizes, Roger Arkell has taken a step into our marine past.

The former president of the Powerboat Race Organisation is now at the helm of Tiromoana, a classic 38ft (11.5m) bridge decker built in 1937 with a top speed of 8 knots. The lovely old launch, designed and built in triple skin kauri by W.A. (Bill) Couldrey in Northcote, is in pristine condition having been well cared for during a long and interesting life.

When Arkell bought the launch it had been something of what he calls a blokes' boat, being used mainly for fishing and fairly spartan. He totally refurbished the interior and fitted the boat out for family cruising, although fishing remains high on the activity list.

"I have discovered a whole new aspect of boating," Arkell says. "After more than 30 years belting around the Hauraki Gulf and beyond at up to 40 knots, Tiromoana has given myself and the family a new appreciation of the waters we used to take for granted. At our cruising speed there's time to enjoy the journey as well as the destination."

Tiromoana's leisurely pace at 600 revs rather than the 6000 her owner was familiar with during 37 years in the marine industry has taken a bit of getting used to, says the man who opened Rogers Boat Shop in Albany in 1973 and now has another branch in Wairau Rd. Before the move to Albany he had been five years with Samuel Parker, selling that company's range of small utility aluminium boats.

Early in the piece he commissioned John Spencer to design 8, 10 and 12-foot models which considerably improved their performance. So much so that in 1972-73 the company sold 4300 Parkercraft nationwide. To demonstrate his confidence in the product Arkell campaigned a GT version in a couple of the early Atlantic 100 races that were the big events on the powerboat racing calendar in the late 60s.

That "prove your product" philosophy has always been one of his precepts as a retailer and he has a string of rallies and exhaustive boat tests in his log book. He did some exhaustive research before buying Tiromoana and believes, with the purchase price and subsequent refurbishing, the $150,000-plus she has cost him is a bargain for such a classic.

Built for a syndicate that subsequently ran out of money, Tiromoana was bought by W. R. Craig of Remuera in 1938. The next year she was sold to Henry Allen, of St Marys Bay. In 1941, much to the owner's consternation, the Navy acquired the launch under wartime requisitioning powers and handed her over to the police.

The first Auckland police launchmaster was Clarry Price, who had joined the force in 1938 after a marine industry background. Because he was the only Auckland policeman with a launchman's ticket he got the job of skippering Tiromoana.

He picked up the launch from St Marys Bay with the owner and his daughter as crew and delivered it to Queens Wharf. The owner was fearful that his launch would be knocked around. He returned regularly to check out the boat during its service with the police and was pleased to discover his fears were groundless.

Tiromoana began patrolling Auckland Harbour on February 2, 1942 and continued in this role successfully until late 1944 when she was returned to her owner.

She stayed with the Allen family until 1992, when she was sold to an owner in the Bay of Islands and underwent a major refit.

The launch returned to Auckland where Arkell discovered her at Bayswater and decided Tiromoana was the boat for him. One of his first checks was on the 80hp Gardner that had been fitted in 1953 and had 8000 hours on the clock. He figured that was a lot of running time - only to be pleasantly surprised by an expert's advice the motor was good for 22,000 more hours.

That totals a whole lot of boating time he hopes he will be able to whittle away over many years.