Ship’s Data

Built:

  • Ship No.464 to Lloyds 100A1 survey

  • Bow McLachlan & Co. Ltd., Thistle Works, Paisley, Scotland

  • Launched:

    • Wednesday, 20th July, 1927

  • Length:

    • 168 feet (51 m)

  • Beam:

    • 32 feet (9.8 m)

  • Depth:

    • 15 feet (4.6m)

  • Tonnage:

    • 540 gross tons

  • Displacement:

    • 760 tons

  • Speed:

    • 14 knots

  • Propeller:

    • Stones manufacture - 4 Bladed, 10'6" (3,2 m) diameter by 12' pitch, cast iron hub.

    • Manganese bronze bolt on blades

Crew

  • Master, Mate, Leading Hand, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, three firemen, and four deckhands, cook and a steward.

  • Accommodation for up to 14 Pilots.

  • A Third Engineer and a trimmer were carried on longer voyages.

Vital Statistics

Construction

  • Well-deck steamship with main hold, a riveted steel hull and a superstructure to boat deck.

  • Captain's cabin and wheelhouse in teak, crew accommodation and mess in forecastle, officers accommodation and mess midships on the main deck, pilots accommodation aft below deck.

  • Teak decks throughout.

  • Two 24 (6 m) clinker whalers for pilot transfer in davits plus additional 14' (4.3 m) dinghy also in davits.

  • Bow McLachlan steam windlass and anchoring through hawseholes, cargo winch and mast/derrick cargo handling gear was originally driven from the windlass, however, a Clarke Chapman steam winch was added here.

Propulsion

  • Two coal fired scotch marine boilers each with three furnaces., dimensions 12'9" internal diameter, by 11'3" long and weighing around 30 ton each. Working pressure 180 psi.

  • Michell thrust bearing by Michell Bearing LTD, transfering propeller thrust to the hull

  • James Howden forced draft and Brundrits boiler circulators

  • Triple expansion steam engine 17.5"+ 29"+ 48" x 33"‑ 1400 IHP (Indicated Horse Power) Surface condensing

  • Dawson & Downie air pump, general service pump and bilge ballast pump

  • Weirs main feed pumps and float tank, Matthew Paul circulator

  • John Kirkaldy feed heater and filter

  • Bow McLachlan steering engine in bridge with rod and chain to quadrant

  • Sisson steam engine driving a Crompton 8KW 110 volt DC.

  • Reader steam engine driving L. Sterne refrigeration set, Caird and Rayner evaporator (now removed)

  • Sees ash ejector by Trewent & Proctor (removed when oil fired). Converted from coal to oil firing by Sergeants in Brisbane in 1947

  • Sanitary pump by Dawson & Downie was also fitted but has been replaced by a number of pumps over the years