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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
15 was not‘integral’ to the main hull shape required extra strength. The new laminated hull provided such and so did away with having to carry a greater weight in wood for that strength.” Stewart reflected on his design:“The thoughts that went with this boat were along these lines: The earlier LD (light displacement) boatshadnormalbeamforthattime.Thereforetheywereveryfastoff thewind,butlackedsomewhatinabilityforwindwardwork. Whataboutincreasingstabilitywithextrabeam? Howwouldaboatgowithsomethinglikeafourteen-footerhull? Orwhatabout the mulleties? Twenty-six foot mullet boats with ten feet of beam and two tons of inside ballast could carry up to 800 square feet of sail. Going back to the thoughts that went into the features of these boats,I was impressed by the 18ft M class and the H and L class mullet boats. On occasion they could beat boats like [the 50-footer] Rawene which was, of course, one of the fastest keelers on the harbour. I would watch Ned Parker’s Starlight (a champion mulletty built by Ned in 1919) returning to her moorings off Wallace Street Beach and appearing to hold her own with Rawene which also moored in the same area. I could also remember my own [M-class] eighteen-footer,Manene,doing the same thing.Why couldn’t a boat combine the good qualities of all these? How would a shallow thirty-four-foot hull go with ten feet of beam and one-and-a-half tons in a fin keel? The fin keel would be more efficient than a centreboard and would also keep wetted surface down to a minimum compared with the normal keelboat profile.” It was Christmas 1958 when Stewart completed the design of Patiki, putting finishing touches on the plans as the boat was being lofted. Lidgard commenced work on 23 April, 1959. Beautiful heart kauri was used, making her a little heavier than the later wooden boats which used tanalized sap kauri. Colmore-Williams had the floor boards fabricated out of an Australian hardwood which actually shrank after they were cut to size. He solved the problem by raiding his factory for filler. John Lidgard was a couple of months ahead of schedule on the construction of Patiki, finishing her in October, well in time for the 1958/59 racing season. He recalls: “Patiki never became the plug for fibreglass production. When we finished the hull, he (Colmore-Williams) was so keen to get sailing that he said, ‘To hell with it, let’s turn it over and finish her off. Colmore-Williams’ neighbour and crew member, Brian Craies was called on to paint out the interior. John Buttle recalled:“The keel was an experiment. John built the wooden boxing, taking into consideration any expansion the hot lead would create but as he didn’t have the facilities to pour the lead in all at once, and evenly, the keel set rounded on one side and straight on the other - a little lopsided!” In its September 1959 issue, Sea Spray devoted two articles to the“34 ft cold-moulded fin keeler”, introducing the reader to“an interesting and unusual boat ...“ The month before Patiki was launched, the Squadron’s Handicapping Committee resolved that,“the new yachts, Scimitar and Patiki be put in the 3rd Division.” The motion was raised by Bob Stewart and seconded by Bressin Thompson. Don Hargrave noted:“Patiki was about to be launched when someone worked out that the boom would hit Peter [Colmore- Williams] on the head,so it was raised a foot - just as well as it only squeaked in as an F class boat,otherwise it would have been a B. Peter was just over 6 foot.’’ PatikiwaslaunchedonGuyFawkesDay,5November1959andaftercommissioningwentforherfirstsailon20November. Her Bob’s M-Class Manene was an inspiration for Patiki Betty Stewart Black collection