Skip to main content
NANCY IN 2012, restored to an exceptional standard
Nancy
NANCY IN 2012, restored to an exceptional standard
NANCY IN 2012, restored to an exceptional standard

Nancy

Vessel numberHV000334
Date1917
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 10.67 m x 9.14 m x 2.59 m x 1.07 m (35 ft x 30 ft x 8.5 ft x 3.5 ft)
DescriptionNANCY was built for Hobart ferry operator Harry Rowe and was similar to the BLANCHE ABEL built earlier in the same yard. 'Tucker' Abel's yard was at Battery Point, and the vessel was christened ROWELLA by Miss Elsie Abel. ABEL's yard was established in 1905 but destroyed by fire in 1917. NANCY could be one of the last craft he built at that yard.

The 10.67m (35 ft) long fantail launch was typical for its period with a plumb stem, low freeboard and enclosed cabin area forward of about midships. It was licensed to carry sixty passengers and could travel at eight knots. Huon pine, King Billy pine and blackwood were used in the construction.

Around 1925 the vessel was renamed NANCY, possibly when acquired by Tom Smart. In the 1950s it was used as a tender to the Ansett Sunderland-class flying boats which connected Hobart to Sydney. When retired from this service NANCY became a pleasure craft, and was known to be owned by E Wettenhall who moored the vessel at Lindisfarne in the 1990s. Additions were made to the superstructure in the 1940s which included a form of raised wheelhouse with standing room over the aft end of the cabin. By 1980 this had been modified again to include a new plywood panelled wheelhouse over the aft cockpit in place of the earlier one. The additions did not fit well with the elegance of the hull's lines.

In 2009 the current owner intended to restore the craft to its original configuration, installing an old Frisco Standard petrol motor, similar to its original Frisco motor.
SignificanceNANCY is a wooden Derwent River ferry built in 1917 by AA 'Tucker' Abel, a well known boat builder in Hobart, Tasmania who specialised in motor launches. NANCY operated as a ferry on the Derwent River for almost 40 years until at least the 1950s, forming a long and close association with the community.
Adam Morgan with Cate Louise Near Howden-Tasmania c.1965
1933-1937
KALINDA on Cowan Creek, NSW in 2011, restored to its original condition.
Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd
1950
IONE II as built by EA 'Ned" Jack
EA Jack
1930
EDELWEISS in its original layout
J Hayes & Sons
1908
RHYTHM relaunched
Athol Rowe
1957
Undine at the Wooden Boat Centre Franklin Tasmania 2023
Don Colborne
1948
Landseer III
Woodleys Ltd
1912
KIM operating as a charter vessel on Darwin Harbour around 2005
Streeter & Male
1958
KRAIT restored for the 75th Anniversary event on 26th September 2018 at the ANMM wharves.
c 1934
KATHLEEN GILLETT racing in Gaffer's Day 2004 on Sydney Harbour.
Colin Archer
1939
SUZIE in 2007, recently restored to excellent condition.
Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd
1948