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Maori Lass

Vessel numberHV000638

Vessel Registration Number31769

Designer HE Cox

Date1950

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 9.14 m × 7.62 m × 2.74 m × 1.52 m (30 ft × 25 ft × 9 ft × 5 ft)

DescriptionMAORI LASS was built to a design by Auckland, New Zealand naval architect HE Cox. The design was originally prepared for a Christchurch yachtsman who wanted a seaworthy, comfortable boat to suit the conditions of yachting out of Lyttleton Harbour, around Banks Peninsula coast and coastal sailing north to Wellington. Yachting in the South Island of New Zealand demands a seaworthy vessel and the conditions around Hobart and Tasmania are very similar.

The 9.14m long carvel planked yacht was built by Ron Andrewartha in celery top pine over blue gum frames. It was built over a two-year period in North Hobart by Ron and his two sons, Tom and Bob. The keel and ribs are of Tasmanian blue gum and the planking is celery top pine, the fastenings are copper nails that have been clenched, not roved. The reason for clenching was because the vessel was being built immediately after the war, materials were scarce and copper fastenings were expensive. The decking is Oregon, was canvas covered and the interior lockers are constructed from King Billy, celery top pine and Tasmanian fiddleback myrtle.

MAORI LASS was launched on Saturday the 16th of September 1950, an event reported in The Hobart Mercury the following Monday 18 September:

“NEW ZEALAND-DESIGN CRUISER LAUNHCED AT HOBART. A 30 ft cruiser, Maori Lass, built to a New Zealand design by former New Zealander, Ron Andrewartha, was launched at Hobart on Saturday. Andrewartha will start the yacht regularly in”C” Division cruiser-racer class. Maori Lass was launched by the Marine Board’s steam crane at King’s Pier. The new craft is a fine example of how speed and comfort can be combined in a small yacht. Mrs Andrewartha christened the yacht”.

Andrewartha owned MAORI LASS from 1950 until 1965 and raced and cruised the yacht regularly out of Hobart. This continued under subsequent owners, William Read and Dr T. Horne, and the yacht remained one of the regulars seen out on the Derwent. Later owners took MAORI LASS north, Chris Small sailed out of Port Hacking and Mick Souter sailed the yacht from Pittwater, Sydney.

Andrewartha wrote to Chris Small in 1971 when he purchased the boat, wishing him well and advising him a little of its history. He noted he had maintained it well throughout the 15 years he had owned it, and only sold it because he had been sailing since 1913 and thought he had “just about served his time”. He noted MAORI LASS was inadvertently over built on the keel, a good thing to have, due to both he, and then the yard supplying the section, adding an inch margin on the width for shrinkage.

After 21 years of racing and cruising on the River Derwent and D’Entrecasteaux Channel, MAORI LASS was relocated to Port Hacking south of Sydney where she continued to race and cruise the east coast; one of those cruises was an extended cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. After acquiring new custodians Jim and Jan Tabler MAORI LASS had a refit in Darwin in 1976 and then embarked on a circumnavigation that would see the yacht at sea for the next six years. MAORI LASS travelled from Darwin to Sydney via the two canals. The trip went from November 1976 until November 1982. On its return to Australia, it languished for a few years before the current owners bought the yacht in 1993.

MAORI LASS has had a number of minor repairs and alterations over its lifespan, and one major overhaul by the current owner, all taking into account normal wear and tear, and it remains in largely original condition. It has been a regular yacht on display at the Australian Wooden Boat Festivals held in Hobart every two years.

SignificanceMAORI LASS is a cruising and racing yacht built in Hobart Tasmania in 1950. It was built to a New Zealand design by its owner Ron Andrewartha. It has raced and cruised in Tasmanian waters for many decades, but has also spent time on the east coast, and completed a circumnavigation of the world. During the times it has been in Hobart it has never missed a season sailing from there or nearby locations