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Ione II

Vessel numberHV000774

Builder EA Jack

Date1930

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 14.32 m × 12.8 m × 2.59 m × 1.07 m, 12.2 tonnes (47 ft × 42 ft × 8.5 ft × 3.5 ft, 12 tons)

DescriptionNed Jack featured Huon Pine construction in both the planking and the timbers, it has a straight stem with a high counter stern and a long trunk cabin with a beam of 8’6”. IONE II has a raised wheelhouse and was originally powered by a Regal 16 horse power engine. Carrying the chiffonier, nameplates, steering wheel and driver’s seat of the original IONE of 1888, together with various other fittings salvaged from that wreck, IONE II now plies the Murray River.

Following the death of its first owner in 1934, IONE II passed to his son who in the 1960’s made a number of minor alterations and additions including a more streamlined wheelhouse and a slightly raked stem. The power plant was changed to the current 100 horse power Ford diesel 590E. On the wheel itself one reads “Ione 1888” which lets one know that here again is something that is having a second life.

From the vessel’s log during the 1940’s “During the present season the IONE II has travelled 878 miles. Before the season ends I feel sure the mileage will pass the thousand mark. This distance has been done on 3211 gallons of benzene, a very excellent performance indeed.”

Upon his death in 1975 IONE II passed to the third generation of the Archer family. Under the command of her new owner, IONE II took part in the Tamar Club Centenary events of 1979 and 1980 passaging the 40-mile waterway “with her bow cutting the water at speed and completely without fuss.” “In the last decade of the century IONE II was seen every so often leaving the cataract mooring for a turn on the river, at which time she surpasses all comparable motor launches”. The interior has been kept in original condition and was faithfully maintained by a Mr Allan Conn to assist the owner to preserve this traditional craft. By 1993 it was moored at Cataract yacht basin.

Thomas Archer however never married and when he became too old to care for it properly he asked Allan Conn to look after the vessel. This he did from 1988 to 1995. Allan Conn’s log is on record together with photographs of the time. Thomas Archer died in 1995 and IONE II was placed on the market. Allan Conn was asked to sell the boat for the estate.

Sold to new owners in 1995, the vessel made its first ocean voyage south from Launceston to Hobart. The new owners undertook an extensive refit to bring it back to original condition. As part of this work the bright work was reinstated above the gunwale line, once again revealing IONE II’s classic lines. It was moored at New Town Bay, Hobart.

In 2003 it was sold and maintained to her then standard by the new owner who participated in the Australian Wooden Boat Festival at Hobart in February 2007.

The present owners bought IONE II in November 2009 and brought her to the Murray River by road boat transport to Greening’s Landing upstream of Mannum South Australia. She was launched on 18th December 2009 on a blistering hot day of 43 degrees. It was testament to her pedigree that, despite the heat, almost a week out of the water and a 1,400 km journey by road transport, she took up in 15 minutes and leaked minimally thereafter.

In May 2010 it was again externally renovated with fittings upgraded throughout. The hull and superstructure were stripped back to bare timber. No rot or structural damage was evident.

IONE II remains powered by the 1965 6 cylinder 100hp Ford diesel, and is capable of 10 knots. In February 2011 she was taken downstream to Goolwa to partake in the South Australian Wooden Boat Festival. She attracted much interest with the many spectators and ultimately won the “Concourse de Elegance” award. Clearly IONE II’s ability to move so elegantly through the water remains undiminished.

In 2015 IONE II again presented at the SA Wooden Boat Festival in Goolwa and again was awarded “Best cruiser over 10 metres”

IONE II is used regularly and is in excellent condition in 2019.

SignificanceIONE II is a 47-foot motor launch built by in Tasmania in 1929 by EA “Ned” Jack, one of their prominent boat builders in the region. It was built for Thomas Cathcart Archer to a design that was a slightly enlarged duplicate of the original vessel he had built more than 40 years earlier. IONE of 1888 was destroyed in the 1929 floods in Northern Tasmania. IONE II remained with two subsequent generations of the Archer family until 1995.