Tidewater
Vessel numberHV000863
Builder
Andrew Slorach
Designer
Maurice Griffiths
Date1973
DescriptionTidewater is a 36.5 ft cruising cutter that was built in 1973 by Andrew Slorach in Tingalpa Creek Gumdale Queensland. It was designed in the UK in 1968 by Maurice Griffiths, built over a year from 1972-1973, and originally christened Chobe. Its beam is 9.9 ft, draught 3.4 ft and it has a 9.82 registered tonnage. Tidewater’s hull is constructed of fibreglass via C-Flex methods and epoxy resin, and is an early example of this type of boat construction. This is similar to the timber planking method in that each plank of C-Flex contains small semi rigid rods in the longitudinal direction. These rods allow fibreglass to hold its form while resin is applied to the cloth, and eliminates the need for a full mold as used in traditional fibreglass construction.
Tidewater’s deck is fibreglass composite with 12mm end grain balsa wood sandwiched between 6mm of C-Flex/epox above and 5mm below. Other timber details on the vessel include the cockpit coating, sponson, grab rails, and tiller pin rail in Burmese Teak timber. Its rigging is aluminium. As of 2024 Tidewater’s engine is a 2011 Nanni 37.5 HP. It has bilge keels, with a full length central ballast keel. Tidewater’s hull and deck are both in original and excellent condition. It has had its hatches repainted and replaced, upgrades to its accommodation sections, and electrics re-wired. Tidewater has been in constant use since its launching in 1973.
Andrew Slorach began building vessels in 1966 and worked for 40 years on timber and fibreglass vessels. He was the first owner of Tidewater, and its custodian from 1973 to 1977. Slorach primarily cruised Tidewater from Brisbane to Lizard Island before passing it on to its second owner. It was then sailed from Brisbane to Rockhampton, before travelling to Townsville in 1984. From here, Tidewater travelled to the Solomon Islands via Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Tidewater continued to cruise under various owners around Northern Queensland throughout the 1990s and 2000s. It was refitted from 2015-2018, and as of 2024 is berthed at Hervey Bay Marina.
SignificanceTidewater is a 36.5ft cruising yacht that was built in 1973 in Gumdale Queensland. It was designed in the UK in 1968 by Maurice Griffiths, and built by Andrew Slorach. Tidewater’s hull is a unique example of fibreglass C-Flex plank construction. Since its launch date Tidewater has consistently been cruised around Northern Queensland, sections of the Great Barrier Reef, and Melanesia. As of 2024 it is in very good condition and is a nice example of a locally built Queensland cruising yacht.
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