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Crest relaunched at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum on 10th March 2020
Crest
Crest relaunched at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum on 10th March 2020
Crest relaunched at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum on 10th March 2020

Crest

Vessel numberHV000049
Date1911
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 8.41 m x 7.16 m x 2.08 m x 0.73 m (27.6 ft x 23.5 ft x 6.8 ft x 2.4 ft)
DescriptionCREST is an 8.41 m (27 ft 6 in), carvel planked vessel built for a Danish born fisherman, Jack Rossen. He named it NINON after his wife Stella Ninon Moon. It is planked in local hardwoods, and built with a counter stern and plumb stem, features that were typical for the era.

The NINON was used in Jervis Bay, nearby St Georges Basin and along that region's coast. Rossen owned the vessel until his death in 1957, and after that NINON went through a succession of owners and changes. The most significant alteration was the addition of a raised deck forward and wheelhouse at midships. The hull however is virtually unchanged and apart from repairs has a considerable amount of original material. The new owners replaced the original petrol motor to a diesel and the launch was renamed CREST.

Freddie Dent and his brother Joseph Dent constructed a number of launches similar to NINON and they were common to the Jervis Bay area. A number of images survive to show their typical details, but NINON is the only one of these craft that remains extant to show his typical construction. This includes his hallmark arrangement of an additional stern post at the aperture for the propeller that also forms a bollard post on deck.

Joseph Dent also built the ferry LADY DENMAN in the same year, and both are now preserved at the Lady Denman Heritage Complex in Huskisson, on the western shore of Jervis Bay.

A restoration initiative began in 2012 to get Crest back in the water. This project was funded as part of the ANMM MMAPSS grant scheme. The works were primarily undertaken by volunteers, with oversight from prominent local boat builders Dave Lewis and John Settree. The works entailed scraping of the hull, stabilising planks, and the building of a cradle with a trolley to hold the hull shape. Internal ribs and stringers were shaped, steamed, bent and roved. The eculyptus timber engine beds and floors were also reconstructed, the 3-cylinder Lister diesel and gearbox rebuilt, and the propellor shaft replaced. Recaulking was also carried out. Following these works Crest was once more launched on the 10 March 2020 with Shoalhaven mayor Amanda Findley ceremonially pouring champagne over the vessel.
SignificanceCREST is a motor launch built in 1911 by Freddie Dent at his Huskisson NSW boatyard, on Currambene Creek. It was used as a fishing vessel on Jervis Bay by Jack Rossen for almost 50 years. It is the only surviving example of the many Jervis Bay launches built by Dent who was well known in the region as one of the principal boat builders in the early 1900s. The hull retains considerable original integrity and shows features that were hallmarks of his construction.
PORTHOLE on display at JBMM
AR Settree
1952
KINGFISHER on Jervis Bay
AR Settree
1946
The LADY DENMAN housed undercover at Huskisson, NSW in 2006.
Walter Reeks
1911
On Lake Alexandrina in 1887-89
Willans and Robinson
1884
METUNG in London on its circumnavigation
JC Bull
1956
WHITE CREST shows off its elegant Halvorsen styling.
Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd
1951
Wampoo
Vic Hoyle
1954
ACROSPIRE III in 2012
J Hayes & Sons
1923
The MOBI Yacht NIRIMBA cruising on Sydney Harbour in its new colours in 2007
Royal Australian Navy Apprentice Training Establishment (RANATE)
1966
MB 172 repainted in its original color scheme in 2011
Naval Dockyard Garden Island
1937