Sirius
Vessel numberHV000098
Builder
Naval Dockyard Garden Island
Previous owner
Royal Australian Navy
(Australian, founded 1913)
Date1940
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 4.27 m x 1.73 m (14 ft x 5.68 ft)
DescriptionSIRIUS had two roles in the Royal Australian Navy as a training vessel. It was constructed by navy apprentice shipwrights and gave them valuable experience in typical wooden boat construction and wooden boatbuilding techniques. The finished craft were used by the navy as sail training and recreational craft for use in harbours and enclosed waters. They were issued to larger ships before and during the early years of World War II. The number 40 engraved in the stem indicates it was made in 1940.
The robust construction meant they were relatively heavy craft, but their strength added to their longevity and made them useful craft for the navy over a long period. When the navy disposed of some of the 14-Foot Island Class dinghies Bruce Stannard acquired SIRIUS as a private recreational dinghy. In 1987 he donated the craft to the Australian National Maritime Museum, where it is held as part of the National Maritime Collection.
SignificanceSIRIUS is a wooden open sailing boat built in Sydney in 1940. It is one of the 14 foot Island Class dinghies built and used by the Royal Australian Navy as a sail training craft in the 1940s.
c 1934
1936
