Veteran

Vessel numberHV000124

Vessel Registration NumberVETERAN

Vessel Registration NumberYX43N

Vessel Registration NumberGD21N

Builder Ernie Atcheson

Designer W D Bailey

Date1938

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 4.8 m x 1.75 m x 0.3 m (15.75 ft x 5.75 ft x 1 ft)

DescriptionVETERAN was designed by Bailey in the style of the American Hacker or Chris-Craft speedboats of the 1920s and 1930s. It has their classic profile with a plumb stem that is rounded off at the cutwater, a vertical transom and a single chine vee-section hullform. Construction was started in 1938 by Ernie Aitcheson at Wallsend near Newcastle. World War II caused an interuption to the work and after the war the hull was completed at Hazell & Moore on Hunter St, Newcastle.

The 4.8m long timber hull is carvel planked in mahogany, which has always been painted in a rich burgundy colour, with a sky blue bottom below a white boot top. The clear finished transom and maple deck are a bright contrast, and the fittings are chromed bronze, all in keeping with the period.

The first petrol engine was a fully marinised 4 cylinder Continental Red Seal from a Rugby motor car. A new petrol engine was installed in 1966, an Albacore Marine Ford, with 170 cubic inch displacement, also fully marinised. The craft has been refitted and restored on two occasions to keep it in excellent condition.

VETERAN has never been raced, but has been a regular and elegant sight on Lake Macquarie NSW as a ski boat and runabout for over 50 years. As an example of the dashing pre-World War II period it is a graceful contrast to the modern fibreglass craft.

July 2023 update: VETERAN is still in excellent hull condition. The engine has not been refurbished as the engine has not been run for quite a few years.
SignificanceThe runabout VETERAN was built in Newcastle NSW in 1938. is an important example of a design by W.D. Bailey from Como, Sydney, well known for sailing craft and less recognized for producing plans for runabouts . It remains in good condition and is a good example of an Australian design adapting an American style, in this case carrying many of the features seen on the famous US Hacker designs.