KAHANA anchored in Barnes Bay Tasmania March 2006

Images(6)

KAHANA has a sturdy seagoing appearance.

A view of KAHANA's hull taken while on the slip in 2006.

The deep hull shape gives plenty of headroom below the cabin aboard KAHANA.

Kahana

Vessel numberHV000145

Vessel Registration Number191363

Vessel Registration NumberKH364N

Sail Number424

Builder Charles Larson

Date1949

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 11.66 m x 14.02 m x 3.43 m x 1.6 m (38.25 ft x 46 ft x 11.25 ft x 5.25 ft)
Registered Dimensions: 16.17 tons x 10.84 tons

DescriptionKAHANA is not the vessel's original name. The 11.66 metre yacht is registered in 1953 as SEA DRIFT, but the British Register of Australian Ships entry has the name crossed out and replaced with KAHANA. The owner who registered the yacht, Mr. B.E. Keen was also unaware of the builder or designer. This is later recorded in 1970 on register papers by the owner at the time, Fred Watter, as having been Charlie Larson and Mr. Campbell respectively. However later information indicates Campbell worked for Larson as a shipwright or boat builder.

Larson worked out of Wharf Road, Gladesville NSW and is known for building sturdy sea going yachts. KAHANA is a good example of a big robust ocean going yacht, built in oregon, celery top pine and spotted gum. It has a canoe stern, and is rigged as a ketch. The shelter over the cockpit appears to have been added on to the original lower cabin. The deep-keeled hull shape gives the yacht a large living area below decks, with plenty of headroom.

The design is most probably the work of larson as well. he was a a great folower of Colin Archer's work, and is known to have held at least one ste of plans for an Archer design. It is quite possible the ideas for the shape and arrangement of this design came from the Archer information he had collected.

KAHANA has always been a cruising yacht and has explored the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Tasmania in recent years.
SignificanceKAHANA is a wooden yacht built by Charles Larson in 1949 in Sydney NSW. Larson built a number of vessels that were well known in the 1930s, and after the war in the 1940s. It as an example of his construction for a cruising yacht and is probably his design as well, following principles similar to Colin Archer's double-ended designs.