Images(5)

Bonito

Vessel numberHV000263

Vessel Registration NumberJZ 965N

Builder WM Ford Boatbuilders

Designer WM Ford Boatbuilders

Date1925

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 9.6 m x 8.84 m x 2.59 m x 1.07 m, 6.08 tonnes (31.5 ft x 29 ft x 8.5 ft x 3.5 ft, 6.18 tons)

DescriptionBONITO is 9.6 m (31.5 ft) long, carvel-planked, with a substantial raised foredeck and an elegant overhanging canoe stern. The craft was launched in the middle of 1925 and was the subject of two reports in Australian Motor Boat and Yachting Monthly magazine. The July 1925 issue described it as a ' fine, wholesome type of seagoing cruiser worth inspection', with 'splendid roomy cabin accommodation'. It was fitted with a 22 kW (30 hp) Thorneycroft engine and the superstructure was teak.

The original owner was Col. Alfred Spain, an architect and army officer who rose to prominence in Sydney as a director on various boards including Howard Smith, Sydney Ferries and Taronga Zoo.

Spain removed the sailing rig in 1932 and added a wheelhouse to convert it to a motor launch. It has remained in this configuration through a succession of owners, with only minor changes. Spain sold the craft in 1947, and in 1952 BONITO was sold again to Robert Massie, a well known yachtsman, businessman and decorated veteran of World War I. The current owner has returned BONITO as closely as possible to the 1932 wheelhouse arrangement.
SignificanceBONITO is a motor launch built in NSW in the mid-1920s. It was designed and built in 1925 as an auxiliary ketch by the prominent Sydney boatbuilding firm of WM Ford. Converted to a motor launch in 1932 it is structurally almost completely original, including the 1930s internal layout. BONITO had some well known Sydney figures as owners.