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CORRYONG in 2001, cruising again after its restoration project from the previous 12 months.

CORRYONG being launched in Melbourne in 1923

Corryong

Vessel numberHV000267

Vessel Registration NumberDV 04

Official Number153948

Date1923

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 7.31 m, 4.13 tonnes (24 ft, 4.2 tons)

DescriptionGutierrez started building CORRYONG in the backyard at his mother's home in Middle Park Melbourne, Victoria in 1922, when he was 23 years old. The 7.31 m (24 ft) long hull was launched the following year. It proved awkward to get out of the backyard once it was built. The story goes that Jack had to take down the neighbour's fence and move the launch out using their driveway. It was then taken to Howard Smith's yard and launched into the Yarra.

CORRYONG was planked in New Zealand kauri over Tasmanian blackwood frames, with a Brazilian mahogany, rounded-front cabin top.

Gutierrez christened the boat JAY VEE after his initials, and used it as a recreational vessel, attending the Henley on Maribyrnong rowing regatta in 1923 as a spectator. This was an important social occasion, and with JAY VEE Jack was able to impress his friend Doreen, who later became his wife.

The boat stayed with the Gutierrez family until 1933. Records show it was owned in that year by Charles Hobbs from Melbourne who is understood to have renamed it CORRYONG. Hobbs later sold it to watchmaker and jeweller Alfred Oakley of Sale, Victoria, who took it to Gippsland Lakes. COORYONG was sold again in 1957 for 650 pounds.

In 2008 the only addition to the structure had been a wheelhouse and cabin top over the cockpit and the original English petrol engine had been replaced by a Volvo diesel. CORRYONG remained in largely original condition as a private launch. An intriguing feature that remains unchanged since 1923 is the three cabin side portholes; instead of all being the same size, they increase in diameter going aft, along with a similar gradual increase in the cabin side height.

SignificanceCORRYONG was built in Mlebourne, Victoria in the early 1920s. It is a typical 1920s wooden motor launch, built and owned by Melbourne shipwright Jack Gutierrez when he was an apprenctice at Howard Smith's Yarra River, Melbourne yard.