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Betty

Vessel numberHV000321

Vessel Registration NumberJU313N NSW

Builder William H Golding

Designer William H Golding

Date1900

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 6.71 m x 2.44 m x 1.07 m (22 ft x 8 ft x 3.5 ft)

DescriptionBETTY is a 6.7 metre long gaff rigged sloop, carvel planked in New Zealand kauri. Its early history is not well recorded. In 1923 the boat was bought by Captain Jack Whetton, and has been passed on through his family ever since. Information from the family notes that BETTY was designed by Golding, and most probably built by him at his Balmain yard.

The hull shape is very typical of the early 1900s. It has a plumb stem and plumb transom, and was originally fitted with a centreboard. Captain Whetton changed this to a long keel around 1929, and lengthened the small cabin house.

For thirty years from the 1970s through to the early 2000s BETTY was a fixture on the Harbour as the rescue boat for Mosman Amateur Sailing Club.

In 2009 it remained in good condition sailing regularly on Sydney Harbour.
SignificanceBETTY is a small wooden yacht designed and built by William Golding of Balmain, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales around 1900. Golding was one of the better known designers and builders of 18-foot skiffs and other small craft. Not many examples of his work are thought to remain extant. BETTY is largely unaltered and exhibits typical hallmarks of the Balmain style of skiff, such as the hollow bow waterlines, plumb stem and curved sheerline. It has a been a pleasure craft in the same family since 1923.