NANCY IN 2012, restored to an exceptional standard

Images(4)

A collection of images and information on NANCY

NANCY has had two changes to its superstructure, both adding on to what already existed.

Nancy

Vessel numberHV000334

Date1917

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 10.67 m x 9.14 m x 2.59 m x 1.07 m (35 ft x 30 ft x 8.5 ft x 3.5 ft)

DescriptionNANCY was built for Hobart ferry operator Harry Rowe and was similar to the BLANCHE ABEL built earlier in the same yard. 'Tucker' Abel's yard was at Battery Point, and the vessel was christened ROWELLA by Miss Elsie Abel. ABEL's yard was established in 1905 but destroyed by fire in 1917. NANCY could be one of the last craft he built at that yard.

The 10.67m (35 ft) long fantail launch was typical for its period with a plumb stem, low freeboard and enclosed cabin area forward of about midships. It was licensed to carry sixty passengers and could travel at eight knots. Huon pine, King Billy pine and blackwood were used in the construction.

Around 1925 the vessel was renamed NANCY, possibly when acquired by Tom Smart. In the 1950s it was used as a tender to the Ansett Sunderland-class flying boats which connected Hobart to Sydney. When retired from this service NANCY became a pleasure craft, and was known to be owned by E Wettenhall who moored the vessel at Lindisfarne in the 1990s. Additions were made to the superstructure in the 1940s which included a form of raised wheelhouse with standing room over the aft end of the cabin. By 1980 this had been modified again to include a new plywood panelled wheelhouse over the aft cockpit in place of the earlier one. The additions did not fit well with the elegance of the hull's lines.

In 2009 the current owner intended to restore the craft to its original configuration, installing an old Frisco Standard petrol motor, similar to its original Frisco motor.
SignificanceNANCY is a wooden Derwent River ferry built in 1917 by AA 'Tucker' Abel, a well known boat builder in Hobart, Tasmania who specialised in motor launches. NANCY operated as a ferry on the Derwent River for almost 40 years until at least the 1950s, forming a long and close association with the community.