ORCA was described in this Seacraft Magazine article from 1951

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Orca

Vessel numberHV000345

Designer Alan Payne (1921 - 1995)

Date1951

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 8.53 m x 7.62 m x 3.07 m x 0.91 m x 1.52 m, 5.22 tonnes (28 ft x 25 ft x 10.08 ft x 3 ft x 4.99 ft, 5.14 tons)

DescriptionORCA was built by John Griffin, from H & J Griffin boatbuilders who were well known in Sydney. The yacht was featured in the March 1951 issue of Seacraft magazine as a design article. It was built for J Mazlin who lived on the South Coast of New South Wales. He required a yacht with a draft limited to around 900mm to enable him to clear a bar crossing to sail offshore. Payne's design therefore included a centreboard for shoal draft operation.

The owner, Mazlin, wanted to do sport fishing offshore, as well as being able to go sailing, so the design also featured a number of compromises to meet the requirements. The large cockpit for fishing meant the engine had to be located underneath the cockpit with its own hatch, while the shallow draft forced a high location of the ballast. This defined the need for a wide, stiff hull section, rather than the deeper and more modest beam of Payne's keel yachts. It is not known why it was gaff rigged. The rig could have been chosen because of its slightly lower centre of effort compared to a taller Bermudan rig.

The yacht's history is not well documented. Records from the builder, Griffin, show it was named ORCA when launched for Mr Mazlin. It is understood Peter George owned on Pittwater NSW for many years. In 2009 it was in use as a cruising yacht, with little change to its rig or arrangement other than the addition of a windshield over the cabin top.
SignificanceORCA is a wooden yacht built in NSW in 1951 to a design from the well known naval architect Alan Payne. It has an unusual feature, compared to Payne's other designs, in that it is one of the few gaff rigged craft to come from his drawing board. ORCA remains in good original condition with the rig and arrangement as designed by Payne.