Admiralty Fast Seagoing Motorboat

Full specification

Wooden ships comments on this Admiralty Fast Seagoing Motorboat

designed as a development of the Admiralty pinnace with some 350 vessels built in total.  The order for her build was placed by the Admiralty with Watercraft Ltd, Surrey, in March 1941 along with two other identical boats, her official number being 4195.  She left the yard in September 1942 under the command of Fleet Air Arm personnel and was subsequently allocated to RNAS Condor, Arbroath as a North Sea transfer vessel.

She was eventually sold out of service in 1948 to the Scottish Institute of Seaweed Research who renamed her ‘Asco’ and used the boat until 1956.  After this she had a series of private owners, the first of whom was Richard Wilkins who took her to Falmouth and had her converted into a smart motor yacht and used her to entertain wealthy guests from the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.  In 1972 she was bought by a local fisherman who used her for charter trips to go Shark fishing out of Falmouth.  Latterly she was laid up in the Gloucester & Sharpness canal, where she was bought by the current owners in 1999 and restored to be the fantastic vessel she now is.

Hard chine planing hull with a straight stem, flared bow and a wide low transom.

Conventional construction with double diagonal mahogany through fastened with copper rivets.

Lightweight sawn mahogany framing and stringers, screw fastened to the hull.

Sawn wooden frames and full length wooden keel with bronze keel bolts, last drawn 2005.

Double diagonal planked deck, through fastened with copper rivets. Covered in marine plywood and epoxy sheathed.  Finished in grey non-slip deck paint.

Solid wood coachroof coaming with plywood coachroof deck.  Bronze oval port holes in the coamings.

The whole superstructure is sheathed in epoxy glass cloth and finished in grey paint.

Spacious deck with minimal deck fittings.  Galvanised fairleads and galvanised admiralty style clest on the fore deck.  Tork Master hydraulic windlass on the centre line.

Wide side decks with small scrubbed teak toe rail set just in from the deck edge.

Midships wheelhouse with port and starboard side entrance doors and hatches.  Low coachroof extending forrard of this.  Step in the deck aft of the wheelhouse with large aft coachroof extending nearly to the transom.

Radar and search light on the wheelhouse roof.

High galvanised stanchions around the aft deck with rope guard wires.  Galvanised cleats and fairleads on the aft deck with hatch into rudder flat and storage area.  Access to steering gear through lazarette.

Dinghy chocks on aft coachroof with contemporary admiralty 10’ clinker dinghy, complete with cover.

Small varnished mast, keel stepped, on the aft coachroof to carry small derrick crane for lifting the dinghy.

Mast stripped and re varnished 2011.

Galvanised wire standing rigging, new 2005, to external galvanised chainplates on the coachroof coamings.

Small encapsulated wire winch fixed to the mast to lift the boom crane.

Accommodation                      6 berths

Steps down from port and starboard side entrances into wheelhouse.

Centre line spoked wooden wheel with large varnished panelled dash containing engine instruments and controls.  The whole wheel house interior has been rebuilt in the last 10 years and finished in varnished marine plywood with iroko and cedar trim.

Hatch offset to port at forrard end of wheel house with access to main accommodation.  Steps down into saloon with port and starboard settee berths, full standing headroom.  Centre line saloon table and large panelled cupboard on aft bulkhead containing electric panels.

Aft port corner of saloon has built in wet room/heads with Blakes sea toilet.

Aft starboard corner contains ‘switchboard’ room with majority of the electric systems.

Forward bulkhead of saloon has a hatch at waist level with steps up giving access to forrard areas.  Through the hatch and steps down into the galley, set to port.

Single stainless steel galley sink with overboard gravity drain set in a scrubbed teak work surface.

Gimballed 2 burner Origo spirit stove with oven and grill.  Ample storage cupboards.

Hot and cold pumped water to galley sink from 500L tank below the cabin sole.

Heads to starboard opposite galley with Blakes Lavac sea toilet.  Shower and basin in heads with pumped hot and cold water.

Forward into main cabin which retains main period features, including a pair of ‘new’ original pipe cot berths.

4 berths in the cabin including the 2 drop down pipe cots.  Full standing headroom and plenty of light.  Galvanised ladder to the forehatch on the centre line.

Small opening hatch with hinged doors in the forrard bulkhead of the cabin gives access to anchor locker.

The main accommodation areas of the boat are light and spacious with plenty of headroom.

Webasto heating system connected to radiators throughout the boat.

Aft of the wheelhouse is a large unconverted space, currently containing a makeshift cabin.  This is accessed via a hatch on the port side aft of the wheel house.  This a large space, compromised only by the lack of headroom.  This could be overcome by increasing the size of the hatch that the dinghy currently sits on and making it into a skylight.  There is potential for a large owners cabin with a separate heads in this aft space.

Machinery

3 Perkins 6354 6cyl diesel engines.

Port and starboard engines:  turbo charged perkins 6354 with borg warner hydraulic gearboxes.  Single lever controls

Centre line engine:   normally aspirated Perkins 6354 with 500D PRM gearbox.  Single lever controls.

Long steel shafts to 3 blade bronze propellers gives 10 knots cruising, 14 knots max speed.

2 x 500L steel diesel tanks port and starboard in the engine room. Easily accessible primary fuel filters with water separators for each engine.

24volt electrics with dedicated engine starting and separate domestic battery banks.

Very smart engine room with all cabling contained in ducting, all fuel lines securely held and flame resistant insulation all round.

Inventory

Silva compass

Raymarine A65 plotter/log/sounder

Furuno Radar

9 assorted fire extinguishers

35kg CQR anchor

25kg CQR anchor

Bruce kedge anchor

70m 3/8” chain

70m 10mm warp

10’ clinker dinghy

5hp Mariner outboard

Warps and fenders

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.