I am part of a small maritime museum down here in Paynesville , Victoria, Australia who are working to record the local maritime heritage before it is all lost. The story is long and interesting as the Gippsland Lakes were well serviced, pre-railways, with a fleet of small ships and steamers and had a flourishing fishing industry – almost all of the ships and boats being of wood construction. Most is gone now but has progressively been replaced by a thriving tourist industry centred on recreational boating.
The purpose of contacting you is that we have acquired the “frames” used a station moulds by a local boatbuilder in constructing a high performance racing runabout for a customer and in the process of finding more we have tracked down the now 96 year old owner who provided the attached photos. He said it was a USA design from the E-Class but could not remember anything further.
If anyone can you shed any light on the ‘E-Class Runabout” from around 1953 and/or point us in the best direction please?
The boatbuilder concerned is a focal point of our museum display as we have his workbench, some tools and his drawing board and equipment so it would be nice to wrap it all together with the E-Class story.
Rob Cook
(Click my name to send me an email)
Info regards Gay Zephyr; boat raced in 60/70s around Gippsland Australia. at Sale, Glenmaggie Weir, Lake Wellington and at Lake Gutheridge in Sale. I think there is also a picture of it on the walls of the Victorian Speedboat Club at Eppalock Victoria.
I think the owner was from Sale.
The boat also raced over the Christmas Carnivals at Paynesville, Metung and Lakes Entrance.
There use to be an endurance race from Metung to Marley Point in which it competed. The boat was a beautifully constructed carval plank hul.l