Length: 6.6m, Beam 2.2m, Draft: 0.45m
Propulsion: inboard diesel
Engine: 3-cylinder Yanmar
Construction: NZ kauri on blackwood, woven matt skin
Owner: Michael Read, Elsternwick Vic.
MV Lorraine started life under sail as a commercial Swan Bay net boat. She was built in 1934 from New Zealand Kauri Pine. In 1956 she was acquired by my great uncle and converted into a cabin cruiser for the “Big Eildon Dam Project”, and for the next 40 years (!!) she resided on a swing mooring at the Eildon Boat Club. In 2007 I embarked on a project to restore her, working my way through three boat builders over some years to get to the current state. Our aim was to make her safe and useable within my budget, not restore a couta boat. My long-term intention is to rebuild a cabin with better lines than the original, but meantime we use her as a day boat, both at Eildon where she lives and occasionally on other waterways such as the Murray and Gippsland Lakes. She’s not the prettiest “couta boat” around, but has a fantastic family history and we love her like a grandma!!