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Ocean Mist
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Ocean Mist
is one of the very few boats on Lake Taupo with a concrete hull. This
unusual hull does not mean that she is any heavier than a boat of
comparable size.
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Ocean Mist
was built ten years ago in Taupo by Athol Mason, an engineer who owned
the Midland Steel Company. When he retired he took her to Tauranga and
she remained there until Jack Lamb bought her in 1984 and moved her back
here.
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Forty feet long with a beam of 13ft, she is a Hartley design, is a big
open boat with plenty
of space in the cabin.
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Her interior is rimu and is of traditional style with a large open cabin
that combines with the cockpit where she is driven from. Down below in
front is the galley which is also open to the cabin and has plenty of
headroom. Up forward there is a toilet and shower and a cabin with two
beds.
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Ocean Mist's
ferro-concrete hull is very strong and does not normally hole when
hitting an obstacle. Instead, it shatters and is very easily repaired.
When she was built, steel reinforcing was fitted over the metal framing,
then covered with mesh netting and plaster laid on both sides. The hull
has a 4' 6" displacement in the water. Although she does roll she has
the ability to ride beautifully in the water.
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Jack who uses her for private use for his family, retired to Taupo a few
years ago. Before owning Ocean Mist, he owned and sailed Upanoff, a half-ton yacht. He has also had an interest in flying
which started when he was in the Second World War. He ran an aerial
spraying programme in Bangladesh in 1975 under a government aid
programme and also a float plane in Fiji for Turtle Island Airways.
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Jack enjoys sailing on the lake and is a crew member on the
Loloma
when she goes out.
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