Historic scow shifted for major restoration work
The historic scow Alma, on its way up the Waitapu Estuary last week.
The last deck-loading scow in the country, the 23.7m (79ft) Alma, which has been tied up at Waitapu Wharf for the last two-and-a-half years, was shifted on 30 March so that she could undergo some major restoration work on her undersides.
Nearly a dozen mates turned up before the five-metre high tide peaked just before 11am to help owners Geoff Benge and Bronwyn Billens move the historic craft the half kilometre up the estuary to Jimmy Persson’s land, where Geoff had prepared a steel cradle so the Alma could be towed out of the water by a waiting digger and bulldozer. Everything went according to plan and the activity attracted more than a few onlookers. After the ropes were initially cast off, Geoff cranked up the scow’s two big Kelvin diesel engines and reversed her out to where two dinghies with outboards were waiting to act as tiny tugboats, nudging the Alma around to get her going up the channel, which had been precisely marked with buoys.
“My heart was in my mouth the whole time,” said Bronwyn, who chose to stay on land and take photos for the record. “I’ll certainly miss going up and down with the tides every day, but it’s one of our last big jobs that has to be done.”
Geoff’s challenge now will be to replace all the “sacrificial boards” lining the entire flat-bottom exterior of the scow, which protect the main bottom planks from the regular beaching that the boat was designed for. Geoff says the old totara boards he has to take off were only replaced around 15 years ago, but they too have come to the end of their life.
“Totara was traditionally used because it resists boring worms better than other native timbers,” he says. “Underneath these boards is a thick matted felt soaked in coal tar that I’ll be replacing also. The whole job will probably take me around a year.”
Launched in 1902 by Nicholls Brothers, boatbuilders of Waiheke Island, the Alma worked mainly along the Northland coastline for the next 80 years, although as least one manifest puts it as far south as Dunedin. As there is no cargo space below; her entire load of up to 130 tonnes was carried on deck, making her ideal for carting big loads of native timber or sand and shingle, all of which had to be wheelbarrowed on and off via a plank, often between tides.
Since Geoff purchased the scow and sailed her down from Hokianga, his boat has undergone a fair transformation. Most notable is the new roomy cabin, kitchen and awning area that now occupies around two-thirds of the 7.8m-wide deck space. The next job planned on this floating labour of love will be restoration of the wheelhouse.
Gerard Hindmarsh
