Mermaid: 39ft Luxury Launch Built By Jorgensens and Sons

1991

Build Date

John G Alden/ Jorgenson and Sons Ltd.

Boat Designer/ Boat Builder

39.8 ft

Length

12.9 ft

Beam

Mermaid in The Picton Paper, November 1991

Launching the Mermaid

The launch of Mermaid in 1991 was a big deal for Picton and Jorgensen and Sons. It was reported in the Picton Paper and the Marlborough Express and they detailed Mermaid’s build and features. As the 40^th launch built by Jorgensen and Sons Ltd. there was a lot to celebrate. On the launch day the Mermaid was christened by Mrs Esme Moore with a bottle of champagne and a large crowd gathered to watch.

Commissioned by P.J. Moore the boat took over a year to build and took all 16 Jorgensen and Sons Ltd. staff to finish, though there were four main workers assigned to it. The yard completed everything on the boat except the electrics. Moore had previously had a boat called Capella which he had taken to Jorgenson and sons for all its maintenance. So, when he wanted to replace Capella he took a 1968 design by Massachusetts designer John G Alden to Jorgensen and Sons asking them to build it in wood.

The brief Moore took to the boat yard was clear. He told John Langdale, the general manager of Jorgensen and Sons Ltd., he “wanted a top-quality timber boat glassed over for maintenance”. Moore had a bach in the Marlborough Sounds, so he needed a boat to work as an all-weather commuter from Waikawa to his holiday home and for cruising around the Marlborough Sounds on holiday. Having served in the navy on a ship called Mermaid, it is thought this influenced Moore’s choice in name.

Mermaid’s Design

The original design was for a carvel planked boat but with Moore wanting to minimise maintenance they updated the plan. Instead, the boat was made with a cold moulded hull and three skins of kauri. Laminated timber was used for the frames and stem with two quarter inch diagonals and one three-eighths fore and aft. The Keel was made from Australian hardwood. Langdale stated this construction made the boat “immensely strong and lighter than the original carvel would have been”. Outside the boarding platform, railings and deck were made from Burmese teak though the teak deck was laid over one-and-a-half-inch marine plywood.

Inside the boat was finished with kauri and a teak trim. In the aft cabin there were berths for three people in two bunks with a shower and ensuite toilet. The forward cabin could sleep two people and had its own “head”. The galley was in the wheelhouse and below the wheelhouse was the 120hp Cummins 6b six-cylinder engine and two 300 gallon fuel tanks. To drive the engine there were two stations with hydraulic steering, one in the wheelhouse and the other on the flybridge. As well as the engine the Mermaid was designed with a Oregon mast and sail.

It is unknown what happened to the Mermaid after her launch day.

Black and white image of a boat called Mermaid on a slipway trolley. The boat has flags tied to its mast. The image cam from a newspaper article. — Mermaid in the Marlborough Express

References

To research Mermaid we used jorgensenboats.nz, The Picton Paper 27 November 1991 and Marlborough Express November 1991

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