Community
14 December, 2022
A boat builder’s dream
IN 1970, local man, John C. Hay, came across an unfinished log boat in the upper tributary of Trinity Inlet.
The curious object was the means a Canadian man had hoped would transport him home.
Hay reported that the craft had a hull 40 feet (12.16 metres) long and a beam of 16 feet (4.86 metres). It was constructed of mangrove logs cut from the local scrub.
“A cabin of sorts, also made of mangrove logs, stood tall at aft waterproofed by sheets of corrugated iron,” and the cabin was “streamlined to a sharp stern much higher than the bow”, he said.
According to local legend, the builder, Alfred John Mooney, had an ambitious plan to sail back to Canada in the vessel.
Despite the area being infested with mosquitos and sandflies, and frequented by crocodiles, Mooney worked arduously on his project for many years. It is said he would wait for the night tides to help float his logs upstream to the building site.
Hay observed that the logs used were 18 inches (45 centimetres) in diameter and held together by steel bolts of up to 48 inches (1.21 metres) long.
It is believed the boat builder intended to fill the gaps between the logs with smaller strips of timber and a tar and oakum mixture which was often used to caulk the seams of wooden boats.
Mooney may have been inspired by William Willis, writer and adventurer, who sailed from South America to Australia in 1963/64 on a vessel of similar construction. Willis’ raft was 34 feet (10.4 metres) in length and also built of logs.
The 71 year-old Willis sailed from Callao on July 5, 1963, and arrived at Tully Heads, Queensland on September 9, 1964. He had sailed 10,000 miles with only one stop at Apia aboard his raft which was named “Age Unlimited”.
He had published books about his previous exploits which Mooney may have read:
“The Gods Were Kind” (1955) later retitled “The Epic Voyage of the Seven Little Sisters” (1955), and “Damned and Damned Again” (1959).
Sadly, Mooney did not live to complete his log boat or sail back to Canada, he died in 1968 which coincidently, was the same year Willis disappeared, presumed drowned.
Over the years the abandoned log boat has slowly deteriorated with the mangrove swamp reclaiming its timber. Fortunately, the notes and photographs taken by John C. Hay in 1970 have ensured the boat builder’s dream is not forgotten.
Sources: Mulgrave Shire Historical Society (MSHS), Wikipedia, TROVE.
