Boat Of The Month - Walter Rayner 38

The 38ft twin-screw timber motoryacht Pankina

was commissioned by the Australian opera singer, the late Dame Joan Hammond DBE CMG and her friend Lolita Marriott when they were based in the UK. Knowing that the boat’s ultimate home would be Australia, fellow expatriate and renowned naval architect Walter F. Rayner was chosen as designer.

Rayner selected the Sandbanks Yacht Co. of Sandbanks, Dorset as builder. Pankina’s keel was laid in July 1962 and she was launched in March 1963. Berthed at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Poole, she sailed the waters of the south coast of England (with frequent crossings to France) until shipped as deck cargo to Australia in 1967.

Kept on Pittwater, NSW, for the following nine years, Pankina was eventually sold in April 1976. Changing hands three times since, she has been with her current owner from December 1987. She underwent a complete, no-expense-spared, 18-month refit commencing in May 1988.

Pankina, an Aboriginal word meaning “to be happy” or “happiness”, retains her British Registration and Signal Letters.

Rayner’s design was unique: a powerful twin-screw motorcruiser with the elegant lines of a sailing yacht (an illusion maintained by her not insubstantial Bermudan steadying rig). He also incorporated a shoal draught — ideal for crossing the shallow river bars of the East Coast of Australia. (Appropriately, he named the design Tasman Class).

FINE TIMBERS
Pankina was built to the most exacting standards, with nothing but the finest quality timbers and inclusions: her keel and frames are oak, her hull 7/8in iroko — fully splined and roved — on 7in centres.

Her interior is mahogany, hardwear is Simpson Lawrence, fittings Gibb, sailing monitors B&G and head Blake.

The twin 56hp Parsons Pike diesels are economical and provide effortless handling and a comfortable cruising speed of 8kts. In addition, her steadying rig can provide comfort, economy and safety — not to mention the pleasure of passagemaking under sail alone.

Fuel and water are in stainless steel tanks of 454lt and 444lt total capacity respectively. Combined fuel consumption for the two engines is said to be about 9lt per hour at 8kts (1700rpm) for a range of 400nm.

On either side of her semi-enclosed wheelhouse is a cushioned two-seater locker aft of the navigator seat and a starboard skipper’s seat facing the helm with traditional ships wheel, engine controls and instrumentation. Gauges are mostly VDO, and the marine radios, entertainment system, and EPIRB all GME.

A central hatch in the wheelhouse bulkhead and companionway ladder leads forward to the saloon. Immediately to port is the galley with two-burner gas stove-oven and sink, and opposite a fully enclosed head with hand basin and shower. In between under the sole is the wine bin.

Dominating the saloon is a central drop-leaf table (designed to be easily moved and installed in the wheelhouse/cockpit) with cushion seating for five. Beneath the portside seat (which can double as a bunk), lies the 60lt freezer. The 100ft refrigerator is to starboard and also inbuilt.

Through the forward bulkhead door is the forecastle with a single berth either side, while aft of the wheelhouse/cockpit is a central hatch and companionway ladder to the stateroom. This cabin comprises two generous single berths either side of a central full-length wardrobe incorporating an enclosed wash basin.

There are laid teak decks throughout and aft of the cockpit, davits and a cavernous lazerette. Her tender is a white hulled Avon 2.4 RIB with 5hp Tohatsu and 12lt tote tank, and the liferaft an RFD four-man cruising model.

Protecting Pankina from the elements is a suite of covers, including an overall boat cover, three-piece full-length sun awning, wheelhouse storm cover, boom cover, tender cover, outboard cover, windlass cover, and two hatch covers.

FOR SALE
Pankina is lying at vendor Castlegrag Marine’s marina and for sale at $120,000. The dealership is at the foot of Rockley Street, Castlecrag on Sydney’s Middle Harbour. For enquiries, phone (02) 9958 0425, fax (02) 9958 0206, email: info@castlecragmarine.com.au or visit www.castlecragmarine.com.au

(Quick Specs)
Panina
Walter Rayner 38

FOR SALE: $120,000
YEAR: 1963
MATERIAL: Timber
TYPE: Monohull
LENGTH OVERALL: 11.67m (38ft4in)
BEAM: 3.26m
DRAFT: 1.07m
WEIGHT: 10,000kg (dry)
FUEL: 454lt
WATER: 444lt
ENGINE: 2 x 56hp Parsons Pike diesels (port 1850 hours; starboard 1560 hours)
GEARBOX: 2 x Parsons Marineomatic
SAIL AREA: 26m²

(CREW’S VIEWS)
Although built in the UK in the early 1960s, Pankina’s designer, an expatriate Australian, had the foresight to see the motoryacht one day bound for the Antipodes.

For that reason he incorporated a shoal draft in the plans of the 38-footer for crossing the many tricky river bars that dot the Eastern Seaboard. The boat arrived in Australia six years after her launch and was berthed on Sydney’s Pittwater.

The current owner undertook a major refit of Pankina in 1988, apparently sparing no expense on the wooden classic. She is unique and a wonderfully high-quality timber boat.