Everingham Boats

[Riverbend]

Hi, I am a new member to cawpba. I recently purchase a 1969 Everingham and since then have been searching for general information on wooden Everingham boats and can't find much at all. Would one of the members have this information and mind sharing it.

Some history on my boat, it was built in 1969 for the Central Qld Water Ski Club and was replaced by a fiberglass Everingham in 1972, as was the origional 289 for a 302. It is a bondwood clinker called Skidaddle 4. It was then purchased by John Edd who I have contact with and he has kept a eye one on the where abouts of the boat up to me purchasing it a few months ago. John has written me a 4 page history on the boat which is great. John tells me that when he contacted Bert Everingham in the early ninties Bert was suprised that the boat was still in use and said it was the last timber clinker he built in that era and then told John the formula for the red colored stain used on the hull.

The boat under went a restoration about 10 years ago but the hull now needs some work to bring it back to it's former glory. However the boat is very servicable and I have taken it for a few runs just to feel it out.

I am a member of a waterski club on the Maroochy River and even though we use our plastic boats regularly there is an increasing pashion emerging in the club for memebers to own a woody. There is a small but didicated group that have a number of Seacraft, a couple of hulls called a Ski-Hi, one Hammond and my Everingham. I have put them onto the clubs web site and you may have some new members soon. One of my mates Ian just bought the Seacraft that has been at Shannons it's a 1964 from memory, he is busy tidying it up and assembling it as it was in pieces when he bought it a few weeks ago.

I have rambled on enough for my first post and will keep in contact. Hope to hear some history on Everingham boats
Glen Ferguson

[DaveD]

Hi Glen,
Firstly, welcome to the club.
Are you are able to post some photos?
Bert Everingham is still around, I understand some of the others members have contacted him about their boats.
There are a few Everinghams in the club, photos & videos can be found in the past events & videos section. There is some great footage of Melodee at Forster in the Bulletin Board.
The names I can think of at the moment are, Vamoose, Screamin Eagle III, Melodee but there are more.
If you are able to make it to Narranderra there will hopefully be 3 more from SA, Ol Skool, Frisky & Jayme II which is my Everingham.
Dave

[Riverbend]

Hi Dave thanks for the welcome, I will try and post a few photos if successful you will notice the boat is on 2 different trailers I am looking a making a new period looking trailer to replace the black one it is currently on. The white trailer is one I am thinking of copying. I tried the different trailer last weekend and if I make a new one it will need tobe a bit longer and have a winch as the ramp at my place is quite step and with the angle floating on just doesn't work some times.

Do you know it there was periods when the Everingham designs changed as an example engine cover arrangments, cav plate design that give clues to the age and or dates of the boats? Do you know when Bert started building boats?

I you would like more detailed photos for any reason I came send them.

Cheers Glen

[DaveD]

Certainly does look like its in very tidy condition.
I,m far from an expert an Everingham so maybe other members may be able to assist with some of your questions.
The things I have noticed are that is similar in shape to Jayme II & Melodee, I believe earlier boats are more blunt in the bow shape, it has the same windscreen, the trim on the inside of the cockpits is quite often polished aluminum.
As for cav plate, its wood the same as Jayme II but mine has external steering. I,ve also seen them with smaller metal cav plates. Not sure if this is an era thing or what purpose it was built for.
Think Jayme II was built about 1967, maybe earlier but haven,t chased it up yet, have newspaper article of it racing early in 1968.
How long is Skidaddle 4, looks about 16ft plus?
Dave

PS
If you have the formula for the RED used on the Everingham boats, I think many members would be interested in it.

[Riverbend]

Hi Dave,
Thank for the reply. The trim on the inside edge of the boat is aluminium and under further investigation it has been powder coated black. looking at the back edge on some of the trim corrosion pitting in visable so I figure it was coloured black to hide any marks for a uniformed appearance.

Also just checked the length excluding the cav plate it is 15' 6" funny it looks longer than that it must be the narrow beam. Checking the tint for the stain on the hull, information I have is that it is a mix of magenta,black and orange and it was bagged onto the bare timber and the excess wiped off this process was then done a second time. Then a small amount 100ml to 4 litres of tint was added to the first coat of clear. Then three more coats of clear were applied over the next three days.

It is reasonably tidy but is showing cracks in the clear in the deck and to greater extend right under the boat on what I would call the keel I suppose which is about 50mm wide and the fin and skeg attach to it, in the future I will need to address the hull and have someone who knows what they are looking at check it out as I am new to timber boats. Every thing else is really good.

Glen

[Alan]

Hi Glen,
welcome to the club and the board, hope we can see you and the boat at Narrandera.

Alan.

[bootlegger]

Hi Glen Welcome. Bert is living up at Tinonee near Taree. I can probably give you his number if you contact me.
By the way the boat looks great. dave

[Greg]

G'day Glen and welcome.

To give you a bit of an idea of what they looked like, I have emailed you a selection of pictures of a few Everinghams that are still very close to original.

Greg

[Riverbend]

Thankyou for the welcome all,

Greg thanks for the photos.
In a previous post I mentioned the redish stain on the boat, well I have been on the trail and will cut in a bit of a email I just receive about the red tint from the guy that painted the boat. It may not be of any use you never know.

"Found an old near empty glass bottle with a hand written label showing " Dulux, Magenta, V-Tint" with two numbers 324 and 51888. There was a second plastic bottle of Dulux Trade, Professional Tinter, Black. Did not find any other tints which raises doubts in my mind if ' orange' did form part of the tint colour. The black was applied to the decking trim and varnished over after drying without being wiped down. Some black was added to the Magenta and bagged onto the bare timber hull but it was wiped down before the varnish was applied and 100mls of tint went into 4 litres of Feast Watson marine varnish for the hull's first coat, the three coats that followed were clear.
We have been in this house/home for 33 years, the business premises for 28 years and there's lots of nooks and crannies so something else may turn up, let me know if you have any queries."

Does anyone know when the Bert Everingham started building these types of boats?

Glen

[Bob Vic]

I had the pleasure of visiting Bert's 'factory' on the banks of thre Hawkesbury to do a story for PowerBoat magazine. The Everingham story is fascinating. Bert's grandfather settled on the site and was a boat builder, building barges that were used on the Hawkesbury to transport goods all the way up and down the river. Bert's boat building shed was built by his grandfather who with a mate, cut down a tree then cut up the one tree by hand to build the shed. All done from one tree (bloody big tree) and all done by hand! Men were made of harder stuff in those days. Bert is a living legend who from all accounts has retained to this day his passion and interest in timber boat building.

Bob