22' Searles Power Cruiser (1950) - ARGUS

Is there a more romantic story than one which features a classic boat? She may have been built for work but with a refit completed in 2020, the Argus is all about pleasure, both for her picnicking passengers and those who spy her putting along Tasmania’s gorgeous Huon River.

The legend is that she was built by PT Searles of Port Adelaide for BHP in the early nineteen fifties where she first served in Port Pirie. At some point, she retired to the Murray where, in 2009, she was rescued from the bottom by SA wooden boat identities Tim and Anne Potter. We purchased her in 2013 and enjoyed many weekend cruises, and a blissful honeymoon, along the ancient waterway. Continuing the suspense and drama in her narrative, she sank in shallow water whilst returning from the 2015 South Australian Wooden Boat Festival. The salvage sparked a full restoration beginning in SA and finishing in Tasmania. Carvel planked in Oregon, the new wheelhouse was constructed from repurposed Oregon from an old shed. The interior fittings now also feature Tasmania’s unique timbers of Huon Pine and Celery Top Pine.

She was re-launched just in time for the 2019 Australian Wooden Boat Festival where the Potters were able to survey their Ol’ Lady. Tim has since sadly taken his last voyage and his loving salvage and salvation will be forever be cherished in her log.