OUTING ON THE STEAM PADDLEWHEELER DECOY
09 Apr 2018
Once more Outing Officers Jenny and Peter from The Probus Club of Fremantle came up with an innovative and most enjoyable day. There were 21 members and friends who enjoyed the three hour tour on the Steam paddlewheeler decoy.
The boat went from South Perth to about the middle of Melville Waters before returning. When the final payment was made, members received a discount of $60 which Jenny used to make platters of savouries and plates of cakes. Everyone was grateful for her culinary skills as otherwise; they would have needed to purchase food onboard. Entertaining them was the Swinging at the Savoy jazz band. We all know that Perth has a beautiful waterways but leisurely cruising highlighted the beauty.
The 25.9m Decoy built in 1986 at Australian Shipbuilding Industries is an exact replica of the original Paddle wheeler Decoy built in Scotland in 1905, disassembled and shipped to Melbourne to be reassembled. It sailed to Fremantle and was a river cruiser before returning to Victoria. The current Paddle wheeler Decoy has a 1905 Ransome, Sims and Jefferies twin cylinder engine that was used in a Bunnings timber mill in the Manjimup area. It uses diesel fuel fan sprayed into the firebox. It effortlessly propels the Decoy at a leisurely 3.5 knots (approximately 6.5km/h).
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