De Havilland Marine
| Company type | Branch of Hawker de Havilland Australia Pty. Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Boat manufacturing, Shipbuilding |
| Predecessor | de Havilland Aircraft Pty. Ltd. (parent company) |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Frank Bailey (initial design team leader) |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Fate | Operations ceased due to diminishing contracts |
| Headquarters | Homebush Bay, Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Aluminium boats, yachts, patrol boats, work boats |
| Parent | Hawker de Havilland Australia Pty. Ltd. (now Boeing Aerostructures Australia) |
de Havilland Marine operated as a branch of Hawker de Havilland Australia Pty. Ltd., which is currently part of Boeing Australia and rebranded as Boeing Aerostructures Australia.
In response to the decline in aviation manufacturing during the late 1950s, the Australian arm of de Havilland sought to capitalise on its existing expertise by shifting focus towards producing small aluminium boats. These vessels were constructed using methods akin to those applied in aircraft fabrication. The initial design team was led by Frank Bailey, who managed Vampire Production Engineering, commencing in 1959. Subsequently, in 1966, naval architect Alan Payne—noted for designing Australia's inaugural America's Cup challengers, Gretel and Gretel II—joined the design efforts. Notably, de Havilland Australia was responsible for building the mast and rigging for Gretel.
A 1965 article in The Sydney Morning Herald highlighted that the marine division had manufactured approximately 15,000 vessels of various types, with an anticipated yearly output of about 5,000 units. By the conclusion of small boat production in the 1970s, total production had surpassed 55,000 craft.
The large craft segment of de Havilland Marine (registered company number F11799) was situated at the waterfront premises located at 5-7 Burroway Road, Homebush Bay. Due to diminishing new contracts, operations ceased in 1982. Prior to closure, the company produced a range of substantial aluminium vessels serving both domestic and international clients. These included Carpentaria Class Patrol Boats commissioned by Burma and the Solomon Islands, Titan Work Boats for the New South Wales government, as well as constructing the hulls for the Nepean Belle, which remains operational on the Nepean River in NSW.
History
Established in March 1927 in Melbourne, de Havilland Australia began as de Havilland Aircraft Pty. Ltd. By 1930, it relocated to Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, functioning primarily as a representative agency for its parent company while providing assembly, maintenance, and spare parts services for its aircraft lineup. Comprehensive design and manufacturing activities by de Havilland Australia only commenced during the Second World War. After the war's conclusion, the company diversified into aircraft sales alongside engineering and marine vessel production. Following the acquisition of its UK parent company, de Havilland Holdings Ltd, by the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1960, de Havilland Australia adopted the name Hawker de Havilland. Currently owned by Boeing Australia, it was announced on 6 February 2009 that Hawker de Havilland would be renamed Boeing Aerostructures Australia.
Marine craft
In January 1959, Daryl Murray Jones submitted a report to the New Products Committee recommending the launch of small aluminium boat manufacturing in time for the Spring sales period, beginning with an 11 to 12-foot dinghy. A naval architect was engaged to develop a prototype, which was subsequently modified by Frank Bailey, the Vampire Production Engineering Manager. Bailey’s redesign aimed to simplify production, reduce costs, and enhance appeal to the expected customer base.
The Board gave approval on 21 September 1959 for the production of 50 twelve-foot boats, all of which were sold by the end of that year. By the close of 1960, a total of 1,100 boats across four different models had been produced and sold. The brand name Topper was introduced in 1960 to highlight that these boats were lightweight yet robust enough for car-top transportation.
Frank Bailey was responsible for designing the initial aluminium 12-foot Tiki sailing boat as well as the 12-foot fibreglass Vagabond. Later on, de Havilland Marine manufactured three small fibreglass yachts designed by Alan Payne after conducting trials starting in 1966. These models included the 10-foot Gipsy, the 16-foot Corsair, and the 18-foot six-inch trailer/sailer Rambler. By 1976, with 549 units built, the Corsair had achieved national class status, being sailed across five Australian states and Papua New Guinea, with production continuing to this day.
To demonstrate the durability and seaworthiness of their aluminium boats, Leon Simons and Bryan Dodd from de Havilland Marine undertook a notable journey on 8 July 1965, traveling approximately 700 miles from Sydney to Melbourne in a de Havilland "Sea Topper."
In 1964, Ben Lexcen and Craig Whitworth from Miller and Whitworth collaborated with de Havilland Marine to design, manufacture, and market a series of aluminium yacht spars that began to replace traditional wooden spars.
Additionally, in 1960 de Havilland Marine secured a license to produce power boats equipped with a water jet propulsion system developed by Bill Hamilton, founder of C.W.F. Hamilton & Co in New Zealand. A prototype hull fitted with this propulsion unit underwent testing at Rose Bay in New South Wales.
Manufacturing process
The production of aluminium boats began by cutting hull skins and other sheet metal components such as seats using templates beneath a radial arm router. Sections were shaped using a brake press and swaging techniques to create gunwales and hull folds. To reinforce sheet metal panels, a 3,000-ton rubber press was employed. Extruded gunwale, keel, and strake sections were initially formed in a half-hard state for ease of manipulation and drop hammering before being heat-treated in an oven to achieve full hardness. Skin sections were welded onto wooden jigs where seats, gunwales, decks, and extruded parts were then aligned and fastened with rivets. Each boat underwent pressure tank testing to detect any leaks. The completed vessels were painted within temperature-controlled facilities.
De Havilland also manufactured the polyurethane flotation material used inside the boats, shaping and fitting it precisely into place. The company was distinguished for its use of rivets alongside welding to assemble craft components. In marketing materials, this riveting technique was branded as Sealomatic.
Logo and branding
The emblem of the company bore resemblance to other entities within the de Havilland group, featuring the letters D and H layered over stylized aircraft wings, which themselves were placed atop a ship's anchor motif. Throughout the operational period of the marine division, various logo adaptations appeared in newspaper promotions. In 1966, the division was identified as Hawker de Havilland Marine, frequently accompanied by the specific product line name, such as Feathercraft Division.
Range of craft
de Havilland Marine produced a diverse assortment of vessels, spanning from yachts and recreational boats to utility workboats. Their lineup included the Toppercraft series with models like Sea Topper, Standard Topper, Topper Cub, and Topper Playboy; the Feathercraft collection featuring Apache, Bobcat, Comanche, Mustang, Pawnee, Sea Otter, and Seminole; as well as the Yacht series consisting of Corsair, Gipsy 3 m (10 ft) cat-rigged, and Vagabond. Additional boats manufactured encompassed the Customs boat, Hercules, John, and Norseman.
References
Bibliography
- Bain, Gordon. de Havilland: A Pictorial Tribute. London: AirLife, 1992. ISBN 1-85648-243-X.
- Bransom, Alan. The Tiger Moth Story, Fifth Edition. Manchester, UK: Crécy Publishing Ltd., 2005. ISBN 0-85979-103-3.
- Jackson, A J. de Havilland Aircraft since 1909. Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-802-X
- Carolan, A 50 Not Out Hawker de Havilland Limited, 9 May 1996