Where it all started! The "Kunene"
A brief history
The Kunene was named after a river which is the border between Namibia and Angola. The Kunene's keel was laid in June 1958 and she was launched in October 1958. The hull was build by Louw & Halvorsen in Cape Town. The aluminium wheelhouse and "whaledeck" was build by Globe engineering in Cape Town. The Kunene had an identical sister ship - Trachurus. The Trachurus was launched in September 1958. Both vessels was owned by the Department of Sea-fisheries until 1986, and was fitted out with bottom trawlers for research purposes. Each boat could accommodate 9 crew members, a Skipper, navigation officer, engineer and 6 crewmen. The navigation officer and engineer's cabin was behind the engine-room, while the Skipper had a cabin in the front of the boat below the whale-deck. The 6 crew had below-deck accommodation in the "focsle". A compartment was located in the "focsle" that housed 2 scientists as well. The boat had 2 laboratories - one in the wheelhouse on the deck and the other below deck.
Length: 70 feet
Year build: 1958
Shipyard: Louw & Halvorsen / Globe Engineering
Engine: Burmeister & Wain (180 hp.)
After being sold off to private owners she served the long-line tuna and chokka fishing industries in South-Africa. As with all sea going vessels she faced many trials and was blown onto shallow reefs 3 times in severe gales. She survived a life at sea thanks to her sturdy construction and was finally decommissioned to the harbor of Port Elizabeth where she lay at anchor with her bilge pumps working around the clock to keep her afloat. After the latter failed one night she came to the unfortunate demise of sinking to the bottom of the harbour floor.
Length: 70 feet
Year build: 1958
Shipyard: Louw & Halvorsen / Globe Engineering
Engine: Burmeister & Wain (180 hp.)
After being sold off to private owners she served the long-line tuna and chokka fishing industries in South-Africa. As with all sea going vessels she faced many trials and was blown onto shallow reefs 3 times in severe gales. She survived a life at sea thanks to her sturdy construction and was finally decommissioned to the harbor of Port Elizabeth where she lay at anchor with her bilge pumps working around the clock to keep her afloat. After the latter failed one night she came to the unfortunate demise of sinking to the bottom of the harbour floor.
This picture was taken during a refit in a drydock.
"Kunene" salvageAfter being bought for ZAR5.00 by salvagers Jimmy Uys and Paul Durandt from South Cape Salvage she was raised off the harbour floor in a mighty salvage operation. The Kunene was beyond repair and was stripped for scrap metal. As part of the deal her timber hull had to be removed and was nearly burnt. She finally came to rest on a grain farm in the Swellendam district where her once gracefull hull lay in segments being given a last bit of character by the hot African sun.
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The "Largo"
History
"Largo" belonged to Mr. Antonio Dipaola from St.Helena Bay. She was used as a purse seiner to fish for the factory of Suid-Oranje Visserye at Sandy Point in St.Helena Bay. She was 65-feet in length and was built by Louw & Halvorsen at Cape Town in 1960. She was sold to Mr. J.D & R.Edwards of Mosselbay and was converted to an inshore trawler. She was then sold to Mariette Fishing and then again to Mosselbay Fishermen CC.
After spending a long time on the slipway in Mosselbay, the "Largo" came to the very ungraceful end of being hacked up and dumped on a landfill site. More information on her history and how she came to be where we found her is currently being investigated and is so far proving to be very intriguing.
Her remnants was carefully collected and transported to our yard where the parts are being carefully dissembled for use as raw material in our exiting furniture.
After spending a long time on the slipway in Mosselbay, the "Largo" came to the very ungraceful end of being hacked up and dumped on a landfill site. More information on her history and how she came to be where we found her is currently being investigated and is so far proving to be very intriguing.
Her remnants was carefully collected and transported to our yard where the parts are being carefully dissembled for use as raw material in our exiting furniture.
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The "Bogenfels"
History
The "Bogenfels was named after a stone arch on the coast of Namibia. She started off as a 55ft chokka boat, serving the chokka industry for many years before she was converted into a private charter fishing boat.
"Bogenfels is a location in the coastal Namib Desert of Namibia, noted for its natural rock formations (hence the name, which means "arch" or rock" in German). The main formation is a 55 metre high rock arch close to the coast."
The giant freezer room that used to hold tons of chokka was ripped out and transformed into bunk rooms for sportfishermen. A large U-shape railway sleeper bar was installed and a gas barbeque in the stern. She was a sturdy vessel powered by a 225hp Detroit Diesel, with a cruising speed of eight knots and a range of 2000 nautical miles.
The giant freezer room that used to hold tons of chokka was ripped out and transformed into bunk rooms for sportfishermen. A large U-shape railway sleeper bar was installed and a gas barbeque in the stern. She was a sturdy vessel powered by a 225hp Detroit Diesel, with a cruising speed of eight knots and a range of 2000 nautical miles.
"Bogenfels" salvage
The "Bogenfels" in the dock during her transformation into a charter boat, her hull displaying the bright-red colour of antifouling. She lived a long life at sea and retired in the Port Elizabeth harbour where she sunk to the harbour floor one night during a storm. Half the boat lay submerged in the water for over a year until a massive salvage operation brought her back onto dry land where she was cut up and transported to our factory in Knysna. The "Bogenfels" has been one of our toughest, yet most rewarding salvage operations as her long life served at sea allows for multiple layers of vibrant coloured paint to emerge in our furniture. Allowing her history and character to be displayed through each piece happens naturally, salvaging the wreck is always the hard part!
Half submerged in the Port Elizabeth harbour.
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