Sea Queen Runabout Deluxe 15' Timber Ski Boat Fully Restored

This 15-foot Sea Queen Runabout Deluxe was designed and built by Reg Lewis in Sydney during 1956. It was built for Bruce Cross and cost 350 pounds ($700) as a bare hull. Bruce bought a Holden 138-cubic-inch ‘Grey’ six-cylinder engine from a car wrecker in Maitland and had it marinised by a local engineering company before installing it in the boat. Bruce named the boat ‘Playtoy’ after the timber hydroplane named ‘Miss Playtoy’ owned by his father Arthur. That hydro had been very successfully raced by Arthur, and had won many races including taking out the 1928 trophy of Australian Champion in 1928.

Bruce owned a dairy farm in Lansdowne, NSW, and spent every weekend pulling local skiing enthusiasts behind ‘Playtoy’ on the Lansdowne river. Bruce found that the engine was very economical so they could ski for several hours on just 20 litres of fuel. He clearly remembers people arriving on horseback carrying drums of fuel so they could join in the skiing behind ‘Playtoy’. Bruce, now aged 87, also fondly remembers buying a tachometer from Prouds the jewellers in Sydney that he was told came out of an airplane – that tacho is still in the boat today! The current owners found the boat during 2012 at the shop of Fred Williams Water Skis in Forster, NSW.

“The uniqueness of the boat really appealed to us and we thought the fins were fantastic. I always look for solid provenance and originality in a boat, and I loved being able to gain the history of this one from the original owner Bruce Cross who I tracked down. He was very helpful and is now thrilled to see the boat restored and loved by us as much as he loved it.” “When we bought the Sea Queen from Fred Williams, we took it back to our workshop/shed and found that the timberwork was in a very poor state. We undertook a thorough restoration, taking the opportunity to replace the rotting plywood decking and to add signature white-edge stripes which become the fins at the rear of the boat. The plywood decking and fins were re-skinned and re-attached.

The signwriting was all hand painted as it would have been in the 1950s.” “The Holden engine had not been run since before 1980, so we had that reconditioned including replacing the blown starter motor. The curved timber engine box was re-skinned and stained to match the original decking. The upholstery needed restoration, so that was replaced in the bespoke 1950s red and white vinyl. The original timber trailer had only a static axle so that was upgraded to include leaf springs, a new axle and new wheels. After a lot of paperwork and restoration photographs being exchanged, we managed to reinstate the original registration number V14N through the RMS.” The Sea Queen is of Bondwood construction with hardwood in places and a plywood deck.

The original Holden 138 Grey engine cruises the boat at around 25 mph and hits 40 mph at top speed. The engine has direct drive to a bronze three-blade prop which is thought to be original. An aft-mounted 40 litre tank holds the fuel. “The timber fins are just entrancing, they turn heads wherever we go! We just love the 1950’s cars that had the big fins, and love the fact that our boat has them too!

It’s because of them and their similarity to the styling of cars and boats used by the popular cartoon character Batman that we re-named the boat ‘The Bat Boat’.” The "Bat Boat "is featured in Graeme Lloyd's Wood On Water Coffee table book, and we thank Graeme for the use of his photographs. Sadly we need room for our next restoration, so the Bat Boat must find a new owner. If you are looking for something unique and bespoke this is where you will find it. Inspections welcome, at Lake Macquarie just one hour north of Sydney on the M1.