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Keel for the model skiff THELMA
Keel for the model skiff THELMA

Keel for the model skiff THELMA

Maker
Datec 1942
Object number00003051
NameKeel
MediumMetal.
DimensionsOverall: 660 x 245 x 50 mm, 9 kg
ClassificationsToys, games and souvenirs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Allan Moran
DescriptionThe keel for the 2-foot model skiff THELMA. The 2-foot model skiff was made by Allan Moran. It also includes a mast, boom, hull and set of three replica sails: mainsail, jib and peak head spinnaker (00003052 - 00003055).HistoryAllan Moran, born 1913 in Birchgrove, began sailing circa 1924 on the THELMA with the Birchgrove 14-Foot Sailing Club. He sailed on the 14-foot skiff MISSOURI. During the Depression he sailed 14-foot skiffs and was familiar with the 12-foot canvas dinghies that sailed from Pyrmont and Balmain. During the late 1930s and early 1940s Allan made several model skiffs which were raced in Birchgrove and Sydney Harbour in the 1940s. During the winter months members of the sailing fraternity would race model skiffs on a Sunday afternoon. Allan sailed with all the well known sailing families in Sydney including the Phillips, Robinsons, Barnes, and Boyds. In 1946 Allan became assistant Secretary of the Sydney Flying Squadron and carried out official duties until he resigned in the early 1960s over the controversial decision to allow the revolutionary designed TAIPAN with its smaller crew to race against the more conventional 18-foot skiffs with their larger crew. An oral history interview conducted with Allan Moran has been placed in the Vaughan Evans Library at the Australian National Maritime Museum.SignificanceThis well provenanced model is finely made and is a good example of the 2-foot model class that raced in the rougher waters of Sydney Harbour during the winter season.