TNA ADM 334 83

DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
THE MERCURY CRUISER
CHAIN
LOCKER
STABILITY
DRAWER
LOCKER
LOCKER UNDER
A 3" oak keel is carried well aft and scarphed to a proper oak stem backed by grown oak deadwoods,
LOCKER
which are through bolted to each other by means of copper bolts. The specific advantage of this keel is that it enables the boat to take the ground without damage to propeller or shafting.
EXTRACT FROM THE
YACHTING WORLD
SAFETY
0
O
DATED 6th DEC., 1938
The hull planking is through fastened with copper nails properly clenched (or riveted) on copper
SEAT
SALOON
GALLEY
WATERMOTA ENGINE
NEW 24-FOOTER WITH
cupped rooves (or washers), a detail which should not be overlooked when purchasing a boat.
COCKPIT
MOTOR CASE
TOILET
F ROM the yard of Kris
COMFORT
Cruisers, Ltd., of
Road, Isleworth, many Ferry
The large cockpit is made particularly comfortable by a leatherette cushion seat and padded back,
24' x 7' 6" x2" 6".
each motor cruisers are launched small which is arranged athwart ships at the aft end, underneath which is a locker forming an extra store go type down that the appeals estuary to the man who wants to spend some of his built little craft of are wellyear. They for spare petrol cans, ropes, fenders, etc., thus keeping the cockpit completely free for use, should conditions The latest are favourable. boat completed or round the coast sometimes when time week-ends is available on the and river, when but weather just likes the to you wish to have a meal in the open air (provision having been made for accommodating the table).
The feature of the saloon is that it is very light and well ventilated by six large opening windows, frames 10-32 h.p. and four-cylinder American elm Watermota timbers, is the with engine 24-footer mahogany shown fittings, here. cabin She sides is planked and with pitch pine on oak together with a sliding hatch over the galley, which makes the cooking very much more pleasant.
marine Equipment Ford conversion is liberal, is preferred the cost installed rises to £425. the price is only £395, cockpit or if a trim." 24 h.p. With Kris a
CONVENIENCE
followed and as Vi-spring adequate by a settee well-laid-out berths in considering cabin the comfortable with excellent the very little head moderate cabin. Right price. forward It even is a includes properly such fitted refinements
The reverse lever, together with the throttle control, is brought up close to the helmsman, and makes the boat very easy to handle in congested traffic or when passing through locks. As usual, a
From a practical cooking point facilities. The engine is under room, a low plenty casing of light at the from main the big cabin side entrance. lavatory, windows
K.C. Silencer is fitted, which eliminates an unpleasant noisy exhaust, thus enabling one to talk freely of view the cockpit is just without having to raise the voice.
the right size. It is big enough for quite a large day party, and, while it is deep enough for safety at
PROTECTION
sea, one does not sit in it so low as to lose good visi-
The engine is efficiently housed under a watertight mahogany casing. The petrol tank is fitted aft bility. Another good point, in such a manner that the copper vent pipe is outside and not inside the vessel, and so minimising really have experience showing that the designers the risk of fire. Any overflow of petrol, when filling, cannot run into the bilges. A Junior Pyrene
Fire Extinguisher is also installed.
small-boat fore cruising, is the of trunk hatch set in the raised little deck. An excellent low fore and not in the
ACCOMMODATION
ted be examined and can boat, in fact, which
Besides the two comfortable berths in the saloon, it is possible to sleep two more persons on and in a really critical tesimprovised mattresses in the cockpit with every comfort, under a specially designed awning which will emerge with credit. spirit completely envelopes the whole of the cockpit. (An extra charge of £15 is made for the awning and necessary equipment.)
[By kind permission of THE MOTOR BOAT.)
difficulties that there was were a bit the of morning a breeze of and the a 31st little May, popple which lee side made on it the of on very the other difficult side during to the embark previous troops, night except the used. water on was so smooth the that ship, it did not matter which side was
(4) It is quite clear, the from Navy the collected time at which the small I was boats first warned by way for of inte duty, lligent that anticipation, many of us were

ru
OF
and
7
HOSPITAL
ITS
Cep?, ficulty so I went of taking troops on board from the quay high above 2.
20
that were already alongside a destroyer (Worcester again I us was
DOVINIA
TT
ONE
JB
16af had ertain ever had on optimism) that I could take a hundred (though him the (with degree of embarking. I got hold of her captain and think) told where ary C.O., said "Go ahead. Take all you can."
board was 3 2I). He, after consultation with the mili- most
NETTE
SW
night I may say here that before leaving Cubitts Yacht Basin we had worked tend to stripping her down of everything movable, masts included, that all would
STATE
lighten her and make for more room.
Roger, as previously arranged, packed the troops in down below -- and say he did the packing to some purpose. On deck I detailed one naval rat- I'll ing on?" to tally the troops aboard. Atv 50 I called below "How are you getting
THE
receiving the cheery reply "Oh plenty of room yet." At 75 he admitted they were getting just a bit cramped -- all equipment and arms were being left on deck -- so I told him to let it go at that and pack them on deck (having passed the word for every man to lie down and not move, the same applied on deck.) By the time we had 50 on deck, I could feel her getting distinctly tender, so took no more, Actually we had exactly I30
on board including 3 Sundowners and 5 Westerlys. (Insert note I p. )
During the whole embarkation we had quite a lot of attention from enemy planes but derived an amazing degree of comfort from the bark of the
Worcester's A.A. gun overhead.
Casting off and backing out we again entered the Roads, where it was continuous and unmitigated hell. The troops were just splendid and of their own initiative, detailed look-outs ahead, astern and abeam for inquisitive planes as my attention was pretty well occupied watching the course and passing word to Roger at the wheel. Anytime an aircraft seemed inclined to try its hand on us, one of the look-outs would just call quitely, "Look out for this bloke, Skipper" at the same time pointing. One bomber that had been particularly offensive, itself came under the notice of one of our fighters and suddenly plunged vertically, hitting the sea at some 400
m.p.h., about 50 yards astern. It was a sight never to be forgotten -- so were many others for that matter. Incidentally, it was the one and only time that any man on board, ever raised his voice above a conversational tone, but as that big black bomber hit the deck they all raised an echoing cheer. (Insert
My youngest son Pilot Officer Lightoller (lost on the very day war broke out, in the first raid on Wilhelmshaven) flew a Blenheim and had at different times given me a whole lot of useful information about attack, defence and evasive tactics (at which I learned later, he was particularly good) and I attribute in a great measure, our success in getting across without a single casulaty to his unwitting help.
On one occasion an enemy machine came up astern at about IOO ft with the obvious intention of raking our decks. He came down in a nice gliding dive, but I knew that he must elevate some IO or I5 degrees before his gur would bear (I really wanted wasn't worrying much about bombs). Calling my son at the wheel to "Stand-by," I waited till as near as I could judge, he was just on the point of pulling up, then "Hard-a-port." (She will tu