Unique Shell Features

You may recall in an earlier post how I mentioned Ben Harp had informed our solicitor he had sold our boat and that the boat at his premises was a different boat.  Despite having a court order giving us the right to inspect the boat, we were denied access.  During this time extensive work was done to modify the boat.  Eventually, after the court order had been served, our solicitors were informed I would be able to inspect the boat.   My assumption is they believed the boat was sufficiently modified that I wouldn’t recognise it.  We immediately accepted the offer and advised I would be accompanied by the boat builder, Tim Tyler to inspect Waiouru.  The offer to inspect was withdrawn the same day!

Just under a week later, armed with a court order, we were able to access the yard and inspect the boat.  Tim Tyler inspected the boat and confirmed to both myself and the police it was the boat he had built for us. 

I subsequently asked Tim if he would provide me with the unique identifying features that enabled him to confirm he built the boat for us.  His reply was the vessel had the following features:

• The layout and style of the boat identified it as a Tim Tyler shell.
• The boat has a 20mm base plate. This is unusual and was specifically requested by us. Tim Tyler Boat Builders has not built another boat with a 20mm base plate during the last few years.
• The boat still had the unique satellite dome mounts on the roof.
• The location, size and layout of the portholes and hatches exactly matched those of the vessel Tim Tyler had constructed for us.
• Some of the methods of construction used are unique to Tim Tyler Boat builders and this made the vessel easy to identify.
• Because the boat was built on a 2 metre wide 20mm base plate it has an additional fold to the hull side to facilitate its construction.

So, not having a near standard shell was a significant factor in being able to quickly identify the boat as Waiouru.