Stratosphere Found

[Deep Purple 530]

I received this email today

Hi Anthony and friends

 

We have a mystery shipwreck in the Pacific - see photos - apparently it was built in NZ in the 1980's - and wrecked on its maiden voyage - anyone know its designer, builder or name ?

 

She is fibreglass and about 80ft long.

 

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Cheers, Graham

 

Dr Graham Wragg

Pacific Expeditions

Cook Islands

[Deep Purple 530]

More

[Deep Purple 530]

Project anyone?

[Guest]

wow !

 

thats pretty cool !!!

[BelowPAR 0]

Stratosphere? Is it well known? Anyone have any photos pre wreckage? Looks interesting..

[Deep Purple 530]

Sundreamer's sistership. Built late 70's sailed to the USA, sold, subsequently wrecked.

Plumb Bows and Vertical Hulls

 

http://www.sundreamer.co.nz/dbsailing.html

[ScottiE 174]

When Graham called earlier today I'm pretty sure he said she was on Christmas Is which didn't make sense ( he's in the Cooks). Have asked him to clarify. He also said the locals knew it came from NZ.

[w44vi 18]

how long has it been there for? since the 80s ?

[Deep Purple 530]

Yep since early 80's

[khayyam 101]

what happened?

[w44vi 18]

considering what it has been through and then sitting under the tropical sun for over 20 years it looks pretty sound

[Guest]

C1 was David Barker's Sundancer, C2 Stratosphere for Gordon Miller and C3 was his well known Sundreamer. Stratosphere was 64 feet overall, had plumb and very rounded bows (which threw clouds of spray) and was heavier than the slightly more higher tech constructed, sharper bowed, 57 foot Sundreamer, so they weren't sister ships - but were obviously Barker designed and of similar appearance.

[Deep Purple 530]

Spoke to the guy for an hour this morning. He says she is in good shape bar a couple of holes. He intends to bring her back to NZ and rebuild her in Whangarei. This is such awesome news. I know david has been looking for her on google earth without success. The guys says that due to trees and colouring you can't see her but she is on christmas island. they are looking at ways to bring her back

 

And coxy, they ARE sisterhips, they came out of the same mould, same designer, same construction, same rig. The differences David made with sundreamer were minor and mainly weightsaving. The bows were angled back a little to avoid the waterspout, as a result and in fact Sundreamer's waterline entrance is blunter. The hulls were angled in to reduce the length of the beams and the sterns shortened by 3 feet. Stratosphere is thus 60'. But what would I know, I've only owned her for 11 years, spent hours with David and poured over the construction diaries of all three boats for hours

[MrWolf 0]

if there is a boat on the planet that throws more spray around than sundreamer we just have to get it back sailing again.

 

it must be an awesome sight 1

[Clipper 375]

imagine the sight of TWO sundreamers sending it up the coast in 25 knots. Would be just awesome.

 

I hope it happens (but wouldn't be holding my breath)

[ScottiE 174]

The guys says that due to trees and colouring you can't see her but she is on christmas island. they are looking at ways to bring her back

 

make her watertight - tow her to S'pore and the put her on the deck of a ship bound for NZ? MAF would go balistic surely?

 

And coxy, they ARE sisterhips, they came out of the same mould, same designer, same construction, same rig. The differences David made with sundreamer were minor and mainly weightsaving. The bows were angled back a little to avoid the waterspout, as a result and in fact Sundreamer's waterline entrance is blunter. The hulls were angled in to reduce the length of the beams and the sterns shortened by 3 feet. Stratosphere is thus 60'. But what would I know, I've only owned her for 11 years, spent hours with David and poured over the construction diaries of all three boats for hours

 

Agreed S'dreamer. Here's another example of a pair of Sisters. They look like sisters - everyone know they're sisters and yet one has much pointier bows than the other - or perhaps the other has fuller bows than the first!

[Clipper 375]

Those 2 look like brothers, not sisters. Scary beasts, the both of them. Horse that ran into a wall is what I think of.

[tuffyluffy 76]

years later a spa pool manufacturer from napier built another one out of the same mould but never paid david a cent. it has been seen chartering in the caribean but is grossly overweight as the guy never approached david for the layup.

 

 

Ahhh - that explains the one i used to ogle as a kid sitting outside the Napier Sailing Club on a swing mouring back in the '80's. Never did see it sail.

[John B 116]

What an amazing story..even more so if they follow though and get her back sailing.

I didn't even know it existed.. I do recall seeing Sundreamer for the first time in the 80's though... she was pretty damn radical .

a more recent pic for reference.

[Guest]

Yes sundreamer, they did come from the same quarter mould but if you can call a 18.7 metre C2 Stratosphere a sister to 17.5 m C3 Sundreamer, then well, you can call them sisters I guess, but not IMO. Agreed my midnight typing of 64 foot length Stratosphere was incorrect by a couple of feet, also the very rounded bows (because of the clever, but compromising quarter mould restrictions) were not plumb. I knew David Barker well in those days, wrote articles about his boats, helped launch and tune Dreamer, (the Ron Given designed mast semi-rotation was always suspect) raced it for the first time (the also brand new Given designed Split Enz beat us by a neck) and many times after (winning the first reintroduced Auckland/Tauranga on second race) periodically dived cleaning the bloody great long hulls before races etc. ... but what would I know, eh mate? Here be quote:

"Sundreamer came from the same modular mould as Stratosphere, this time used 14 times over. The hulls were shortened by fitting a plate in the mould 1.4 m in from the transom and a further 100mm cut off the bow. Height of the hulls was reduced 800mm by lowering the top edge of the mould 400mm. Whereas C2's hulls were vertical, C3's, like Sundancer's, are canted in for aesthetics and to shorten the length of the connecting beams without reducing stability."