MB172 EPIC LASS

Type: Officers’ Launch

Built: 1937

At: Naval Dockyard, Garden Island, Sydney

Length: 39 feet

Beam: 11 feet 5 inches

Draft: 4 feet

Displacement: 10 tons

Construction: Carvel, spotted gum planking and ribbing, teak cabin

Engine: 6-cylinder TAMD 41 Volvo Penta C diesel 147 kW

Address:

Australian National Maritime Museum

GPO Box 5131

Sydney, NSW 2001

Australia

+61 2 9298 3777

Fax: +61 2 9298 3780

http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm

Latitude: -33.8687108204, Longitude: 151.199579817

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Now used for transporting Museum personnel and guests on Sydney harbor, she was built as a Navy dockyard officers launch. While the official Navy pennant number MB 172 has been retained, the launch has been named Epic Lass in honor of Taubmans Industries Ltd. (Epiglass Australia) which assisted with the vessel’s restoration.

Much of MB172’s service life was spent in Darwin. However, fiberglass and aluminum utility boats eventually displaced elegant timber launches, and she was decommissioned and stripped of all equipment. The boat was later transferred to the Museum by the Navy. Australian Defense Industries undertook the rebuilding at its Ryde, NSW, yard using some apprentice shipwright labour, and fabricated fittings at its Rosebery foundry. Volvo Penta distributor Eastern Engines Pty Ltd supplied a TAMD41 diesel engine at a generous discount, while Epiglass Australia was the major sponsor.