The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/39567
COASTAL CHARACTERS ODIN AND THE JULIANS WERE TIRELESS WORKERS BY BADEN PASCOE J ohn Solem built the Odin at Onerahi on Whangarei Harbour in 1915 for his own use. I do not know if she was ever used on Whangarei Harbour as a tug, but records show she was working in the Auckland area not long after her launching, and the Wharekawa Shingle co-owning her between 1920 and 1932. The next owner is listed as James Whitford, timber miller of Auckland, and then she may have been purchased by JJ Craig Ltd, 1937-1940. Craigs had a very aggressive response to small operators working in the aggregate trade and they often bought them up or put them out of business somehow! In 1940 Lance Julian purchased the Odin as a general-purpose coastal tug and it is fair to say, skippered under him and his son, Harry, she would have been one of the hardest working vessels in the region at that time. They simply took on almost any job. She was also the starting point for one of our most energetic and colourful tug and towboat masters of all time. To expand on this, read Harry Julian's book Sea in my Blood, as it is packed with the adventures and challenges that shaped him into the man he is. The Odin really inspired Harry to follow his family's seafaring tradition and he was skippering her at the age of 16. When the Julian's purchased her she was powered by a three- cylinder, semi-diesel Fairbanks Morse, made in the United States and producing 45hp (33.5kW) at 350rpm. These old-fashioned and simple machines were very over-engineered as they weighed about four tonnes. One aspect of this engine was that the hot bulb section of the head, used for starting, was not heated with a blowlamp, like most semi-diesels. This one had electric heating coils running externally around the outer bulb, powered by a 12 volt battery. This may have been fitted by one of our innovative local marine engineers. To start the engine, the bulbs were heated for a while, the flywheel was barred over to the correct position and then a shot of compressed air was injected into one of the cylinders to start it. Any good small tug or launch skipper has to know about all aspects of his ship, and the Odin certainly provided a schooling ground for Harry. One of his learning grounds was the narrow and shallow rivers that ran around the Hauraki Plains. Harry would often be at the wheel at night, as his eyesight was better than his father Lance's, and Harry tuned his vision as if he had infra-red cameras for eyes. The tows in this area consisted of large, wooden barges loaded with crushed road metal to be distributed around the roading system that serviced the plains. Logs were another source of work for the Odin and the Julians, as by this time the milling of kauri had slowed down considerably and the odd raft of logs had to be towed from Mercury Bay and Coromandel for the Odlins and Lang and Freeth Mills. The "sinkers" or logs that did not float were barged, normally in their old and faithful boat Keri. In 1941, a new 120hp six-cylinder, Canadian-built Vivian diesel fitted by Allely Bros replaced the Fairbanks Morse. These were a cold-starting engine and had quite modern features compared with the old engine. The Odin now had a heap more bollard pull. The motor weighed six tons and swung a 40 x 20 propeller. This new engine once again created a path for Harry to update himself on more modern diesels. Any ongoing repairs were done 28 Professional Skipper September/October 2011 during annual surveys and Harry was very involved at all times in this work. It was his job to clean the crankcase, as the Vivian had no oil filter system. This was done under Shorty Sefton's supervision while he did other work on the engine. This was not a pleasant task and he needed more than just a bath to clean himself afterwards. Later on, Shorty carried out all of the overhauls, as Lance was friendly with the Devicich family, who owned Waitemata Fisheries. They used five-cylinder Vivians in their fleet that were serviced by Shorty. He would normally spend a week a year doing routine maintenance like valve grinds and big end re-white metalling, with Harry as his assistant, while Lidgards did any repairs to the vessel. During the Second World War, the United States Navy commandeered the Odin as a towboat to do various duties around Auckland Harbour. The placement of anti-submarine nets was a major task that had to be completed as soon as possible, as the likelihood of invasion by the Japanese was highly likely. In order to do this, a lot of equipment from the Auckland Harbour Board, such as their transport barges, which had steam cranes mounted on them, were employed to do all sorts of things. The Odin often moved these around the harbour wherever they were needed. The US Navy's officers in charge of operations had observed Harry going through his paces and were so impressed with his ability they formally appointed him as skipper of the Odin. When the Marine Department heard about the appointment of a 16-year- old skipper, they objected and tried to put a stop to it. The US Navy cleared up this issue in a matter of days and Harry held his position. One of his regular duties was to open and close the nets, which had now been laid, whenever shipping was entering or exiting the port. These nets ran from Bastion Point to North Head, with a removable panel to let shipping through. As well as working all day, the Odin often did night jobs to meet defence requirements. She would also tow empty barges down to McCallum's (Karamuramu) Island, 21 miles away, and return with another two barges loaded with McCallum's red scoria and berth them just in time to start the next day's work. The big Vivian caused a bit of havoc with the Odin's structure from time to time. Larger engine beds were fitted before it was installed, along with a new stern tube and tail shaft. Her bollards and bits were strengthened as well. One thing that was overlooked was her rudderstock. Harry lost three rudders before she was slipped and had improved rudderstocks fitted. The first incident happened down at the submarine nets, the second was while coming back from Coromandel with a raft of logs and the last occurred just north of Tiritiri Matangi Island. She was put on Lidgard's slip and modified. Each time Harry had to come up with some innovative way of steering his vessel home. Another river job during the war happened closer to home while he was transporting base coarse metal from McCallums Island, up the Wairoa (Clevedon) River to the Clevedon Landing. From there it was loaded on to trucks and transported to the Ardmore Airfield, being built by the American military. All this started at the wrong time for Harry, as he had just got married and intended to spend some time off on their honeymoon. Another challenging time for the Odin and Harry was when