The profiles listed in this Register have been documented from the stories and photos contributed by custodians and others who willingly shared information. Readers who have additional information about the history of any Couta Boat are invited to forward it to couta_profile@coutaboat.com.au so that it can be added to the Register.
Ken Lacco, Rosebud, Victoria.
New Zealand Kauri
Early Years
Faith has all the markings of a Lacco boat, indicating that she was built by Ken Lacco, possibly at Rosebud, Victoria circa 1940. The familiar Lacco signature remains on her today. She was carvel built, primarily of New Zealand Kauri without caulking. The New Zealand Kauri planking is still all original and each plank is one piece from stem to stern
There is no trace of her location from 1940 until the early 1980s, but it is thought that in this later period she was used for fishing out of Port Albert, in the Gippsland region of Victoria. It was probably here that the jibboom and centre-plate case were removed, as discovered by her next owner Peter Ackland.
Custodian: Peter Ackland; 1984 – 2000
In 1984, Mornington local Peter Ackland responded to a ‘For Sale’ advertisement in The Age newspaper classifieds for a Couta Boat at Hastings. After the transaction Peter had the boat trucked to Mornington not quite understanding the significance of his purchase.
What was intact on the boat were the original cotton sails plus a new set made from the fashionable Terylene of the era. This suggested to Peter that the boat had been used for purposes other than fishing. It was also fitted with a Ford 10 petrol motor that was particularly noisy, smoky and uneconomical.
Joe Pompei from Pompei’s Marine in Mordialloc, a seaside suburb of Melbourne, fitted a single cylinder Yanmar diesel and added approximately 10 cm depth to the keel, to give the boat better stability. In the time of Peter’s custodianship, Faith, then with the registration of M28, was moored in Mornington Harbour and used for recreational sailing.
With sails hoisted, the boat sails quite well to windward without much sideways drift.
Custodian: Peter Angliss; 2000 – Present
After 16 years, Peter Ackland and his brother Mike, sold the boat to Peter Angliss in 2000. Peter Angliss recalls:
As a matter of interest, I was also looking at another wooden boat in Mornington Harbour which Jack Pompei also maintained each year. When I spoke to Jack for information, he insisted I bought ‘The Doctor’s Boat’, referring to Michael Ackland. On Jack’s advice, I bought ‘The Doctor’s Boat’ which was the beginning of a friendship with Jack Pompei, another wooden boat legend.
Peter still has the original cotton sails and has offered them to the Queenscliff Maritime Museum, which for the time being, has declined the offer due to a backlog of cataloguing.
In 2014, Peter organised a major restoration of Faith at the Wooden Boat Shop in Sorrento, including a new Yanmar diesel engine.
Since owning Faith, Peter and his family have spent many happy hours fishing from Bird Rock, Mornington through to Dromana, where plenty of flathead, snapper and squid have been reeled in and excited grandchildren have been introduced to dolphins, seals and penguins.
Faith is on standby for patrol boat duties at the Mount Martha Yacht Club, Port Phillip during their major Regattas.
Today, with her beautiful Lacco lines, our boat is much admired as a classic timber craft by those who see her at Martha Cove, Port Phillip her new home.