When John Hansen first thought about restoring the historic Kiama boat, the MV Signa, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. After 14,000 hours of work by seven dedicated volunteers in their 70s and 80s - they’re almost there.The MV Signa has been selected to participate in the International Timber Boat Festival in Hobart in February 2025, and they are looking to raise $10,000 to fund the voyage.“In April we were selected as one of the boats. There will probably be something like 1,500 pieces of craft down there and we hope to be one of the 187 in the Harbour as a festival exhibit which is a big honour,” says Signa owner John Hansen.On July 17 2022, the historic Signa boat was lifted out of Kiama Harbor to be transported to Albion Park for its restoration and then on May 8 of 2024 it returned to its home in the harbour and has since had some more work done on it.But what compels 7 seniors, all retired, to take on an insane task such as this one? They all could be kicking their feet up and taking the relaxation they’ve earnt, but instead they were stressing and sweating and hurting for 2 years over the restoration of an old boat.According to Hansen, the project was driven by love rather than profit. The crew—Hansen, Rex Jones, Rob “Hoff” Hoffmeister, Peter “Rookie” Rook, Richard “Don” Romanczukiewicz, Lawrie Lovegrove, and Geoff “Smokey” Farrah—became like family, with Graham Williams and Craig Jones providing significant help.“To see that boat come back from where it was to where it is now, I just felt so much pride, not only in the fact that I've done a lot of work, but also that a group of us could work so well together, without a blow, without a fight, without an injury, to make that boat come alive again,” says Hansen.“It changed our lives. The team were looking for purpose; they played golf on Saturdays and Thursdays, but this project became the glue that kept us together.”Hansen says that the time spent together with the crew was cherished everyday. They’d always eat breakfast together and they would often get together outside of work for barbecues.“Every morning, I made tea, bread, cakes, and coffee. Lunchtime meant fresh salad sandwiches with different meats, and once a week we’d have a proper barbecue with steak or sausages,” he shares.The French writer Antoine De Saint Exupery has a quote which goes, “Once we are bound to our brothers by a common goal that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that to love is not to gaze at one another but to gaze together in the same direction.”This quote encapsulates the massive two year project that these seven Kiama locals embarked on to restore the Signa, and the climax for that project would be for them to sail it to Tasmania and present it at the festival. Hansen is asking for support from the local community to help fundraise the $10,000 needed for fuel and other expenses for their journey. The Bugle will be organising this fundraiser, so if you would like to pledge, please contact us at [email protected].

The MV Signa is a glimpse into history, the wooden vessel was built in 1971 and has been a well loved part of Kiama Harbour for many decades. John Hansen removed her from the water in August 2022 to carry out an extensive restoration project. After two years of painstaking restoration and very hard work from John and six volunteers, the vessel was returned to Kiama Harbour in July 2024.John will be speaking at the October general meeting of the Kiama Men’s Probus Club at the Kiama Bowling and Recreation Club on Wednesday 23 October and will share his illustrated talk on the restoration project. All are invited to attend the free event and even get to enjoy a catered morning tea.. Morning tea will be served before John begins his talk at 10:30am. Please RSVP to Secretary Geoff Dowd on 0408 339 322.

Nobody died and the boat didn’t sink. But nonetheless, the return of the Signa to Kiama Harbour managed to create quite a stir, with locals braving the drizzling weather to occupy vantage points along the foreshore. Many people have memories of the Signa, and a significant number of them showed up in Kiama on May 8 to commemorate its return after two years in dry dock at Albion Park.After an estimated 12,000 hours of volunteer labour, the boat, which was originally launched in 1970, has been lovingly restored to its former glory with new windows, new engines, and new fittings.  Those showing up to mark the event included former charter operators, fishermen who used to hire the boat on weekends and even the children of the original builder of the boat, Bob Riddell, who built the boat in the coffin factory his boss Jack Paton owned. It was one of the first dedicated game fishing boats ever seen in Australia, and large by the standards of the day. Signa being lowered into Kiama Harbour. Photo: John Stapleton.The boat is named after Jack’s wife, Signa. Bob Riddell’s daughter, Jane Dove of Woy Woy, drove down to Kiama for the event. “Just to see the boat is fantastic, my father built it and 50 years later, it is still going,” she said. “We never got a trip on it. My father was a very quiet person, he was just going to work building a boat.”Son Greg Riddell remembers to this day the boat being launched near Silverwater Bridge in Sydney. “My father would have loved to have been here,” he says. The Riddell children might never have gone out to sea in the boat, but plenty of other people did, including, famously, actor Lee Marvin of Hollywood fame, along with Bob and Dolly Dyer of Pick-A-Box, a television program familiar to any Australian old enough to remember the 1960s. For a time, the boat was owned by the famous Sydney restaurant Doyles, which used it for their high-profile customers. A clearly delighted John Hansen, who funded the project, wants above all to pay tribute to the many people who helped restore the boat.Those he wishes to thank by name include his wife Sandra, who has been an enthusiastic supporter, Rex Jones, Richard Roman aka Don, Peter Rook, Lawrie Lovegrove, Graham Williams, Rob Hoffmeister and Geoffrey Farrer. “It was ten times bigger than we thought,” he says. “It was a labour of love. We were all retirees, they all played golf together. And once they started on the boat it was a labour of love, they just loved doing it.”Sandra and John Hansen. Photo credit: John Stapleton.As to how it all came about, John Hansen says he and a friend Rex Jones had previously rebuilt a small fishing boat and as retirees were looking around for another project. The Signa came up for sale, and the rest is history. Except they had no idea quite what they were buying into. The boat was in poor condition, having basically been rotting in the harbour for some time, and having been officially declared unseaworthy. “We suddenly realised when the boat was ours how complicated the project was,” he recalls. “We have basically rebuilt the entire boat.”As Sandra recalls: “The bones of Signa, the hull, was good, it was a good boat, it just needed attention. The deck and the roof and parts of the floor inside were just rotted. We took out nearly two tonnes of rubbish.”Signa is expected to stay at mooring in Kiama Harbour for the next several weeks as the timber boat adjusts to being back in the water, the new engines settle in and the final bits of cosmetic work, including cabinetry and carpeting. “Cosmetic stuff,” Sandra calls the final adjustments. “The kitchen’s been done, the bathroom, all the hard stuff has been done.”Sigma being maneuvered. Photo credit: John Stapleton.And there it is, back in Kiama Harbour, a boat full of memories, as many of those in attendance were quick to recall. Kevin Adams, who went out on the boat with his father, Bruce, who helped build the original refrigeration, said his father, too, would have loved to have been there. “It is amazing what they have done with the refurbishment,” he says. “They have done a great job. At the time Signa was a master, it was one of the biggest boats around built out of wood.” Wayne Hollingsworth, who before he retired to the South Coast used to come down from Sydney with a group of mates and hire out the boat for fishing trips, says: “Seeing it brings back a lot of memories. It was a good boat, solid in the water. I used to see it in the harbour in recent years, it was just rotting away.” One of the most obvious things about the freshly restored Signa is how good the woodwork, including the original teak, looks. Retired carpenter Lawrie Lovegrove, when asked why he was prepared to spend so many hundreds of hours on the project, including countless hours sanding, just shrugs: “Silly old bastard.”Well, thanks to a lot of silly old buggers, Kiama now has a beautifully restored and intriguing part of Australia’s maritime history in pride of place.  

John Hansen says he and Rex Jones are undertaking a labour of love to restore the Signa, a 50 year old wooden boat that has called Kiama home since 2005.“It is a bit of history that deserves to be saved,” he says.“Rex and I love old boats and being out on the water, and we estimate it will take us two years to restore it.“The bones of the boat are very good - it's hull of triple laminated timber is beautiful, but we are going to rebuild it from the hull up.”This will include new engines, wiring, decks, rudders, cabin and interiors.The Signa, with a dry weight of 18 tonnes, was lifted out of the harbour today to be transported to Albion Park for its restoration.It was launched in 1970 after being built by its first owner, Jack Patten.“He was a coffin maker, hence the cabin area was made of teak and there were teak fittings throughout,” says John.It became Sydney’s first true game fishing boat, with Hollywood actor Lee Marvin fishing from it from there and in Cairns and Bob and Dolly Dyer of BP pick-a-box fame fishing from it regularly.John has heard it was used as the starter boat for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.In 1990 restauranteur Peter Doyle purchased the boat as a luxury harbour cruiser for his favoured guests.From 1996 it returned to service as a fishing charter boat, first out of Sydney and then out of Kiama, after it was bought by Ross O’Brien in 2005. On retiring last month, Ross sold the boat to John and Rex, fellow members of the Kiama Boat Owners Association.“It is a major restoration and our aim is to return the boat to its former glory so it once again is the pride of the harbour,” says John.“Any volunteers in the skills of shipwright, glaziers, electricians and carpenters who would like to contribute with their knowledge and /or time would be most welcome.”He and Rex have dreams of sailing their piece of boating history down to Tasmania for the Timber Boat Festival once it is fully restored.If you are interested in being involved with the project, contact John on 0428 152 806 or [email protected]