Dylan Hallam has epic plans for his equally epic yacht, the 91-year-old wooden cutter, Roiaata, brought back to life with WEST SYSTEM products and a vision for its next era of voyaging.
Built in Auckland by the legendary Tercel brothers – famous for designing and building Ranger, a 60-foot kauri yacht that shattered decades of local racing dominance – Dylan’s boat, Roiaata is being restored for her next era of sailing at The Wooden Boatshop on the Mornington Peninsula.
With a name meaning “Journey Across the Sky” and conjuring celestial connotations of the Milky Way, the 32-foot kauri cutter had already lived several lives before Dylan bought her in 2022.Designed in the tradition of John Alden’s celebrated Bantam yachts and built by the Tercel brothers, Roiaata had raced, cruised offshore and carried generations of sailors across New Zealand waters.
“I have made it my mission to get her back sailing, while keeping the history alive,” Dylan explains.
Not only is she being restored, Dylan has teamed up with a production company with the aim of making a documentary about the process and his grand scheme of sailing her back to Auckland.While choosing a path in music and performance, Dylan grew up with a creative father who was forever tinkering with boats of all sizes and styles.
“He was always sending me links to yachts for sale and podcasts about adventuring. So, when I told him I was keen on this yacht, he said ‘I’ve been waiting for this, mate!’ I think he’s keener than I am.”
It was moored at a marina in Yowie Bay, Sydney when Dylan decided to drive up to inspect it.
“The former owner did fantastic work restoring the hull, but everything above deck and inside the cabin had severely deteriorated and required a full refit.”
But Dylan was undeterred.“I sat on board for a while, and it felt right. It has so much character. It was like a beacon of hope after the pandemic period, something to motivate me and give me purpose.
“Then when I found out it was launched on my date of birth, it was like a cosmic connection!”
After the initial flurry of activity and returning with it to Victoria, Dylan had to put the project on ice due to the impact of his chronic condition of hip dysplasia, which had developed into severe osteoarthritis.
After several rounds of surgery, Dylan is back on the job.
“While surgery has caused delays over the years, I have an upcoming hip replacement planned and aim to get back on track and give this project the best chance of success moving forward,” he shares.
“I realised very quickly that I wasn’t buying something that belonged only to me,” he says. “I was becoming the next custodian of a boat with nearly 90 years of history. My ambition is to restore it to the standard it deserves.“It’s a real tribute to New Zealand boat building. I’d like to sail her back to Auckland to share it with the family and friends of the Tercels, as well as wooden boat enthusiasts who are fascinated by the Roiaata story.”
The scale of Roiaata’s restoration is considerable, and progress remains slow and methodical.
Her double-diagonal kauri hull, lead keel, bowsprit and cutter rig each demand specialist knowledge, careful material selection and patient craftsmanship. Preserving the yacht’s original character is central to every decision.
“There are no real shortcuts,” Dylan says.
“You have to understand what the original builders were trying to achieve and respect that, rather than impose something modern simply because it is easier.”
Work completed so far includes removing rotten timber from the cabin, re-laying the deck with plywood and sheathing it in fibreglass. Dylan has also produced templates for the cabin and is preparing to laminate and bond the new iroko cabin sides.
The next major step will be moving the yacht undercover and bringing a qualified shipwright into the project – most likely in Williamstown – to provide specialist guidance as the structural work advances.
WEST SYSTEM epoxy products have become an important part of the restoration.
The versatile 105 Epoxy Resin system is particularly suited to traditional timber-boat work: its low viscosity allows it to wet out fibreglass and reinforcing fabrics effectively, while also bonding strongly to wood and other boatbuilding materials.
Combined with the appropriate WEST SYSTEM hardener and fillers, it can be adapted for laminating, structural bonding, gap filling, fairing and moisture-resistant coating.G/flex toughened epoxy will provide another useful option where greater flexibility and resilience are required.
Designed to accommodate expansion, contraction, shock and vibration, G/flex adheres to timber, including damp and difficult-to-bond species – as well as fibreglass, metals and other materials.
Those qualities make it well suited to selected joints and repairs on an older wooden yacht, where the structure will continue to move and work under changing loads and marine conditions.
For Dylan, the value of WEST SYSTEM lies not only in its strength, but in having a coordinated range that can be adapted to the different demands of the restoration.
“They’re exceptional products,” he says. “On a project like this, it’s important to have reliable materials for every stage – from laminating and fibreglassing through to structural bonding, cabin construction and the interior refit.”
For this and many other reasons, Dylan has joined forces with a creative team who happen to be sailors, comprising cinematographer, Danel Gallagher who recently wrapped a major Warner Bros documentary and has raced in the Sydney Hobart, and producer, Isabelle Pearl Love-Dack who has family ties to Team Oracle, bringing years of expertise working with composite products.
“We are working on a pitch deck now and will be applying for funding to create a documentary called Roiaata’s Return, both back to sailing and to her home port.
“It’s a way to preserve and celebrate Australian and New Zealand boat building culture and share that story with a wider population who may also find inspiration in the combination of traditional skills and rising to the challenge of such a major passion project.”