Karinda

The 'Karinda' was built in 1959. It is a fine example of the elegant Bates Star Craft, one of the first boats of the post-war pleasure boating trend. She brought a touch of glamor to boat shows and the Thames in the 1950s and 1960s.

Her hull is made of double diagonal teak on oak and she has teak decks and a mahogany superstructure. Two Leyland diesel engines were added in the 1980s and the decks were renewed at the turn of the century, but otherwise she is largely unchanged. She has kept the original sitz bath in fashionable (in 1959!) green and her kitschy cocktail bar .

In June 2012, the 'Karinda' took part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames in the Historic Boats section and she has come to Ostend for Anchor several times.

Only about 30 Star Crafts are left in service of the approximately 90 built between the mid-1950s and early 1970s. There is a thriving owners club, the Star Craft Owners Club, dedicated to their conservation and enjoyment.