Description

Polaris was originally designed and built in the late 1970s by Phillip Heaney who, with his wife Margaret founded the Alkira Boatshed in Toronto, N.S.W.

Polaris was later purchased by Jimmy & Kathy Boyd around 1986 and became the flagship of their fledgling Polaris Marine fleet.

In early 2020, Kathy Boyd kindly permitted me to record her recollections of Polaris Marine Pty Limited. Together, Kathy and her husband, Jimmy – a former marine engineer and diver, built the iconic business out of Rozelle Bay, Sydney, between 1986-2006.

When the Boyd’s purchased Polaris in 1986, a young deck-hand named Adam Peeters came with the workboat. Adam rose through the ranks to become the Skipper of Polaris and the many adventures he would have with this workboat over a 20-year career would fill a book! In fact, Polaris would feature in the love affair between Adam and his girlfriend, Karen, who later became his wife.

The former owner of Polaris Marine, Jimmy Boyd, passed away on the 3rd October, 2020.

Plucky little Polaris is still in operation with the Polaris Marine Company (under new management), although it’s original design has been modified.

Hard-working Polaris has had a number of different crane rigs over 40+ years. The crane in this painting is an early Tadano Super-Z model.