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Boating on Cloud 9

Boating on Cloud 9

If you frequent the Yarra River along Southbank and South Wharf, it is likely you’ve seen local resident Warren Box’s unmistakeable timber boat Cloud 9 before.

Having retired to Freshwater Place in 2011, Warren said it was the river and life along the waterfront that had attracted he and his wife to settle in Southbank from their previous home in Lysterfield.

With greater access to the water, he said living in Southbank had provided him with a great location to pursue his passion for timber boats.

Namely, his beloved Cloud 9 - an African mahogany timber speedboat inspired by the classic Italian boats of the 1950s.

“I built the boat as a bit of a passion,” Warren said. “I’ve always been into timber boats and with a mate being a boat builder I said do you reckon we build a bigger one?” “We threw some ideas around. I was in Europe in the early 2000s and I bought some books and got some basic plans out of Italy and went from there but it was a five or six-year project to build it.”

While he first took Cloud 9 out on the water in 2009, its use has expanded from a recreational hobby to an occasional business earner since moving to Southbank.

The 7.8 metre long boat, which includes a forward cabin with two bunks and a toilet, is available for photography, advertising and promotions and TV and film projects. Warren said it was a popular choice for a range of photography, with newlyweds among some of the most common users.

Cloud 9 has also led Warren to join the Yarra River Business Association (YRBA) here in Southbank, which as well as providing a useful network, had also used the boat to capture photos of the river precinct in the past.

“Anyone who has seen the boat knows it,” Warren said.

“The feedback is always good. It doesn’t matter where you go whether people have seen it on the water or on the road on the back of the trailer people are often getting their phones out to take pictures because it’s unique.”

For more information visit cloud09.com.au    

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