Doutré: boat Sue says Allan axed had steel hull!

Amongst the avalanche of lies told by Susan Titford is this big porky about Allan Titford sinking his own fishing boat.

By Martin Doutré

(Not John Ansell. If anyone knows how to get WordPress to stop inserting the blog owner’s name automatically, let’s know.)

Susan (née Cochrane) Titford putting the boot in once again in order to show the public what an absolutely dastardly fellow Allan was.

This time she’s accusing him of sinking his own fishing boat to defraud an insurance company and gain a substantial pecuniary advantage or financial windfall accordingly.

This scenario, dreamt up by Susan and/or her very naive handlers in Crown Law, the police or otherwise, then foisted onto an unsuspecting public by the presstitutes, is particularly stupid for the following reasons:

These imbeciles obviously assumed that the Helene 1 fishing boat was of wooden hull construction, capable of being holed by an axe, when, in fact, it had an ALL-STEEL, heavy plate hull.

The Helene 1 was capable of withstanding very rough seas without crippling damage, as well as severe impacts from hidden shoals if run aground in the shallows.

Such is the nature of marine steel construction, which can withstand extremely heavy punishment.

Allan Titford vehemently denies that he ever told Susan any such thing and, moreover, anyone who knows Allan well also knows, emphatically, how guarded and protective he is of his stuff.

It would be totally out of character for him to destroy his own fishing boat or house (or any other of his machines, plant and hard-won assets for that matter).

So, let’s explore the logistics of Allan Titford pulling-off this ridiculous stunt of deliberately sinking his own fishing boat.

Even if Allan Titford could actually get at a section of the inner hull with an axe and hit it with the required heavy blows (which he couldn’t), it’s certain he’d have been totally exhausted from the physical effort long before making any kind of dent or impression in the heavy steel plate.

The headroom down in the hold of the Helene 1 was only about 4’ (1.2 metres), so the idiot with the axe would have to swing it in a stooped or kneeling position, thus restricting the force of the blow.

But there’s another major problem.

The Helene 1 could act as a fueler for other fishing boats and had huge fuel-carrying capacity.

The entire length of the boat, port & starboard sides, stem-to-stern, was lined with fuel tanks, which blocked access to the hull.

This means that the idiot with the axe would first have to smash his way through the fuel tanks and end up swimming in diesel up to his belly button, before even being able to get access to the actual hull surface itself.

Any such bloody-minded and determined idiot would be quickly asphyxiated by diesel fumes.

Then there’s also the problem of the other crew members, whose lives were to be placed in great jeopardy by this moronic sabotage-attempt, 40-miles off the coast of Westport.

Isn’t it mildly possible that the others would have detected the hour-upon-hour smashing reverberations of their mad, axe wielding skipper, pounding away relentlessly a few feet below them under the deck?

Wouldn’t one of them have lifted the hatch to ask what was going on, then realised their insane skipper was trying to send the boat and them down to Davy Jones’ locker?

A bit of simple investigative journalism by the media-whores who wrote the above article, along the lines of contacting year-1969 ship builder of the Helene 1 in Timaru, would have put-paid to this stupid accusation very quickly.

The 46-feet long Helene 1 in dry dock being painted with red-lead antifouling paint to protect the all-steel hull. On the pilot house, vertical streaks of rust staining have left a mark over the central region of the name Helene 1.  

The Helene 1 was a handsome and sturdy boat that Allan Titford was, understandably, both proud to skipper and own. He was also doing quite well financially with his fishing venture.  

Loss of the boat was a major financial setback for Allan, as the long-awaited insurance pay-out was insufficient to buy a replacement boat anywhere near as large as the Helene 1 and, because the new boat was considerably shorter, Allan’s valuable fishing quota was cut drastically.

Another photo of the antifouling preservation work being done in dry dock.

This marine accident was due to a badly repaired, out of line and unbalanced propeller shaft, done by Wanganui based marine engineers.

Although the job was passed by the marine surveyor and signed off, there was, after the new shaft was fitted, a severe vibration through the boat when it was underway.

This constant vibration is thought to have eventually caused metal fatigue at the point where the propeller shaft passed through the hull from the engine room, thus rupturing the hull or piping that pumped seawater coolant to the engine.

Seawater was already lapping the top of the engine when a crew member lifted the hatch and peered down into the hold.

Frantic efforts were then made to get a hand pump working, distress calls were radioed out and other fishing boats converged on the scene as quickly as they could in an effort to save the Helene 1 and its crew.

A pump that was supposed to be helicoptered to the stricken vessel did not arrive in time and the Helene 1, listing badly, finally turned-turkey and sank while being towed to Westport by another fishing boat. 

None of the accusations made by Susan Titford concerning the loss of this boat or purported financial rewards that allegedly came from the tragic mishap, can be sustained in view of the known facts and Susan proves herself to be, once again, severely truth-challenged.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Here below is my email exchange with Mr. Trevor Robb of Aeromarine Industries Ltd, builders of the Helene 1 fishing boat:

From: Martin Doutré
Sent: 25 January 2014 7:48 a.m.
To: sales@aeromarine.co.nz
Subject: Aeromarine Industries Ltd: Helene 1, 1969

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am doing research on the Helene 1 fishing boat, built by Robb & Co in 1969 and would appreciate any specifications or photos of the boat under construction or finished.

I understand the hull was steel and that it later underwent modification to elongate the hull to 46′.

I understand also that it had huge fuel carrying capacity, with steel tanks lining the entirety of the inner hull.

Any information you could supply from your archives would be most appreciated.

Best wishes,

Martin Doutré,
Auckland.

From: Trevor Robb
Sent: Monday, 27 January 2014 7:13 p.m.
To: Martin Doutré
Cc: ‘Simon Robb’
Subject: FW: Aeromarine Industries Ltd: Helene 1, 1969

Hello Martin, Thank you for your email re the Helene.

I worked on the team that designed and built this boat.  There are possibly some records available.  What is your interest in this boat?

Trevor Robb.

From: Martin Doutre
Sent: Monday, 27 January 2014 9:03 p.m.
To: Trevor
Subject: RE: Aeromarine Industries Ltd: Helene 1, 1969

Hi Trevor,

Many thanks for responding to my inquiry and it’s especially good to know that you assisted with both the design and building of the Helene 1.

My interest in the boat is to help the former skipper of the vessel (when it was lost 40-miles out to sea off Westport in 1985), Allan John Titford, from certain slanderous accusations.

Allan was fishing very successfully with the boat, but had recently had a repair done to the main shaft in Wanganui.

He and his brother Brian, plus the other crew member, noted that when the boat was underway after the fitting of the new shaft, there was a terrible shudder through the hull.

Allan told me that he laid a spanner on the aft part of the deck and it virtually floated on air because of the vibration.

Unfortunately, these many years on, Allan, in a bitter marital split, is being publically accused by his ex of having told her how he took an axe and chopped through the hull to sink the boat and collect on the insurance.

This is based upon the assumption that the hull was of wooden construction.

However, according to what Allan has told me from Mt. Eden Prison, where he is languishing due to the testimony and character assassination of his former wife, the boat was of all steel construction.

Further to that, when it was elongated to 46’ overall, the inner hull was lined with extra fuel tanks, sufficient to travel all the way to the Chatham’s and back on its own on-board supplies.

One would have to cut through the steel fuel tanks first to even get at the hull and, apparently, accomplish all of this in a stooped position where the headroom was only 4′.

Allan vehemently denies that he ever said such a thing to his wife throughout the entirety of the marriage.

The loss of the Helene 1 was a major setback for Allan. He not only had to settle for a much smaller replacement boat, but subsequently lost a large chunk of his fishing quota in the process.

Any verification you could give related to the materials used in the construction of the Helene 1 or an overall blueprint picture, photo or whatever would be most appreciated.

Best wishes,

Martin Doutré,
Auckland.

From: Martin Doutre
Sent: Monday, 17 March 2014 5:42 p.m.
To: Trevor
Subject: RE: Aeromarine Industries Ltd: Helene 1, 1969

Hi Trevor,

You may recall my request for information about the Helene 1 fishing boat a couple of months ago.

All I really need to know is whether it was all-steel construction, as my friend Allan Titford (former owner) claims.

As stated, he has been publicly accused in the New Zealand media of sinking the boat with an axe (40-miles off Westport) … which, in and of itself, would have been very risky and put his life, as well as that of his crew members, in severe jeopardy.

Allan assures me that the boat was all-steel construction through the hull, which was also lined with fuel tanks from stem to stern.

Although I would dearly love any photos or other archival materials that you may be able to supply about the Helene 1, to exonerate Allan your simple verification that the hull was all-steel construction would be sufficient to counter and silence his accusers, who assume the hull was wooden and thereby sinkable with an axe.

Having worked in the trades myself for many years and done plenty of heavy-plate welding, I can readily see that this “sinking [a steel hulled boat] with an axe” scenario is ridiculous.

Best wishes, Martin Doutré,
Auckland.

From: Trevor Robb
Sent: Thursday, 20 March 2014 9:57 a.m.
To: ‘Martin Doutre’
Subject: RE: Aeromarine Industries Ltd: Helene 1, 1969

Yes Martin, I am able to confirm that the Helene 1 as built by D F Robb & Co Ltd was of all steel construction.

This should be able to be further confirmed by plans and approval given by the then Ministry of Transport, Marine Division.

Yours faithfully

Trevor Robb
Former Manager and shareholder of D F Robb & Co Ltd.