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RCAF Malecite ex–Air Force Crash Boat and Yacht

by David Wadleigh 2016

Q-070 Malecite

RCAF Malecite at speed (Photo from the David Wadleigh collection. )

Malecite

RCAF Malecite fitting out at the Canadian Power Boat Ltd. dock in Montreal QC 1941. (Photo from the David Wadleigh collection. )

She was built in 1941 by the Canadian Power Boat Co. Ltd. in Montreal QC. 20.79m x 5.94m x 2.38m (68.2' x 19.5' x 7.8') wooden hull 97.74gt 75.24rt. She was powered by 2–1350hp V–12 engines (up to 47 knots). Her RCAF pendant number was M.231 and her radio call sign was G3AQ. She was repowered about 1958 with a 470hp engine and rebuilt as a yacht.

She was an RCAF High–Speed Rescue Boat or "Crash Boat" in the Second World War. (She was very similar to an American "PT Boat".) My father, Robert E Wadleigh, who could not swim, served on this RCAF Crash Boat or High-Speed Rescue Boat during the Second World War.

Malecite

RCAF Malecite and other crash boats fitting out at the Canadian Power Boat Ltd. dock in Montreal QC 1941. (Photo from the David Wadleigh collection. )

All 70 foot or greater vessels in the RCAF were named after Indian tribes by the RCAF, so the significance of the name Malecite is an alternate spelling of Maliseet which is an Algonquian tribe in New Brunswick and Maine. She was one of 4 vessels to spend WWII on the Pacific Coast from Vancouver to Alaska.

In 1942 she was acquired by the Royal Canadian Air Force for service with the Western Air Command Marine Squadron based at Vancouver BC. This vessel became HMC HSL–231 with call sign CGJX in 1952. In 1958–1961 she was owned by Robert W.R. Day, Vancouver BC. In 1967 she was owned by Thomas Orr (MO), Vancouver BC. In 1979–1984 she was owned by Kincaid Charter Services Ltd., Burnaby BC. In 1989 she was owned by Malecite Marine Charters Inc., Vancouver BC. In 2004 she was owned by 533050 B.C. Ltd., Vancouver BC. In 2012–2017 she was owned by Greig Thorlacius, New Westminster BC.

Malecite

RCAF Malecite and other crash boats fitting out at the Canadian Power Boat Ltd. dock in Montreal QC 1941. (Photo from the David Wadleigh collection. )

In 1951 she and her 5 siblings were transferred from the RCAF to the Royal Canadian Navy to become, and were then turned over to Crown Assets Disposal Corporation for sale in 1958.

Malecite

The Malecite as a yacht. (Photo from the Annals of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. )

Malecite

The Malecite in 2016 after refitting as a yacht. (Photo from the David Wadleigh collection. )


To quote from this article please cite:

Wadleigh, David (2016) RCAF Malecite ex–Air Force Crash Boat and Yacht. Nauticapedia.ca 2016. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Malecite.php

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