The tri-hulled sailing raft was built from steel pipes by Gyon at Harrison, NJ for William Willis (1893-1968) an American explorer and author. He was born in Hamburg in 1893, left for sea and jumped ship in 1912 in Galveston, Texas, and became an American Citizen at New York later.
On top of these pipes was a cabin and one mast for the sails.
After the raft was completed she was shifted to Callao, Peru.
In 1954 he had already drifted/sailed from Peru to Samoa in 115 days on his raft SEVEN LITTLE SISTERS at that time he was 61 and was crewed with himself a parrot and a cat. The distance was 6,700 mile.
04 July 1963 the AGE UNLIMITED left Callao for her long journey to Australia.
11 November 1963 the AGE UNLIMTED reached Western Samoa having covered a distance of 7,400 miles in 128 days.
During the voyage he suffered a severe back injury in August 1963 when a rope broke as he was taking in sail. He had to break his voyage in Samoa in November after he got an abdominal rupture and flew to New York for an operation.
He returned too Samoa after his operation and sailed 26 June 1964 from there for his next part of his voyage to Australia.
Seventy-two-days later he beached on the coast near Tully in northern Queensland aa distance of 2,400 mile.
The AGE UNLIMITED was towed from Tully to Townsville by a local ferry in October 1964, from there to Sydney where he later that year arrived.
The raft returned to the USA, how I could not find but for many years she lay in Virginia.
She was later dismantled and some parts are now in the Maritime Museum in Virginia, USA
Samoa 1974 50s sg433, scott406.
Source: Wikipedia. Watercraft Philately 23/22 and internet.
AGE UNLIMITED raft
Re: AGE UNLIMITED raft
There is an excellent book on Willis, by T.R. Pearson, "Seaworthy", which is well worth reading. As well as much gory detail -his first hernia - it also set his voyages in the context of other rafters.
Andy
Andy