George Ardley of Rivers Inlet Lodge wanted a new boat to pick up by guests from arriving float planes. He turned to Monaro Marine to build one that would precisely meet his particular needs. He required a boat that was comfortable in possible rough water, one that would carry an adequate number of people to transfer from plane to guest cottages, and one that would provide ample cockpit room for some fishing.

The boat he chose was a 24 hard top, but with a difference. He wanted the stern extended as had been done on a previous model, a 24 EX Commuter hardtop stretched to 25.5 feet and powered by a 6 cylinder Yanmar 300 turbo-diesel as a fast commuter between Gabriola Island and Vancouver.

It says a lot for the yard that when Ardley took delivery he did not allow the builder time to even do any in-the-water tests, but did his own shake down cruise, from Vancouver to Rivers Inlet, about 200 miles, on the boat’s first day in the water. Ardley also had the shop raise the cockpit floor to make it self-bailing and on special order had the height of the hardtop roof increased, resulting in larger windows. He uses the boat to pick up supplies from Port Hardy and nearby Dawson’s Landing, where he has been known to load two drums at a time of fuel. He says despite that kind of weight he has been able to sustain a speed of 42 miles an hour. Comments overheard include "that’s a stylish looking work boat."