CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH KALAMERE – UNCOVERING HER STORY

Todays woody story started from 2025 note from Denis O’Callahan via the November 1958 edition of Sea Spray magazine. One of the craft featured was the 34’ motor launch KALAMERA, built c.1958 by Alan (Snow) Water in Takapuna, Auckland. She was built for a gent named Jack Bennent of Paeroa. Her intended home port/s was listed as Coromandel /Whangamata, where she was to be used primarily for sport fishing. The woody question that day was did she ever make it to Coromandel and what became of her. Link to that story  https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/09/14/in-search-of-the-classic-wooden-launch-kalamera/

Well woodys fast forward to earlier this week and jackpot – WW received an email from John Clynes who describes himself as the first mate on KALAMERE, John  thought WW may like an update on her history and some latest photos. John is a retired boatbuilder who also I worked for Jack Stone in Takapuna and built real wooden boats. John lost contact when Jack moved up the Wade river no build a 50’+ Fijian Kauri commercial fishing boat that John lofted out the frames for.

John wondered if we have any info on Jacks boats. 

I’ll hand over to John to tell the story – 

“ Jack Bennet, a war veteran, saw wartime service in the Mediterranean as a truck driver in World War II. On return, he married Doreen and they were both keen fishos on the Thames coast. In the early fifties they bought a boat named Noni in Whangarei as advertised in the NZ Herald for 1450 Pounds. With the help of Allan (Snow) Waters, a Takapuna boatbuilder who surveyed her, they all took delivery and sailed her down to moor in Tapu on the Thames coast. Sadly, they lost Noni in heavy seas eight months later and she washed ashore on the rocks by the roadside in the next bay. Noni was trucked to Auckland for assessment and was deemed a write off. Jack managed to retrieve the four-cylinder diesel, prop and shaft for his next boat, determined to make another boat bigger and better.

Jack engaged the services of Snow again as he was renowned for building seaworthy hulls that would sail and motor comfortably in any weather to handle coastal New Zealand conditions and so KALAMERA was born inspired by Jack’s wartime service in Greece. Kalamera means good morning.

Mr. Lou Wenzlick had a permit to take standing dead Kauri out of the bush on top of the Wias track above Hikutaia. Jack bought a log 37-foot-long log and took it on his own transporter up to Helensville Sawmill which was the only mill capable of milling that length. He then loaded the milled timber on his transporter and delivered it to Snow Water’s boat shed in Takapuna. Kalamera’s ribs needed Tanekaha or Mangeao timber, so Jack harvested a tree of each from his own back bush property in Komata and got Harvey Evans in Paeroa to mill them.

Otie Miller an older gentleman, and a qualified ship’s furnisher, employed by Snow, fitted out the interior. Fred Pole was a mate of Jacks who lost an arm in the desert and came home on an hospital ship with Jack and was rehabilitated to become a French polisher. Fred very kindly polished all the interior mahogany joinery. Snow made all the templates for the bronze stem, bollards and cleats and got them cast at the Thames Foundry. 12 months later a thing of beauty was born, 34 foot in length, 10’6” beam, draught 3’9” initially powered by the motor from Noni and replaced five years later with a 100hp 6-cylinder diesel capable of nine knots

The 8^{th of} September 1958 on a crane at Devonport wharf, she was christened Kalamera and cruised the upper North Island for many years from her home port in Whangamata staying in the family with Jack’s three children Ron, John and Eileen until June of 2004 when Neville Foster, Eileen’s son and grandson to Jack took ownership of Kalamera, privileged to keep the boat in the family and brought her over to her new mooring in Puhi Rare Bay Coromandel.

3 years later in 2007 Kalamera chafed through her 40mm polyester braided mooring rope and decided to take herself on a journey in a storm and vanished out the harbour entrance. The following morning, Neville got a call from the harbour master Dick Williams who saw her come back into Woolshed Bay Coromandel with minor damage. She came back into the harbour by herself just to say “Kalamera! Good Morning!” 

Neville and family made a work move to Australia and sold Kalamera to Norm and Pam Gray of Waiomu (Thames Coast) in 2009. They enjoyed her for eight years when Neville bought her back in 2017 while still living in Australia. Covid made travel difficult, so it was time to give her up again for the last time. 

Bruce Pemberton the current owner bought her in 2023 and has her up in Fureys Creek, Coromandel on a mud berth for restoring as finance allows. Bruce had a trucking career and is a diesel mechanic by trade, so it is rather fitting as Jack Bennet was also a truck driver and mechanic which puts Kalamera in good hands. In 2026, Bruce did a complete 2026 overhaul pistons and liners on her 1963 diesel engine and now burns a clean stack and she purrs like a kitten is easily giving her hull speed of 9 knots. Painting, painting and painting over 2026/27 will bring Kalamera back to her former glory which is testament to real wooden carvel plank, kauri boats, a pedigree of nearly seventy years always lovingly maintained.“