LADY MARGARET
NGAKIWA
Story & photo from Russell Ward
The name was a made-up Maori concoction of two syllables and is meaningless (sort of).
She was built in 1956 by P Vos and Co and was really classy. Heavy as hell –a Cook Straiter as you would expect from Percy. Teak coamings and was really nice. For example, she had a curved transom –expensive stuff. A bit scruffy when the old man took over but he usually sorted that out pretty sharpish.
She had an abdominal Ford 60hp which was a rough installation. The previous owner was a farmer and this engine was a chuckout from one of the tractors by the looks. It was replaced by a Perkins which was much more agreeable.
She was built because the guy bought a boat unsurveyed and took her to Vos to repair. Percy said it would be cheaper to make him a new boat than deal with all the problems of that boat. At the time there was a little sedan top in the yard, Juilet with a tuck stern and pretty straight stem, she had a sedan top and a windscreen fwd on top of the cabin for the helmsman. So the Vos crew took the lines off her and Ngakiwa was built to them with addition of that curvaceous sheer line. Can you see the tumble home aft? She was / is real classy as I said before.
The Russell’s father sold her when he bought Naiad in ’66.
Updated photo (27.08/14) ex Nathan Herbert ex classicboatsnz
KOTANUI
Story & photos from Nathan Herbert
Named after the original owner’s farm and adjacent island, was designed by Bob Salthouse for J.N (Jack) Hobbs of Hobbs bay Whangaparaoa and built at the Salthouse Greenhithe yard in 1964. She is 44 feet in length and was powered by twin Lister 60hp diesels cruising at 10 knots and pushing her to around 12 knots with mechanical gearboxes, later replaced by twin Fords on hydraulic gearboxes but retaining the original gear levers. She is a motorsailer with main and headsail of almost equal dimensions.
Her design is modelled from Jack’s previous launch the Pacific, which his father had built by Joe Slattery. Layout is practical with galley in the aft dodger area, long settee berths in the saloon coming up to a flat- floored wheelhouse with engines beneath (a bonus of the bridgedeck layout) and master accommodation and head for’d.
Before the Gulf harbour marina was built she would be hauled up at the eastern end of Hobbs Bay on a purpose- built slipway, operated by a winch driven from a Fordson Major tractor. Pacific had the same setup alongside her. Kotanui was the first boat to enter and berth in the new Gulf Harbour marina, followed by the Pacific.
A fixture of the Auckland cruising fleet from her launch until Jack’s death in 1991 at age 84, Bob Salthouse notes that her presence “opened a few eyes” leading to further commissions of fine, large launches.
Kotanui is now berthed on the marina in Milford, with very few alterations (refer 2012 photo ex Alan Houghton)
Scroll down to view 2 home movies of Kotanui
Kotanui Old Movie – Underway 1footage supplied by Nathan Herbert
Kotanui Old Movie – Underway 2 footage supplied by Nathan Herbert
SHIPBUILDERS LTD….a few notes.
By Harold Kidd
The advertisement is from the back of a 1946 Sea Spray magazine and shows Shipbuilders Ltd spreading its wings for the bright new post-war world.
Shipbuilders Ltd started in business in Poore Street, now Westhaven Drive, around the middle of 1922 when it was run by T.L. Sharp. It also had an office at 23 Shortland St. Its major work was in shipwrighting, heavy repair work on steamers, scows, barges and commercial craft of all types. Norman Matheson, who had built the Rudder Cup-winning launch Maroro, worked there for many years. The company dabbled in commercial vessel ownership, for example running the scow EXCELSIOR with J.J. Craig Ltd., bringing rusty scrap from the ship graveyard on Browns Island to town for export to Japan.
By 1939 the Manager was S.B. (Hookey) Williams, formerly of Chas. Bailey & Son Ltd, in Beaumont Street, nearby. It had 4 “electric slipways” and went into the war with a good reputation for shipwrighting and good gear.
During the war the company did a lot of work with Seagar Bros building minesweepers and at least one Fairmile. In 1943 it joined with Chas. Bailey & Son Ltd, W.G. Lowe & Son Ltd, Associated Boatbuilders Ltd., P. Vos Ltd and Roy Lidgard in forming United Ship and Boatbuilders Ltd to carry out an unprecedented amount of ship construction for the United States Army and Navy. As a little light relief, they built 5 M Class yachts for American flyers in the Pacific.
In November 1944 there was a race amongst the five 18 footers which were mainly crewed by Shipbuilders Ltd staff amongst whom were Roy Steadman, Tim Windsor, L. Pollard, W. Heerdegen, C. Freeman, H. Yates, Vince Hogan and Roy Parris…pretty important names amongst Auckland’s yachtsmen of the time.
To be continued
Some ‘old’ home movie footage, of Pacific, note the varnished cabin top, we like that 🙂
Supplied by Nathan Herbert
Update from Grant Burrell
This movie is taken around 1960 before the wheel house cabin was extended and the stern cabin had canvas sides. The cabin was never varnished but my Grand Father painted an imitation fake painted wood grain, It did look good, worked well on a swing mooring but the dark paint dried the timber when on the marina.
Supplied by Nathan Herbert
c1963
Ready for engines
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