Mystery Launch 03/09/2014

Posted on by

Mystery Launch 03/09/2014
photo ex Scott Taylor

Todays mystery launch really is a mystery, Scott found the unmarked photo in an envelope along with some 1964 change of ownership / sale papers on the launch ‘Thetis’ & a 1942 receipt from Bert Woollacottt for materials sold to Scott’s Dad, Mac Taylor of HM Taylor Shipbrokers, for the building of ‘Sheryl’.

Whether there is any connection between the 3 items – who knows. But hopefully someone can ID the launch.

Discover more from waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 14+ million views

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

18 thoughts on “Mystery Launch 03/09/2014”

  2. Pam, All I have on SYANDRA is that she was owned by MJG and BW Van Zon of 115 Konini Road, Titirangi in 1973 and had the sail number 540. As SHERYL was designed around 1945, I would think SYANDRA was late 60s early 70s. Robin Elliott will have her tracked.

    Like

  3. We seem to have detracted from the mystery launch itself here.
    Scott and his mother have been so kind as to send me some photos from their family album. Photos showing Sheryl’s original cabin structure. Certainly the dog house is very attractive and I am able to draw similarity to that of Syandra’s. Syandra’s being of more vintage.
    Scott has not seen Bert’s original lines plans for Sheryl and believes his father ( Mac Taylor) would have drawn up the entire cabin top himself and had probably modernized her for those times.
    Very impressed with the close up photo, presumably dad at the helm mum by his side and did I count five teenagers around Sheryl’s decks under what looked like full sail, powering along superbly.
    The photos are a great help to me as I contemplate Syandra’s restoration in the future. ( I’m going to need to live a long time : )
    Thank you again,
    Pam
    Harold – are you able to help please, do you have any record of Syandra and the year she was built.
    I think she may have been built in the twentys or thirtys by Bert Woolacott.

    Like

  6. Pam I have my fathers photo albums with many Sheryl photos if that would help,
    she is the original Sheryl and was named after Peter Baxter’s daughter born the year the yacht was launched.

    Like

  8. We saw Sheryl out at the barrier last Christmas and she was a real inspiration !!!!!
    However like you I was missing the dog house. As pretty as she was I still felt I wanted to rebuild Syandra’s coach roof with the dog house. I was not sure that Bert had built the coach roof (I had wondered if someone else had finished the build.) on Syandra and would like to put the cabin back to an original Bert design, if in fact it’s not one.
    If I may take this opportunity to ask if someone has a drawing or photo of the appropriate cabin style for a Sheryl can they pass it on to Alan. WWoodys.
    Sorry to corrupt your blog with sails Alan.
    Thanks, pam

    Like

  9. Thankyou for that. I shall be looking harder at the Sheryl’s on the hard stand now. Syandra is carvel. And built of oregon – shame it had not been kauri she would still have been out on the water. Never mind she’s still in existence.
    Pam

    Like

  10. Kiwi designed and built yacht with a doghouse. I know the history of Sheryl, even the maritime museum had drawings notated Sheryl that were very obviously of another bigger Woolacott – nothing like her. Unfortunately all the later Sheryls I have tracked down don’t have quite the same hull shape, probably because most of them are single skin and couldn’t get the modern hard turn of the bilge that Mac achieved with her, nevertheless they are a proud successful NZ design with lots of offshore miles in particular Susan and Pania, remarkable really for 22′.

    Like

  11. It looks like Alan has beaten me to it Harold. It is a scan of a standard sales agreement he used, interesting for the prices the boats sold for.

    Like

  12. By “unaware of an earlier one ” do you mean another Sheryl? Sheryl being the design name also. ( I have a head full of cedar batterns at the mo I may have missed your point) I have Syandra. I’m not sure of her year. Her keel is off and we slipped her in under ma’s house. There’s another Sheryl at Mangawhai also. I believe Bert built Syandra. Gosh I’m not even sure of the spelling.

    Like

  13. Good materials in Sheryl, when I raced and cruised the gulf and up to the BOI in her they were already sixty years old. Pity the doghouse has been chopped off as I am unaware of an earlier one in NZ.

    Like

  18. Nice shot, where is it of? Perhaps a custom Augustin design or similar? Completely different to the Augustin planing launches, but the cabin is modern which makes me wonder.

    Like

Leave a comment