PANIA
photo & details ex Ken Ricketts, edited by Alan H.
How there are a lot of holes in this post – hopefully we will be able to fill some of them.
Lets start with what we know – Pania is 28 feet long & powered by an 80 hp Ford diesel, which the owner, Don Cooper, thinks may be original. The owner has had her for 2 years & keeps her at Gulf Harbour Marina. Cooper bought her off a Mr Dave Nicholson, who he says had owned her for approx. 10 years. Nicholson had her moored at Te Atatu, when he owned her.
Now for the ‘holey’ bits – Cooper has been told & believes that she was built by Bill Couldrey in 1962 & that he has been told by someone, that Couldrey had built her for his daughter originally, but he has been told since, by a lady, that this lady was a relation Couldrey & that Couldrey didn’t have a daughter, so, of course Cooper does not know what to believe.
Any input into filling the holes would be good.
15-03-2016 Hauled out at Gulf Harbour (photos Ken R)
31-07-2016 Trolling thru the photo files & came across these photos, below, of Pania, both ex Rosemary Robinson, granddaughter of LC Coultard. (note Rosemary’s records have Pania at 30′)
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Looks as if she could have been launched in the Tamaki River when coming off the trailer new — KEN R
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i don’t think Pania is a Couldrey nice boat never the less, perhaps the plans were altered , but not a classic Couldrey
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New (b/w – as launched) photos added. AH
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Wonderful! — At last we have a sensible closure to the build riddle., Thanks so much for your very learned input Nath. — Hope Don Cooper sees it– KEN R
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Now THAT makes sense of it all.
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Pania 1959 30′ x 10′ L.C Coulthard’s last boat. Built for Lloyd Fowler
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I got the 60 feet from Don Galbraith. Could be a touch of “owner’s flatter”.
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In the marina village I think
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I think we’re talking about the same “Lady Argyle/Argyll”, but could we compromise on the length? Split the difference between my (off the top of my head) 50′ and your 60′ and say 55? While she was at Westpark (as wuz) she fitted easily into 16m berth – most berths here are about a metre over the nominal length, so 17m/55′ sounds about right. When she came here she was owned by a Steve Lay, who spent a considerable sum on refurbishing her, including having the twin Fords rebuilt (and painted Cummins white) and a small piano installed in the bridge deck saloon. Steve sold her to a doctor who took her up to (I think) Gulf Harbour.
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Agreed, that LADY ARGYLL (ARGYLE?) was built as SANTA ROSA for Stewart by John Lidgard to a design by “:Hoki” Williams about 1965. She was a 60ft bridgedecker with twin Ford diesels. Norm Galbraith of Takapuna bought her around 1975 and renamed her LADY ARGYLL. Subsequent owners include Spick Spicer and John Taylor who owned her quite recently.
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Lady Argyle? The 50 footer bridge decker? She was/is a Lidgard boat; I’ve worked on and with her and can’t see a resemblance to Pania. Are we talking about another Lady Argyle altogether?
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Not sure of the boats provenance but it is a very pretty little boat and Don has done a nice job of refurbishing the interior as well. Have been working with him recently to get an appropriate level of anodic protection on the hull. He’s now pretty handy with a silver silver chloride half cell!
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Hey cabin reminds me faintly of the Lady Argyle, but probably a red herring.
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PANIA was for sale on TradeMe in 2010 as built by Couldrey in 1962. According to Arnold Couldrey’s own list of boats he built, he did not design or build a PANIA. But then he didn’t build ANY launches himself at all after 1939, which I would have thought was a rather well-known fact.
So was this PANIA perhaps designed by Couldrey? Some of his designs were built as late as 1980 (eg TUPUI) but I can’t see anything on his list that corresponds to this PANIA, under any name
Just a thought, the name PANIA is closely associated with Napier, so maybe she was built for Napier, but certainly not by Couldrey and not to his design.
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