April 8, 2015 2:44 am
ESPERANZA II
details ex ken Ricketts, edited by Alan H. photos ex B Worthington
The story of how Esperanza II, an American Chris Craft arrived in NZ started in about 1948 when the Fuller family of the Bay of Islands had an American couple, fly over here, to go game fishing on one of their charter boats.
They (probably Snooks Fuller) met the couple personally & instantly hit it off & became instant friends. As a result of this, the extremely wealthily Americans invited them back to America, to stay as their guests, at their waterfront mansion. They accepted & in due course fulfilled the invitation & were amazed at everything the saw. Their hosts had numerous cars, mostly Cadillacs & several boats, one of which was a fabulous virtually brand new 36 foot Chris Craft launch, which was tied up at the bottom of their garden.
They went out & about in the hosts cars & one day the hosts asked the Fullers if they liked the car they were in that day & of course they said they did & their hosts said words to the effect, “well you better take it home with you.” The Fullers naturally thought the hosts were just joking & passed it over.
In the next day or two they went out in the Chris Craft & of course that was out of this world for them, the like of which they probably had never seen in NZ. Once again they were asked if they liked it & of course they said – they loved it, so once again, the hosts said to the effect, “well you better take it home with you.”
Very shortly after they returned home, they got official documents telling them that the car & the boat were on their way to NZ. The Fullers must have been blown away with the Americans generosity.
Esperanza II became the ultimate luxury game boat of her era in “The Bay,” with many dignitaries & prominent guests aboard. She was originally a fairly fast boat, powered by 2 very large Chris Craft V8 petrol engines, when she arrived, these were eventually replaced with Ford diesels.
From the photos above, taken over the years, it appears that she is still alive & well & Ken understands she was in Whangamata fairly recently for a period & is possibly in Auckland these days.
The details of the above ‘story’ were told to Kens family in the 1950’s by friends of the Fullers. Can any one confirm & add more details from her past?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Posted by Alan Houghton - waitematawoodys.com founder
Categories: 1940's, Launches, Non Waitemata, Tales & Yarns, Working Boats
Tags: Chris Craft, Esperanza II, Fullers
Mobile Site | Full Site
Get a free blog at WordPress.com Theme: WordPress Mobile Edition by Alex King.
Does anyone know of a Chris Craft Sport fisher built in NZ
LikeLike
By Laurence McCarthy on October 8, 2026 at 4:15 pm
[…] Esperanza IIThe above photo of the Chris Craft, pictured above in the Bay of Islands, come to us via Len Redwood’s fb.There is a great story at the link below as to how the boat came to be in NZ.https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/08/esperanza-ii/ […]
LikeLike
By Esperanza II | waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news – updated daily on June 24, 2021 at 12:54 am
Esperanza II – Ray Morey would have known Esperanza’s history, Ray is extremely knowledgeable regarding boats of that era. He probably carried out maintenance on it when it arrived in the Bay of Islands. Ray is a relative of mine and is a genius with older engines, petrol or diesel. As a kid most of my Saturdays were spent fishing out of the Bay of Islands with my father and his fishing buddy, Vern Wallace. We would often see Esperanza II on her way going fishing, always a pretty boat with her varnished sides and blue hard top. Vern had a copy of an American ‘Dunphy’ runabout built by Burt Baxter in Paihia, the original was owned by an American living in Otehei Bay. It took a lot pf persuading to get the ‘Dunphy’ out of the Americans shed to measure it up. Another very pretty boat, totally varnished.
Kind Regards
Mike Beaver
LikeLike
By Mike Beaver on April 11, 2020 at 1:15 pm
Hi Jillian
Can you send me the details to the email address below
Waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Many Thanks Alan
LikeLike
By Alan Houghton - waitematawoodys.com founder on August 15, 2017 at 5:01 pm
I can add some history!!! Please contact me for details.
My time of ownership was between 2006 and 2010.
Jillian
Asmarterdog@gmail.com
LikeLike
By Jillian on August 15, 2017 at 9:37 am
Hi everyone, it is very interesting to read the differing experiences of owners and those lucky enough to have, and still could go fishing/boating in a very fine vessel the likes of Esperanza11.
I too spoke to Snooks re: the vessel I had recently purchased from Whangamata which was in a bit of a sorry state, she had 2x100hp “D” series Fords with the Lees conversion and looked unloved however, over the next 16 months and almost new topsides and hull members we turned her into a Princess complete with Flybridge and I still miss her to this day! the photo at left is Esperanza11 finished and on the sales Berth at Pine Harbour Marina.
LikeLike
By Clive Bainbridge on July 26, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Hi there folks, When I worked on “Esperanza” I am sure she had one straight 8 chrysler royal and one 40hp ford(stbd side) Snooks bet me I couldn’t get the chrysler going, but I did. I am also sure Dr Petit brought her out because the previous year he had chartered one of the old Fuller boats and wanted a little more comfort, that’s how she entered the country. regards ray
LikeLike
By raysey on June 3, 2015 at 2:56 pm
Ta for that, I had no idea about the lobster boat racing.
I just watched a really informative video about the builders of them in Maine.
LikeLike
By Pam Whangateau Traditional Boats on April 10, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Yes … if woodies want a smile they should look up Maine Lobsterboat racing, in particular -you tube Galen Alleys ‘Foolish Pleasure” conventional build and shaft driven!
LikeLike
By Murray Deeble on April 10, 2015 at 2:14 pm
The lobster boat has been there for a while. Tell you what we could ship it with a couple of small craft thrown in her cockpit.
LikeLike
By Pam Whangateau Traditional Boats on April 10, 2015 at 1:14 pm
It wasn’t the best example of Chris Craft that they list but it made you look usually older and prettier.
I don’t go there any more, I’m already retarded.
LikeLike
By Pam Whangateau Traditional Boats on April 10, 2015 at 12:48 pm
Pam I like the look of the original lobsterboat listed there..
LikeLike
By Murray Deeble on April 10, 2015 at 12:23 pm
Hi James,
just imagine if today she came motoring past looking as gorgeous as that and what if I had kept my first car a 1970 HT Holden Kingswood Biege with all chromed bits.
My first thoughts were to mention the American, Free Boats website.
http://woodenboatrescue.org/?cat=4
They generally have a lot of these for free and as you say very original still. I note a 1962 Chris Craft Constallation 36 in New York with Chryslers 318 and just used last season, for free.
I thought it might be nice to see Esperanza II but I think I would only be disappointed by the kiwi modifications, which I think come about as a consequence of our climate and through not knowing any differently.
Perhaps Katy’s and your Laughing Lady might start a revival here.
LikeLike
By Pam Whangateau Traditional Boats on April 10, 2015 at 11:32 am
It’s so interesting to see how much kiwis are happy to change the configuration of boats over the years to suit needs and how they are operated. Quite the opposite to the states where you will find the boats in generally worse condition but largely original. I know these old Chris craft express cruisers had a lot of chine & log issues but are fairly easy to re-bottom cold molded. I wonder what sort of condition she is in these days.
Pam I know exactly what your thinking with the removable top…. Hot molded cedar with a minimum of spruce framing would have been likely.
LikeLike
By Rhodes 33 on April 10, 2015 at 10:25 am
I like her original configuration.
I also like the optional hard top. It pretty much seems to hover there. I would imagine it would be laminated, real timber or plywood and would have the minimum amount of framing on the under side but it also features a rolled edge. Easy to make in fibreglass / composite but this was built previous to fibreglass.
She’s pretty cool.
LikeLike
By Pam Whangateau Traditional Boats on April 8, 2015 at 3:14 pm
I had a chat with Snooks Fuller after reading this. He confirmed the story about the boat’s arrival from the US but not about the car. At the time Snooks was skipper of the Lady Doreen and Jack Hives, of Russell, was his first deckie. When the Esperanza II arrived Jack Hives became her first skipper.
LikeLike
By Shelley Arlidge on April 8, 2015 at 10:00 am
Ray Morey told me a version of the same story. The American was Dr. Paul Pettit who “gave” the Chris-Craft to Snooks Fuller. To be cynical, there was no way in Hell, short of being a primary producer with qualifying overseas funds, that anyone could buy and import the boat (let alone the car) from the US at that time.
LikeLike
By harold531harold on April 8, 2015 at 9:56 am