Phyllis M

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Phyllis M @ Smoke House Bay Gt Barrier

PHYLLIS M

The photo above of Phyllis M was taken recently in Smoke House Bay, Great Barrier Island. She would have to be a finalist in the Husqvarna Chainsaw Boat of the Year Awards 🙂
I know that some ww readers will beat me up for focusing on the construction added to her rear but bloody hell here we have a pretty motorboat that is obviously well loved, just look at the hatches & mast – that has been altered to suit an individuals personal requirements with no consideration to her historical design or aesthetics. I accept each & everyone of us can do what we want but you have to ask yourself, does the owner own her because its a cheap way to go boating or are they a classic wooden boat fan. The way she is cared for & presented leads me to think they do love her, so I have my fingers crossed that one day Phyllis M well have a top-chop 🙂

What do the woodys know about her past?

ps had a great response to yesterdays story about the Auckland Motor Yacht Club burgees (below), have a pile of applications for my assistant Flora McKenzie to review, so if you think your classic is deserving of flying one, send me an e-mail. waitematawoodys@gmail.com

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28 thoughts on “Phyllis M”

  1. Pingback: Oneroa (Waiheke Island) – pt 2 – Hugopotamus' adventures

  2. Pingback: Phyllis M Goes Topless | waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news – updated daily

  3. There will be brief run down on PHYLLIS M/WAINUNU and Clive Power plus a nice pic of her (not the one above!) as well as the many faces of IRIHAPETI/NOMAD/ARAWA/REHUTAI in the March issue of Boating NZ.

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  4. Well Team, how about we ask HDK ( or anyone who has one) to put up a photo of Wainunu in the guise that we all loved as a gleaning example of Fred Mann’s work as it was intended so people can make up their own minds .Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

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  6. I think Dave Jackson worked on her prior to the high rise extension and he may have also owned her.

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  8. Yes, Wellington Harbour is a nice place for a day sail – or motor. But……. in a few hours you can be in the Sounds, and on a good day crossing the Strait is a magical experience, and the nearest thing you can get here to the Pommie experience of “going foreign” – and you don’t need customs clearance!

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  9. keith Munro asked me to post this on his behalf – more light on the subject …………….

    Phyllis M was owned by a live aboard family for about 5 years and they traded her on another boat I owned at the time. When she was put in my care John Wright and myself stripped her and repainted her inside and out. She is in very good condition with a Cummings 6 CLY non turbo 90 HP motor mounted forward. She has a very good turn of speed with no vibrations or noise and would properly leave 75% of the CYA fleet in her spray. She had new stove fitted and was reupholstered . As she rolled a bit I fitted a new Oregon mast with main and self furling stay sail to increase her stability while running. The flying bridge was always there since I have known the boat and is very practical for winter fishing and evening drinks. I agree it does not do much for her looks but gives more room and accommodation. I on sold the boat to the Wheeler brothers who also gave her good loving care. Sadly Brian died a couple of years back and I do not know her new owner now. I only hope he does not judge some of us CYA members by the comments on this forum.
    I hope she is around for another 100 years.
    As for the ones wanting to do the chain saw massacre when you get piles bring your saw to me and I will help you trim them.

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  10. That’s what my old mate Geof Entrican would have described as a 3 storied block of flats!

    Cheers Alistair Rowe 0276644581

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  12. In the Clive Power era, she had the “tram top” & a number of round portholes in the original cabin top, with no windows in the tram top, the same as at now. – Looks better with the oblong windows which I think are well done, in the cabin top, in my view. — She did not of course have the block of flats on the dodger.
    They loved her & used her very regularly. — KEN R

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  14. When Clive Power owned her & (as WAINUNU) she had 4 cyl Lister Diesel with a mast exhaust. He was the secretary of the R.A.Y.C. for much of that time, — (in the later 1940s-50s) & owned a mens outfitters shop at the top of Eden Tce adjacent to Khyber Pass & Symonds St. I think his wife may have been called Phyllis — a lovely lady, — we knew them well — KEN R

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  16. I totally agree, least she’s being used and looked after. Better then some ‘orginal’ boats where the owners have spent $$$$ getting them back to their orginal state, even if they are total impractical, and then leave them on the mooring like a souvenir on the mantle…….
    Quickest way to kill an old wooden boat is to not use it….

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  17. As i have banged on before she is out on the water and probly going to the same places as the varnished flotillas. Good on them too.
    The whole “as original” thing is a tad tedious in my personal opinion. As original would surely mean exposed petrol engines, no fancy dripless shaft seals, no rubber engine mounts, no universal drive shafts. No gps, no electric anchor winch, no fridge/freezer. Etc etc. So that will rule out probably 98% of boats in this country.
    How about we all just congratulate the people who have the “kahunas” to buy and maintain these old girls in wotever “disguise” they have. Surely it is best to have the oldies out on the harbour competing for best anchor space with the “Tupperware horror shows”.
    Go the all blacks. Cheers.

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  19. I’ve got a couple of NZ Power Boating Association blazer and cuff buttons. Made of bakelite and very cool! The only reason I can think of for owning a launch would be to sew them on to something 🙂

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  20. The flying bridge has been there for quite a while. She lived at Hobsonville-nee-Westpark for over a decade that I know of, and for some time was lived aboard. For a while she was one of Keith Munro’s armada. IIRC it was Keith who gave her back her name. (Good time to chip in now, Keith. 🙂 )
    Also IIRC when I first knew her the excrescence was open topped and therefore not quite so in-your-face. You’d think karma alone would deal with the drastic raising of cg, but she and the other boats that have had “that” done to them seem to get away with it. Perhaps the extra motion felt up in the “High Tower” deters them from going out when there’s more than a ripple on the water?

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  21. PS Fred Mann, a brilliant man and a brilliant boatbuilder, would turn in his grave if he could see what has been done to his lovely launch by this misguided individual.
    Let’s hope she just doesn’t topple over and sink, either through her wildly raised c of g or just through being smitten by the Gods of Good Taste.
    What a joke! What an abomination!

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  22. PHYLLIS M was built by Fred Mann at John Street, Ponsonby in December 1919 for himself. After Fred died in 1945 she was sold to Clive Power who renamed her WAINUNU.

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  25. Hi looking for any information on my woody “Tara” I know nothing other than I have been told it has been in and around Sandspit for a long time.

    On Sat, Jun 25, 2016 at 6:03 AM, waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden bo

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  26. This is totally the answer to your housing crises , high rise apartments are definitely in, We will look after the integrity of Taupo classic boats with ‘single level dwellings’! Have a good weekend all.

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  27. I will supply the gas for the chainsaw !. And yes under all the top hamper she is a rather pretty classic launch.

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  28. Was later Wainunu built by Fred Man in 1932 at John St, Freemans Bay She now has her original name. I knew Vic McDonald who owned her for many years and she was totally original. She was then powered by a JP 3 Lister, this engine is now in La Rosa. Hard to understand why someone would do this to such an original launch

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