VACUNA – a woody project?
Vacuna is a 36′ Owen Woolley launch, designed and built in 1958. Unfortunately she has had a wee oops, to quote the insurers she was flooded to the top of her twin Perkins diesel engines, not sure how that happened but we are told the engines were immediately flushed & inhibited.
At the moment Vucuna is hauled out at Half Moon Bay & available for inspection. Bidding starts at $5,000 & closes 23 August.
Now if it stays low, someone will get a nice woody that appears to not need too much to bring her back.
Do we know anything about her past ?
Input from Paul Drake
My understanding is that she was built for a Mr Bull (Jack?)by Owen Woolley. She was built of totara, since she was destined for Taupo, and her owner was wary of rot which, in some quarters, is associated with fresh water boats. She was at Taupo for many years under the same name. Mr Bull had previously owned KATOA, well covered in WW. This information is as I have always understood it, and was recently confirmed by the original owner’s son, who I chanced to meet down at the boat harbour here in Taupo. It is interesting to note the beamy, hard chine VACUNA compared with the narrow gutted, round bilge KATOA. No doubt the Bull family had had enough of rolling around. A VACUNA story was related to my brother Michael only two days ago. VACUNA was on a temporary mooring off the beach at Kinloch. She came free in a sou’westerly and was about to wash up on the beach. The call went out to the local holiday population and dozens of them entered the water in an effort to save her, much like a beached whale. One of them, a strong swimmer, took a line back to the mooring buoy, and VACUNA was hauled off the beach.
Below is a pic of VACUNA, it shows her on her mooring in the Taupo boat harbour in the early 1960’s. The other launch is EL ALAMEIN, now RANUI, already featured on woodys.
The boatsheds in the background are long gone, sadly. SIR FRANCIS occupied the shed seen here over the stern of EL ALAMEIN. The door is open and our car parked on the road outside. The photo I took, of course, from SIR FRANCIS.
photo below ex Ken Ricketts
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Hope it all goes well for you Brian
It would be nice to catch up with Vacuna sometime whilst she’s in the North, we’re 40 minutes further up in the BOI.
I have the original log book my grandmother kept of her first 6 years on Taupo from 1958 to 1963 – gives a great feel of boating on the lake in that era.
Cheers Richard Duley
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Hi Team
Vacuna has recently changed hands in Whagamata and was steamed up to Whangarei for a bit of a refit.
We have started to refurb mechanicals first.
Gearboxes are being removed, broken down and new seals, bearings and clutch parts being replaced. Wish us luck.
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Vacuna was built for my Grandfather, Reg Bull, who had her trucked to Taupo from new. She had a pair of Grey Marine petrol engines.
I have her original log book, written by my grandmother Sally, of her early days on the lake. Would be interested to hear of any of her subsequent history, & hopefully a happy outcome after her sinking.
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Photo added. AH
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According to the Q&A in the trade me advert, the flooding was caused by electrochemical damage around the starboard rudder post.
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ARIES was indeed built by Owen Woolley in 1957 for W.A. Burrett of Arney Road. She was quite a bit bigger at 42′ loa and had twin ex-USN Chrysler Crowns, later replaced with Commer diesels. Apart from the Woolley design and build they were quite distinct craft. Logan Colmore-Williams’ Woolley KARERE was bigger again.
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Can’t be sure from looking at the pic above, but if this boat has a hard chine, she can’t be ARIES, because ARIES had a round chine, in which case I was wrong, however the coamings, flare, & hull design above the waterline, are almost identical, to ARIES, & recall is that ARIES was also built by Woolley. – KEN R
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I have a different view to Ken. My understanding is that she was built for a Mr Bull (Jack?)by Owen Woolley. She was built of totara, since she was destined for Taupo, and her owner was wary of rot which, in some quarters, is associated with fresh water boats. She was at Taupo for many years under the same name. Mr Bull had previously owned KATOA, well covered in WW. This information is as I have always understood it, and was recently confirmed by the original owner’s son, who I chanced to meet down at the boat harbour here in Taupo. It is interesting to note the beamy, hard chine VACUNA compared with the narrow gutted, round bilge KATOA. No doubt the Bull family had had enough of rolling around. A VACUNA story was related to my brother Michael only two days ago. VACUNA was on a temporary mooring off the beach at Kinloch. She came free in a sou’westerly and was about to wash up on the beach. The call went out to the local holiday population and dozens of them entered the water in an effort to save her, much like a beached whale. One of them, a strong swimmer, took a line back to the mooring buoy, and VACUNA was hauled off the beach.
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Input from Ken R – Vacuna was built as the ARIES, if she is the boat I think she is, had a pair of petrol engines originally, replaced by 2 x TS3 Commer diesels. As I recall, probably an Owen Woolley & kept in the Tamaki River when new.
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