Yearly Archives: 2017

A Woody Weekend To Remember

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Jason Prew & George Renall aboard Wairiki

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A Woody Weekend To Remember

I mentioned in yesterdays story, the weekend was just one out of the bag – just magnificent on all fronts.
A few CYA stalwarts headed out on Saturday for an overnighter at Administration Bay, Motutapu Island. The photos above from the combined cameras (more likely iPhones) of Jason Prew, Steve White & Dan Rendall show the yachts – Wairiki & Jonquil & the launch Lucinda. The young crew member in a few photos is Dan Rendall’s son – George, who already has his own P-Class (refer below photos a few weeks ago of the re-launch)
Enjoy the photo spread – they are rather good photos.

(included are a few random pics of other classics that were out enjoying the weekend)

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A Woody 100th Birthday

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A Woody 100th Birthday

I mentioned last Friday that on Sunday, Sierra the 1917 Joseph Fell designed & built motorboat would be celebrating her 100th birthday at the Panmure Motor Boat & Yacht Club.
Sierra’s owner Dennis Christopher (photo above) must have bribed the weather gods because the weekend was probably the best this year for classic motor boats. We made the decision to head to the Waiheke Island area on Saturday & then head over to Panmure on Sunday afternoon for the birthday party. Never made the party – see below.
Thanks to Baden Pascoe for the above photos & after speaking with Baden I can report that nearly 100 people turned up to celebrate the occasion, including members of the Fell family & the Andrews family (previous owners).
Its great to see these old work boats still being actively used & presented so well – I love the ‘beard’ on Sierra in the photo above.

Now the reason I didn’t make the party was Raindance had a mechanical oops, the 1st in 10 years that I have not been able to fix & we had to call Coast Guard for a tow. Hats off to the CC crew from Matiatia, Waiheke Island – they were on the scene pronto & had us back at Bayswater faster than I could have under her on steam 🙂 In fact the bottom probably got a good clean 😉
I spent Sunday morning cleaning 10+L of oil from the bilge – not my idea of a fun day.
A call to James Mobberley at Moon Engines will be top of the to-do list today.

(too many other classics out on the harbour to keep this below the radar – thanks guys for the txt’s 🙂  )

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There is always a silver lining – after we got home, decided to have a bbq & put a match to the lounge fire, first of the year.

Scows On The Waitemata

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Scows On The Waitemata
Late last year I was sent the two photos above by Ian McDonald whose sister-in-law was clearing out and old deceased Uncle’s stuff & came
across these photos.

Scows sailing goose-winged has a caption of 1920 Auckland Anniversary Regatta and, the other one is captioned Auck Ann regatta, 1900. Both have NZ Herald – Wilson & Horton stamps on the back. Both are about 12″ x 8″  in size.

Any of the serious classic sailers out there able to ID some of the Scows?

And a launch bonus photo today of Miss Helen on the beach at Russell c1950’s (photo ex Nathan Herbert exEric Lee-Johnson, Te Papa collection)

Russell,Te Papa, Lee-Johnson, Eric 1950's

Manuia – An Update

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Manuia Oct2016

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MANUIA – An Update

Recently I was enjoying a coffee at my local Devonport coffee shop, Cafe Santini, & I had on a ww t-shirt. I was approached by a gent, Ron Ackroyd, who commented that he used to own a launch similar to the one shown on the front of the ww t-shirt. Turns out Ron briefly owned the Joe Slattery launch Manuia. Ron offered to send me some details & photos – which he did. Then this week, current owner Tony Butcher sent me a magnificent photo of her taken in October 2016. As you will see not a lot has changed & we like that 🙂

Ron commented that he owned Maunia from May 1989 to November 1989 & bought it from Jack Nears. Ron had spent a lot of great times on the boat with Jack between 1977 and 1989 and he promised Ron first option when he got round to selling her. Jack became quite ill in 1988/89 and the boat was getting beyond him and in May 1989 he offered Manuia to Ron. Ron already had a H28 but bought Manuia planning to use her and then make a decision on which boat he wanted to keep. They used the boat and did a fair bit of  painting, varnishing and general maintenance before coming to the conclusion that sailing the H28 and enjoying the very active H28 club scene was more their thing.

Ron sold Manuia to Paul Jones in Nov 1989.  Included above are a couple of photos of Manuia taken just before Ron sold her & list of what Ron knew of her previous owners (view the link below to the previous ww story on Manuia & you’ll see that Ron’s list dovetails well with Harold Kidd’s records.

Also above is a copy of a survey done by John Gladden while Ron had her. You have to love the honesty & practical advice / opinion given by  John Gladden, there are some significant defects that have been highlighted but John Gladden still says “The vessel is generally in good condition and is well constructed, timber sizes and joinery are of good standards.” In today’s PC world a surveyor would have written the boat off or at least scared any purchaser away.

20-09-2017 Photo below ex Nathan Herbert ex (I assume) the NZ Herald archives. Show Manuia post launching, during her sea trials.

Manuia

 

Pania

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PANIA
Pania has had the same owners for over 25 years. She was built in 1973 using triple planked mahogany.
The get up & go comes from twin 90hp 6LW Gardeners & she measures approx. 50′.
She looks a very sea worthy vessel, no doubt one of the reasons her home port is Bluff, Southland.
Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe listing heads up 🙂

Can we expand on her details e.g. designer / builder & where was she from 1973 > early 1990’s ?

Input from Dick Hall

‘Pania’ was built by Jack Morgan for Rex Baldick of Picton off the extended ‘Hawaiki’ design. She was launched with a single Allis-Chalmers diesel that came out of a local fishing-boat but later when back to Jack and converted to twin screw with two four cylinder Fords. You can see the original strut with shaft hole through it in underwater photo. Rex had the Baldick families ‘Prima-Donna’ before building ‘Pania’

SIERRA 100th BIRTHDAY DAY

Sierra was designed and built by Joseph Fell of Kohukohu (Hokianga Harbour) & launched 3 May 1917. If she was a human, Sierra would be getting a letter from the Queen – as the old girl has just celebrated her 100th birthday. Owner Dennis Christopher is having a wee party for her this Sunday at  the Panmure Motor Boat & Yacht Club, 104 Kings Rd, Panmure.
Sierra will be alongside the jetty from 2.00pm on-wards. It’s a just drop-in event & any one is welcome. So woodys, if you are out & about on Sunday, call by. (photo below ex Tom Kane).

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Highland Lass

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Te papa 1950s, by Eric Lee-Johnson Whangarei basin

Highland Lass

The launch in the centre of the above photo (by Eric Lee-Johnson & ex Te Papa) appears to be berthed in the Whangarei Basin. Nathan Herbert sent it in to ww & all we know is that the photo is dated c.1950’s.

So woodys – does any one recognize the boat ?

Update 15-05-2015 Thanks to Harold Kidd & Nathan Herbert we now know she was built by Dick Hartley in 1949 & is named ‘Highland Lass’

Sanson

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SANSON

Sanson was built in 1951 by Shipbuilders & is a carvel planked semi-displacement classic launch, approx. 25′ in length. Zoom zoom comes from a 2 cylinder 25hp Shibaru Ford diesel engine.

That is about all I know about her, can any woodys (Northland based – she lives near Dove Cove) help out with more details?

Mem Sahib – Seacraft Runabout

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MEM SAHIB

Mem Sahib is a 1965 16’ Seacraft Runabout that thanks to owner Dan Kamphuis has been restored to better than new condition, so good in fact that she was an exhibition at the 2011 Auckland Boat Show. The restoration started in 2009 and took 16 months, post the work – Lionel Sands from ‘Seacraft-Hanes Hunter’ viewed the boat and said it is one of the best restorations he has seen in a long time.

In addition to the physical (wood) side of the project, she received new electrics and bilge pump. The zoom, zoom comes from a Mercury 2006 60hp motor that must really push the 16’ hull along.

Dan knows a little about her past and was able to track down the owners before him and these people (EJ & KV Ralph) restored the boat in 1988. They said that they purchased the boat from a Canadian chap in Takapuna and the boat had been sunk on the ramp at Takapuna beach as they had left the bungs out. The wife was holding the rope to the boat while her husband was getting the car and did not realise the boat was sinking! It sat at their place for 18 months before Keith Ralph and his dad bought it. They restored it and sold it to their uncle Frank Mudrovich who left it standing covered outside for years. It was given to his nephew Ivan and Dan in 2008 and put under cover for a restoration project. However Ivan left it to Dan due to other commitments and Dan started the restoration in 2009 and as mentioned above, put it into the Auckland Boat show in 2011.

Talking to Dan, he is a one of those people that always has a project on the go and has the skills to undertake restoration projects like Mem Sahib. I fact post completing the project she has been used very little, but regularly serviced & run.

Now Dan has a problem, the next project is about to arrive & he needs shed space so Mem Sahib must go. So if any woodys out there are looking for a small classic that due to its size & presentation (small amount of varnish) is very easily maintained, Mem Sahib is a great buy at $20k ono. Comes with a trailer that is all registered and WOF and the motor was serviced recently by a Mercury dealer.

Would be a very smart, practical lake boat………….

I don’t normally publish owner details but I like this boat & she deserves a woody owner so if your interested or know someone who might be, contact Dan at mkamphuis@vodafone.co.nz

 

Taree – A Peek Down Below

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TAREE – A PEEK DOWN BELOW

Taree, the 1966 Owen Woolley designed / built 36′ launch changed ownership in Dec 2015 & new owner Don Bruce undertook an impressive refurbishment that started in June  2016, at the Brin Wilson Shed, Gulf Harbour.
Between June 1 & December22,  2016, approx. 1500 hrs went into boat building, engineering, replacing glass, painting, varnishing, plumbing, re-wiring & re-chroming. Don himself spent 12 hours every day,  Monday > Sunday working on the boat.
The results are impressive & Don speaks very highly of the Brin Wilson team & associated contractors that worked on Taree.

I saw Taree just after her re-launch, in late January 2017 at the Mahurangi Regatta weekend, the first photo above, I took there, the refurbishment ones are ex the owner, emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.
Previously on ww we had a peek at the work-in-progress & when she first left the shed, you can view / read that story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/11/29/taree/

Alden Ketch – Sailing Sunday

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ALDEN KETCH – Sailing Sunday

We do not see a lot of John Alden designed classic’s in NZ which given they are almost always very pretty vessels, isn’t good.
This one was design #550 & was built in 1939 by Arnold France in Lyttleton & has been lovingly restored by her current owner.
She is 39.35′ & built with full length 1 1/4″ oregon on hardwood frames. Her when the sails aren’t up a 2012 Nissan TD27 88hp diesel pushes her along.
She was re-rigged in Her refurbishment included being rewired, new switches / breaker panels, batteries, instruments, electric toilet and holding tank, new plumbing throughout. Plus new squabs and many other extras, complete hull paint before Christmas.
She is for sale on trademe – a very smart classic & a lot of boat for the asking price of $65k ono

02-04-2017 Updates from Robin Elliott
She is Windswift and was registered as A-8 with Banks Peninsular Cruising Club, She was a 3 year building project by Arnold France.
France probably started building her in 1939 but she wasn’t launched until October 1941. He and his wife and son lived aboard for 3 years during the War.
Seems to have grown a little over the years. Reported as 35-feet when launched, Arnold France gave dims of  “33ft 8in x 10ft 6in x 4ft 8in” in 1949, In December 1956 she was advertised for sale as being 34-feet. She was on Trade Me in 2008 as 41-feet, and now as 39.35ft. Tricky things these Alden ketches.

Here’s a little bit more, courtesy of Papers Past
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19411030.2.63?query=arnold%20france
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LWM19460509.2.22?query=arnold%20france