Yearly Archives: 2017

Awarua

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AWARUA
Awarua has made several ‘cameo’ appearances on ww & been mentioned in other stories but due to the fact that her owner (for the last 20 years) keeps her moored at Clevedon we do not see her at CYA events or this end of the Waitemata Harbour. Thanks to the CYA launch captain, Angus Rogers, we now have some great photos of her.

Awarua is 37′, a Roy Lidgard, all kauri launch, built in 1947. Angus was aboard her this week & commented to me that Awarua is kept in wonderful condition with no shortage of TLC.  In the 2nd photo above, you can see Angus’s launch Manhanui anchored behind Awarua.

Click this link to view a c1947 photo of Awarua, taken not long after she was launched

Mansion House Bay c1947

Korara

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KORARA

Korara was built in 1962 by Snow Waters to a design by naval architect, John E. Powell, UK.  The 37’6″ design is for a ‘sport- fishing’ motorboat which can cruise at a good speed in the rough conditions of the English Channel without slowing.
She is a very practical boat with an extremely well built kauri carvel hull. Zoom zoom comes from a 120hp Ford diesel that sees her cruises at 8 knots using very little diesel. While she probably can sail without the engine, her owner has never tried. She has a main stored on the boom under a brand new cover (beige, not shown) and a couple of headsails which have never been out. The main works excellently as designed, to steady her in a sea.
Some specs:
• There are two large plastic fuel tanks in a walk around engine room with about 5ft headroom. Engine room even has its own porcelain hand basin!
• Her propeller and rudder are bronze, the rudder being supported by a large, beautifully cast solid bronze shoe.
• Sleeping is via – 5 singles and 1 double berth.
• Decks are double (possibly triple) diagonally laid with no leaks and no movement save for the odd small seam crack.
• Coamings are all varnished teak including skylight, hinged 2 ways and removable all on bronze fittings, over the aft double cabin.
• Interior is in excellent condition, with all solid teak mouldings. Floorboards are teak and all wear areas are very thick teak (staircases, steps, handles etc)
• Gas stove / grill / oven is used very little. Water in 3 basins is fed from a header tank which is topped up by manual pump from a large stainless underfloor tank.

Korara is a special boat that has been fortunate to have been owned by a very talented & passionate woody. This owner is asking a very reasonable price – $75k ono, I hope a good buyer steps up soon & buys her, she deserve to be passed onto someone who will continue to appreciate her & care for her.
I’m not always a fan of the high gloss varnish coamings but Korara would look like a million dollars if you did the Uroxsys (Awlwood MA ) varnish treatment on her 😉

I very rarely post trademe links but I like the owners & I like the boat – so here you go – buy it.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-1237123330.htm
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Sandpiper – A Floating Motorhome

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Sandpiper – A Floating Motorhome

While not an oldie, built 1986 by Hodemaker in Wellington, she is a woodie – & has been in the same family since new. This is a go anywhere boat & has circumnavigated New Zealand about ten times and is extremely seaworthy. So if you were looking for the equivalent of a motorhome to tour NZ by sea, this would be it. Sleeps eight people in two cabins, has a toilet and two showers (one inside and one outside), a diesel heater for those cosy winter nights, oven, cooker, microwave, a three way fridge and a large fridge/freezer on the foredeck. The deck is massive as you can see in the photos.

For the specs – she is 43.62′ long, planked in kahikatea, powered by a very economical 127hp 6LX Gardner, has a 12kva generator, weighs 20 ton net, holds 2,000 litres of fuel and 1,000 litres of water.
4sale on trade me. Thanks to Ian McDonald for digging out the name & builder.

Raumati II – same boat?

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RAUMATI II

I was contacted recently by Courtney Edwards in regard to her grandfather (Arthur Wilfred “Wolf” Edwards) launch Raumati II – read Courtney’s note below.

“We have been enjoying the Waitemata Woody’s site to learn about the wooden boats we see when staying in bays around the Gulf on our very fiberglass sportfisher

We stumbled upon the photos of Raumati II (Moeraki). My grandfather (Arthur Wilfred “Wolf” Edwards) owned a Raumati II that certainly looks similar from the late 40’s or early 50’s and for about 5 to 7 years. I have attached two photos…one was dated 1955 so assuming both are from then. My dad (Bruce) remembers bringing it down from Whangarei when they got it. It was kept at Westhaven and then sold to a doctor who kept it on a swing mooring at Devonport…does this sound correct? He also remembers that when they got it one of the kauri skins on one side had to be replaced from it sitting on the mud and rotting. He thought there was a very similar looking boat (but slightly longer) that was the police launch at some time…his dad had worked on it.

We also enjoyed the photos of La Rosa…my partner Mike’s grandfather, Bob King, had that and he remembers many times on it as a young kid. His dad (Douglas Oliver) then had Poseidon (Owen Woolley) which I found a photo of but can’t get back to wherever it was…are you able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks for the great resource!”

Alan H input – Courtney – link t Posiedon on ww here https://waitematawoodys.com/?s=Posiedon&submit=Search
Based on the photos on ww (2 below) it would appear to me that the vessel shown in the above photos is the same vessel. Have a look woodys – do you agree ? (apologies for the very low res photos above, trying to get better copies) https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/26/mystery-launch-26032014/

Woodys Cruising the Far North

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Woodys Cruising the Far North – Xmas – NY 2016/17

Bay of Islands based woody & professional photographer Dean Wright as always had his camera handy during his Xmas / NY cruise on board his classic Arethusa.
The vessels featured above are listed below, doesn’t Arohanui look a picture, wonderful advertisement for the team at Greg Lees Sandspit yard 🙂
Valerie is my pick, but I have a soft spot for straight stem tram-tops 😉

Arethusa anchored in the Rere Bay, Western Arm, Whangaroa on an oily flat morning.
Valerie steaming up the western arm
Defiance Whangaroa
Arohanui anchored at Milford Island
Sapphire anchored at Milford Island
Shandi anchored in Mangonui
Valiant anchored in Mangonui
Shalom coming into Orokawa last night along with 120 others
Unidentified canoe stern motor cruiser coming into Orokawa

Prowler, which Dean suspects is probably glass, she passed Arethusa as they went round Flat Island on the way to Mahinepua

Tibbs’ Beach – Sailing Sunday

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Tibbs’ Beach – Sailing Sunday

The above photo, from the A. Turnbull Library, was taken by William A Price in the early 1900’s & shows a collection of yachts & a small motor boat hauled out on cradles for maintenance at Tibbs’ Beach, Ponsonby.

Got to love the father & son + old boy with the walking stick, bowler hat & pipe in the center of the photo – that is what its all about-the 3 F’s – fun, friendship & fraternity 😉

So woodys todays questions – what is Tibbs’ Beach known as today ? And can we ID the boats?

Harold Kidd Input

From the left is ROMP alias CHARIE but built as EHOA by Tom Le Huquet in 1892, winter-quartered at Tibbs Beach when owned by Fred Rule. I can’t positively id the little double-ended launch. Next is, I reckon, QUEENIE, hauled out at the beach when owned by Tom Hill. Next is, I think, SCOUT when owned by the Ewen brothers who lived in Shelley Beach Road. Possibly, however, it’s MAYO which also pulled out there until she was damaged and broken up in late 1913 but I think MAYO was smaller although of the same general form. The bow of the boat on the right doesn’t tell us much except that she’s a small straight-stemmer. My pick is NEOLA which was owned by Treanor and hauled out here at this time.
I reckon the date is winter 1912 plus or minus a year.

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“Aquatics” correspondents of the newspapers and magazines of the time were fond of producing copy from a wander along the haul out areas around the harbour to fill their columns in the winter, so you can pretty well flesh out the boats hauled in each spot, season by season. The key to this image is the presence of EHOA aka RHONA/RONA/CHARIE (not CHARLIE), but ROMP at this time and that puts the dates to 1910-14 at the outside either way.
The other yachts which used Tibbs’ Beach for winter haulout within that period were (alphabetically) ARIKI, HEARTSEASE, LITTLE JIM (the first), MABEL, MAYO, NEOLA aka ALOFA/AWATEA, QUEENIE, ROSE aka MOUTERE, SCOUT, the 16 footer SURPRISE and VALDORA, then a big centreboarder.
The only candidate for the #2 yacht from this dramatis personae to my mind is VALDORA, then owned by W.T. Matthews but she was only 26ft loa. MABEL, now WAIATA in Wellington, has a raked stem and is 33ft, but no “spoon”.
Any other ideas?

Mandalay

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MANDALAY UPDATE

Back in late 2015 I posted some photos of the 1932, 23′ launch Mandalay that was built in 1932 by Ralph Shephard. Those photos showed her on the Clevedon River & she had been / was for sale on trademe. We enquired if anyone knew her where abouts. Well woodys I can happily report she was purchased by Mark Jack & has the custodian services of Mike Hughes, a traditional boatbuilder, based in Whangarei, who looks after her in Mark’s absence.

The above photos show her just re-launched after a refit that included the hull stripped back to bare timber, new stem, new paint job.
The photos are taken just off Parua Bay Tavern, Whangarei & also shown her tied to the stern of Omicron, a 20’ Harrison Butler yacht, build by P. Voss in 1945 that Mark Jack also owns.

You can view / read more on her here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/13/mandalay-2/

27-03-2018 Update ex Mike Hughes (Boatbuilder/Custodian)

Mike sent me the photo below from Dec2017 of Mandalay being used to ferry a wedding party from Motukiori Island, Parua Bay, Whanagarei.

Mandalay is owned by Mark Jack & is 23’ in length, kauri carvel & zoom zoom comes from a 3 cylinder yanmar.

Mike has promised me photos of the refit / upgrade she has had, so fingers crossed.

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WWII Q Boats

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WWII Q Boats
The above photos were sent to me by Craig Anderson, whose friend Peter Hull, father had been an officer in the navy during WWII and had a photo album of his early involvement in coastal defense. I have this great collection & will post more soon.

So the question today is – can you ID the location & the vessels in the top photo, including the yacht?
Is there a list of the Q numbers as allocated to vessels?

Taupo Eye Candy

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TAUPO EYE CANDY

Morning woodys – over the Xmas / NY break Paul Drake sent me the above photo that shows Romance (Bailey and Lowe 1914 – 26 feet and 6 inches LOA, 1947 Chrysler Ace powered) launch alongside the Acacia Bay wharf at Lake Taupo.
Alongside Romance is Dragon Hunter (Knaggs Brothers – she has a builder’s plate (photo blow) – 12 feet, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland, about 1930).

Both are rather fine classic’s – you can read / view more on Romance here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/09/22/8829/
and here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/21/romance-2/

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Sceptre Gets A Top Chop

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SCEPTRE GETS A TOP CHOP

While mooching around Waiheke Island last week the above launch anchored in the same bay, not long after her owner rowed over for a chat. After a few minutes of pleasantries I popped the question ” so tell me about your launch” & got the reply ” You know her but I bet you can not name her” – well folks I could not. The reason? her owner is one of the few woodys that actually pick up the chainsaw & lop off a flying-bridge addition. If ever someone wanted photographic proof to justify to themselves that their classic launch looks better without the ‘block of flats’ – here it is.

Below is a b/w photo of the Ben Hipkin designed & built 36′ Sceptre when she was launched (possibly c1965) & also one I took during the 2016 Mahurangi Regatta, in the Mahurangi photo Sceptre looks fine but its lost that classic look, she could be easily mistaken for a f/glass boat.

If the owner of Sceptre contacts me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com I’ll send them a Lake Rotoiti Wooden & Classic Boat Parade calendar – brave woodys need rewarding 😉

The owner also was the first launch I have seen flying the drinks / gin flag – more proof he is a good bugger 🙂

Note: Lots more interesting photos of yesterdays woody – Otehei added, scroll down this page to view

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