MERMAID
Mermaid started life as a mullet boat (H14), built in 1914. At some stage she was converted to a launch & used for commercial fishing for many years.
She measures 28’ & is made of kauri carvel planked. Zoom zoom is via 1985 Ford Dover 80hp diesel.
With a little bit of work she would make a nice classic woody – winters coming up – a good project.
Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe listing heads up.
Any of the woodys able to tell us more about her past, including the days under sail?
Harold Kidd Input – MERMAID was built by Alan Crossley for his father Capt. G P Crossley of Bayswater in 1914, a 28 footer, basically for cruising. She was ballasted with rocks. Her 1914-22 sail number was 120, her 1922 sail number was H14 (28 footers were lumped into the H Class for 26 footers); her registration as a fishing boat in the 1980s was AK1441. The only racing she did was the odd local race with Bayswater Boating Club during its brief existence. Crossley sold her to W. Oxley of Mercury Bay in 1936 where she had one side stove in when fishing. Later owners included Ron Bowman and Max Brown in the 1960s.
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily 
Alan Crossley was my grandfather and his daughter Peggy is 100 and is currently in a rest home in Massey, Auckland. We would love to find out more on where the Mermaid is now. We know it was built of Kauri and it has been many used for many different things. Thank you
LikeLike
Great to see a Whitianga fishing boat featuring in Woodys. As Merv said she was fishing out of Whitianga and I can remember her well. I think she had a JP 2 Lister as power. Whiti obviously owner her for along time as she was still in the bay in the mid 1960’s.If she belonged to Ron Bowman she would have been a very successful fishing boat. Ron was with out a doubt one of Auckland’s top long line men among skippers like Tom Williams (H K, Lena, Beverly and Tamure).
LikeLike
Hi all,
I printed this posting out for Don this morning, not making any connection to Whitianga myself.
Later Don said to me isn’t that Whiti Oxleys fishing boat, it was a converted mullety and named `Mermaid’.
Don turned 95 last month and has gone backwards quite a bit in the last year.
This mornings posting has got him much more enthusiastic than usual. It’s nice to see that still in Don when the right subject comes along.
Great to see a boat built in 1914 and with a good bit of history, still in apparently quite good nick
Sorry to include so much family in your site for boat enthusiast but `Woodies’ is the centre of Don’s and my mornings now. Not many old sea dogs like him left now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
MERMAID was built by Alan Crossley for his father Capt. G P Crossley of Bayswater in 1914, a 28 footer, basically for cruising. She was ballasted with rocks. Her 1914-22 sail number was 120, her 1922 sail number was H14 (28 footers were lumped into the H Class for 26 footers); her registration as a fishing boat in the 1980s was AK1441. The only racing she did was the odd local race with Bayswater Boating Club during its brief existence. Crossley sold her to W. Oxley of Mercury Bay in 1936 where she had one side stove in when fishing. Later owners included Ron Bowman and Max Brown in the 1960s.
LikeLike