Lady Gazelle + Woody Event This Weekend

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Lady Gazelle

LADY GAZELLE

Today’s launch was spotted by John Wicks, moored at Te Kouma Village, Coromandel Harbour, last month. John commented that she has obviously had a fair bit of work done and was looking quite smart.

While the name on the bow is Lady Gazelle, John said he would bet his pension that’s not what she was christened. Any one able to enlighten us on her background?

Input from Nathan Herbert –Yep built for Wally Stockley, I presume named ‘Moehau’?? Her original lines are available online as is this description:

“In 1958-9 we had built two displacement launches. For Wally Stockley, building contractor of Northcote, and ‘Swampy’ Walker, a towboat skipper. Though I had designed them you could have said they were a Couldrey design. They were identical in style to Bill’s 30 ft Cleone. They were to be the last that we would build in a conventional single skinned kauri with steam bent ribs, riveted, caulked and puttied and the last hulls that were built upright.”

 

08-02-2019 Input from Harold Kidd
We’ve been through the provenance of these sweet launches several times already on WW. Bill Couldrey designed CLEONE for Bert Follas in 1948 and Jim Young built her in 1950. As far as Bill was concerned, he had no part in the design of her subsequent near-clones except for KOTARE which he designed for Frank Wilkins in 1960 and which Frank built himself.
MOEHAU for Walker and GAZELLE for Stockley were Jim Young designed and built. Jim generously tips his hat to Bill though.
Some Woolley thinking going on here on Ken’s part, or just a reluctance to abandon 70 year old wrong anecdotal data?
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BIG WOODY WEEKEND –  This Weekend at Lake Rotoiti, Nth Island
Yes Woodys – another year slides by and its time to hit the shores of Lake Rotoiti for the 2019 Classic & Wooden Boat Parade weekend – sadly I won’t be there this year, but I’m sure someone will have the box brownie out and we will get to enjoy the weekend vicariously 🙂
If you are anywhere around the middle of the island, I encourage you to check it out – around 100 classic woodys is an impressive sight. To view previous years – search classic wooden boat parade in the WW search box.

21 thoughts on “Lady Gazelle + Woody Event This Weekend”

  1. We are happy to say Ryan Welsh is now the proud owner of Lady Gazelle
    He bought her after she broke her mooring and went aground. Ryan is now looking forward to all the Mahi required to get this lovely boat back to her
    f ormer glory.

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  2. Hi Mitch & Cathy. I am Wally Stockley’s only daughter, and just FYI it was not me who visited you during the restoration. I love what you have done with Gazelle. She looks fantastic, much more like her original look.You have done an amazing job, congratulations. I christened her, and we had many wonderful trips on her on the Hauraki Gulf, out to Great Barrier Island for 3 weeks every Christmas, and one trip up to the Bay of Islands. I hope you and your family get as much joy from sailing on her as our family did.

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  4. Hi all, Cathy and myself ( Mitch) are the present owners of Lady Gazelle (formerly Gazelle)she is moored in Coromandel Harbour and used by us frequently. We purchased her in 2013 from John Stockley son of the original owner Wally Stockley. She was in need of restoration and John built a shed in Kerikeri to commence her restoration and only managed to strip her down and the restoration stopped.When we purchased her you could stand inside the hull and see out through the planks with the caulking still in place.The decision was made to spline the hull and restore her into a beautiful classic boat which she now is with the help of our friend Dan Cottrell a retired boat builder , the four and half year restoration was carried out on the hard stand at Thames Wharf where we were visited by Wally’s daughter to see the ongoing work. She still has the Ford 120hp engine when purchased.She give’s us great pleasure cruising the Coromandel Islands and Great barrier.We have lots of photos of her restoration and ongoing enjoyment.

    Mitch & Cathy Edwards
    Thames

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  5. Lady Gazelle was formally named Gazelle and was built for my father, Wally Stockley, by Jim Young at Birkenhead in the late 1950’s.

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  6. I coached the reference to Woolley the way I did, because whilst I had had a background thought, that he created her, I definitely stand to be corrected, as to builder, but I do know, that Jack Walker was the original owner. – I have a recall of seeing her with lots of flags draped over her top from front to back for the occasion.
    BTW we did not “crush” together, (we actually “cruised” together of course), — as referred to in my previous comment. — Why do computers think they know better with some words? KEN R

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  8. We’ve been through the provenance of these sweet launches several times already on WW. Bill Couldrey designed CLEONE for Bert Follas in 1948 and Jim Young built her in 1950. As far as Bill was concerned, he had no part in the design of her subsequent near-clones except for KOTARE which he designed for Frank Wilkins in 1960 and which Frank built himself.
    MOEHAU for Walker and GAZELLE for Stockley were Jim Young designed and built. Jim generously tips his hat to Bill though.
    Some Woolley thinking going on here on Ken’s part, or just a reluctance to abandon 70 year old wrong anecdotal data?

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  9. I believe she is the MOEHAU which was owned by Jack Walker, a towboat skipper of Pakuranga, in the 1950s60s. He was a good family friend & we crushed with him & his wife quite a bit.
    She still looks exactly as she did then, except for the lovely varnish, now gone of course.
    I had been sure she had been built by Owen Woolley for him. — She was kept at Panmure by the bridge on a pile mooring in the Walker days & always absolutely immaculate. KEN R

    Other than your connection, the rest is as per Nathan’s comments – you should read the comments b4 commenting, but them maybe you did…….Alan H

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  12. Yep built for Wally Stockley, I presume named ‘Moehau’?? Her original lines are available online as is this description:

    “In 1958-9 we had built two displacement launches. For Wally Stockley, building contractor of Northcote, and ‘Swampy’ Walker, a towboat skipper. Though I had designed them you could have said they were a Couldrey design. They were identical in style to Bill’s 30 ft Cleone. They were to be the last that we would build in a conventional single skinned kauri with steam bent ribs, riveted, caulked and puttied and the last hulls that were built upright.”

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  17. Yeah we will miss you Alan but looking forward to seeing the boats you have featured that will be new to the event, Rachel once again super organised in setting up what i’m sure will be another Corka weekend.
    Cheers

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  19. I am pretty sure she was built for Wally Stockley of Queen Street, Northcote Point. I grew up at Northcote Point in 1960s – 1980s & new the Stockley family. They use to go to Great Barrier Island over the Xmas period. She use to have an ugly perspex flying bridge arrangement on top. Now she looks much better back in her original condition.

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