Todays photo of the 32’ launch – Waione was sent in by Neil Cummings, whose parents owned her in the late 1960’s , in the photo Neil is seen with his older sister, at the time Neil was aged 4>5 years old.
Harold Kidd has previously commented on WW that she may have been built by Joe Wheeler, in Bayswater c.1970.
Waione has made many appearance of the WW site, a lot linked to my ‘recent’ restoration. The link below will take you to a summary go Waione stories.
In the 2022 photos below we see her first at the Mahurangi Regatta and then again in November at Kawau Island.
The fat man in the red suit is scheduled to make an appearance tonight – remember to leave out a piece of Christmas Cake, a glass of whisky and a carrot.
Todays woody is somewhat of an unknown boat – the only time I have seen her out and about was back in November 2022 at our ‘Woodys Beach Picnic’ at Motuihe Island, the top photo is from that outing. Todays photos come to us for a tme me listing, spotted by Ian McDonald.
What we know about the 34’4” Taiho II is the she was built in 1968 by Shipbuilders using double diagonal kauri. Power is via a 150hp Ford D-Series turbo Diesel engine that gives her a 7>8 knot cruising speed.
Back in 2020 she underwent something of a re-birth and her interior is now very modern in layout and build – but as they say each to their own. Certainly well spec’ed in terms of home comforts.
Personally I’d lose the batwing which doesn’t appear to do anything other than be a mounting spot for the anchor light.
Do we know anything about her early days.
INPUT BELOW (press clipping) ex Nathan Herbert
Heading To The Bay of Islands This Summer – – circle Jan 6th 2024 in the diary for the Tall Ships Regatta , hosted by the Russell Boating Club it is always a dozy of an event.See below – more details at russellboatingclub.org.nz
Cake Day Entries – It Did Not Win But The Chocolate Cake Was The Best
PATIO BAY CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT WEEKEND – 2023
Todays story wasn’t meant to happen, the 2023 Patio Bay Weekend was not on the radar but several woody skippers told me late in the week that they were going so I shuffled the plans around.
Saturday mornings weather and sea state was average but sometimes you just have to make the call and head out. I was also suffering from serious cabin fever, so little boating in the last year.
As the day unfolded the weather improved but from the fireside chat post race, the classic yachts racing down did not have a pleasant trip.
CYA numbers were down significantly from previous years , in fact I was the only launch in the bay.
The venue hosts, the Mahoney family, ensured a great time was had by all, with the emphasis on an old-school / retro boating gathering e.g. open fire / bbq, Pohutukawa and driftwood smoke and the legendary barrel of rum……….. on that subject most were amused when the yacht “Prize” won her division – part of the winning is having to re-fill the rum barrel the following year – I was told Prize’s skipper historically has gone to great lengths to sidestep the expensive.
The assorted collection of photos above is simply to give you a glimpse of the weekend, and showcase the magic of Aucklands woody fleet and Patio Bay. Enjoy (passage photos B15 Frances & dark hulled yacht ex Dennis & Sue Rule) – (some photos below average in definition – long lens the camera).
Xmas Boat Reading – 10+ years ago I asked at my local 2nd hand book store, about an out of print copy of a book titled “Hemingway’s Boat’ by Paul Hendrickson – out of the blue last week I got a call telling me one had turned up – I started to read over the weekend and after just 10 pages put it down, just a gem, to be saved for the summer xmas /ny trip. Best $15 I have spent. If you see one for sale, grab it.
27-02-2024 UPDATE – Owner has just installed new exhaust hose to transom, new S/S through stern fitting turning. 90deg outside to a flapper finishing inside the belting starboard side.
AWARIKI – On The Market
Two years ago I helped sell the classic launch Lady Adelaide for her owner of 20+ years, my first question was – what’s next – well he was way ahead of me, having identified a very smart 32’ Owen Woolley designed and built launch named – Awariki. It was one of those relationships always meant to happen because back in 1967 Kerry was serving his apprenticeship under Owen Woolley and helped build Awariki. So the DNA was strong.
When I inspected Awariki she was a little tired, but the bones were there and Kerry was the man to give her a serious dose of TLC. Over the last two years Awariki has had a refit to her interior and most of the systems enhanced / upgraded – including a solar system and auto windlass – there’s even a custom built in wine frig 🙂
Some specs – 32’ x 10’5’ beam and 3’ draft. Built from Kauri planks. A 6cyl. Perkins 97hp engine (recon 1987) gives Awariki a top speed of 10 knots.
Another rarity in a 32′ classic is her 2m headroom.
Its not often that a 32’ launch with a flybridge looks good to the eye – Awariki carries hers well, everything is in proportion. Check out the last photo with everyone ‘up top’ – as I mentioned – she just looks right to the eye.
So woodys after reading all this its obvious that Awariki is reluctantly on the market – she is in turn-key condition – a wonderful classic cruising launch ideal for family summer cruising in absolute comfort
A little late posting todays story – its been rather a full on weekend – on Saturday we had our general election, which resulted in a change of government (very happy with that). Then early Sunday morning the All Blacks had a do or die clash with Ireland in the Rugby world Cup which resulted in a well deserved win for the AB’s.
After the final whistle I was in the car and heading north to Whangarei to check out the Whangarei Maritime Festival. The temptation to stay in Auckland and enjoy a celebratory breakfast was very strong but wow I’m so glad I didn’t – I was rewarded with a most enjoyable day out.
I’ll start by thanking Druce Dunlop for alerting me to the upcoming weekend and also say that the organisers did an great job promoting the event on social member. Anyone contemplating hosting a similar event could learn a lot from mirroring the WMF. It ticked all the boxes and was rewarded with a huge turnout.
A wonderful collection of mostly wooden craft on display that given the location / layout of the dockside, allowed the public to get up close and experience the vessels.
Well done to everyone involved – both on and off the water. Enjoy the gallery of images. As always – click photos to enlarge 😉
VICTORIA CLASSIC BOAT FESTIVAL – Vancouver – Dockside Tour
Last week we had a story about Peter Knowles and his travel to the Victoria Wooden Boat Festival vis his v-blog ‘Boat Life – Travels With Geordie’. Peter very briefly showed us some of the craft arriving – today we get a dock-side wander, complete with captions for the classic woodys.
I hope the people at Auckland’s maritime museum see this video – re their upcoming Auckland wooden boat festival next year. The stand out observation is the mix of yachts + launches + work boats + small craft – it is all mixed in together and thats what works all around the world – not rocket science……………..
INPUT ex Neil Chalmers – Great video , at 2 56 there is the NZ yacht ‘Two Sisters’ (was sail no. F3) . Has a Woollacott look about her. I often wondered where she got to .
A picture of her at Bon Accord Kawau appears in the ‘Cruising in NZ Waters’ by GR Paul (below). This was the go to book in the 1960’s before to the RAYC Cruising Guide was published.
REMEMBER BOAT BOAT SALE 11am SATURDAY @ MILFORD SLIPWAY – 5 OMANA ROAD, MILFORD $BRING CASH$WW MERCHANDISE FOR SALE
Today thanks to Dean Wright we get to wander the docks at Tutukaka marina and point the lens towards the Ngunguru River.
It was a slow day yesterday so I have done the hard work for you i.e. you will find links to previous WW stories on the boats that have appeared on WW in the past. Links found in the title section under each photo – enjoy 🙂
And if you can tell us more about the unknown boats e.g. there provenance, that would be great. If you haven’t come to grips with using the comments section – just send an email to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
The 32’ launch Ana Maree has appeared on WW several times (links below). Thanks to Harold Kidd back in November 2013 we established her start in life and some of her history – all in the links.
Built in 1965 by Oliver & Gilpin for Sir William Stevenson, over the years she has under gone several visits to the orthopaedic surgeons – we last saw her in Jan 2020 when she was part way thru a refit at Pine Harbour. At the time she lost her flying bridge so I was very happy. I understand there is still a few items to tick of the list but all of the major work is completed.
Forward motion is from a 120hp Lees Ford engine
Thanks to her tme listing (ex Ian McDonald) we get to have a gander down below.
The 34’ Brin Wilson built launch – Te Honu was launched in 1963 and has been lucky with her ownership over the years – back in 2015/16 she was given a decent birthday that saw her decks glassed, a re-modelled cockpit and new windows throughout. Then in 2021 she was re-powered and her hull repainted. Link to the Aug 2015 WW story. https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/25/te-honu/
I spotted Te Honu at the 2019 and 2020 Mahurangi Regatta and Dean Wright snapped her in both April and August 2022 in the Kerikeri Inlet + BOI
Forward motion is via a Ford Otosan 130hp ex Moon Engines, that gives her a top speed of 13 knots.
Had a good excuse to point the car south yesterday so took a side trip to Clevedon and mooched around one of the ‘private’ docks.
Very pleased to see that work is underway of Lady Gazelle, you may recall back in March she came to grief during Cyclone Gabrille (WW story link below) – a new owner has stepped up and we look forward to her relaunch. https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/03/02/lady-gazelle-on-the-rocks/
I spotted the 36’ c.1950’s launch – Antares , one of the better looking launches to come out of the Supreme Craft factory. More on her a future story. Previous WW story and lots of photos here https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/09/25/antares-2/
Also a few boats, below, looking unlikely to see the ocean again.
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