CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON RESTORATION UPDATE #2

WW has been following the restoration of AVALON the 24’ 1954 Sam Ford built classic wooden launch since late 2021.

Owner Tobias Forsyth has been juggling the project in between family life and a profession that sees him ‘off-shore’ for extended periods of time. I have linked the previous AVALON WW stories below – lots of historical photos.

Late 2021. https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/11/29/resurrection-of-avalon/

May 2025. https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/05/12/classic-wooden-launch-avalon-restoration-update/

Today Tobias has shared with us a gallery of work undertaken in the last 6 months. The size of the project is lofty but when its a one owner family craft you tend to disregard budgets and hours work.

Tobias commented that  he had “made some good progress with interior build, cockpit, side deck glassing, loads of sanding and painting. Also finally finished the forward windscreen mahogany after deliberating on exactly how it should look for a while so I can order the new glass soon. I refurbished the original helm whittled by my grandfather in Manuka from the family farm in Beachaven, finished before he had even commissioned Avalon, I just had to replace the mahogany trim pieces that were made of a veneer and the diamantés”. 

The next phase is a new cabin top and some basic systems installed then final top coats of paint and varnish then she’s good to go. The plan is she will be kept on a trailer making AVALON a very user friendly woody.