PAIKEA – ONE OF OUR FASTEST CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORBOATS 

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PAIKEA – ONE OF OUR FASTEST CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORBOATS 

Last week during a visit to Gulf Harbour I spotted PAIKEA tucked away on one of the inner berths, looking very smart. This master link will take you to several stories that document her past + lots of photos https://waitematawoodys.com/?s=Paikea&submit=Search

In one of the stories we learnt from Harold Kidd that PAIKEA was built by Collings & Bell for A.H. Court and launched on 26th January 1921. She was fitted with a 120-150hp Model M Van Blerck 6 cylinder petrol engine (not a straight-eight Packard as is often said). PAIKEA had Chas. Collings’ “concave-convex” type of hard chine design which he made famous with his various FLEETWINGS and whale-chasers. Indeed she was a refinement of the FLEETWING whose image appears in the Collings & Bell section of WW.

PAIKEA was good for 20 knots and can still do it with her present big Iveco/Fiat, Harold commented that she goes like hell and stable with it.

I n recent years PAIKEA has been one of launches that line up for the Auckland anniversary day motorboat inner harbour drag race, in fact earlier this year (2025) she was 1st across the line on corrected (handicap) time. Will be interesting to see if she turns up in 2026 to defend her title.

Photo below from the 2025 race where we see PAIKEA unsuccessfully trying to catch the winner – MY GIRIL.

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3 thoughts on “PAIKEA – ONE OF OUR FASTEST CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORBOATS ”

  1. lovely vessel!!

    she’d get an extra knot or 2 with her bow down a touch.

    such a unique design for back then!!

    I restored a lovely oldie out of Logans shed “Maroro” [1907] had a distinctive “V” transom.

    not sure of her fate but i believe she was brought over to Auck by barge from Grt Barrier.

    I’d bought her from Leigh, restored her and long lined out of th viaduct then whitianga 70’s.

    INPUT EX JASON PREW (MY GIRL) I think we will have to disagree on that bow Down comment, she’s had the underside of her duckboard filled in so that pushes her bow down more than trim tabs ever would or could, these convex concave hulls have quite a massive bustle in the middle which is what makes them plane early but also forces the bow up. She rides very flat for her hull shape.

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  2. Arrrgh, I’ll go blind! A 120-150hp Model M Van Blerck 6 cylinder petrol engine -what a clever man who designed and made some fabulous engines that were well designed and beautifully built. “Joe” van Blerck was initially a bit shakey but was certainly up with the high speed lightweight marine engine market. Stan Grayson’s fabulous book “Engines Afloat Vol 1 The Gasoline Era tells it all. I wonder whose Remuera house has Paikea’s engine still in the basement gathering dust. As an aside, when “Tasman’s” wartime Sterling engine was up for grabs when she was re-engined and MoTaT didn’t want it, I wailed and howled to the old man but he wouldn’t let me bring it home. Sounded nice -Jim Sprott started it for me several times -sounded great. The scrappy profited…..

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