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Dedicated to the study & appreciation of wooden boats. WaitemataWoodys® was founded upon a desire to tell the stories & a need to archive the history of our classic wooden boats, the craftsmen who built them & characters that owned & crewed on them. To share – email your photos, video's & stories to Flora McKenzie at waitematawoodys@gmail.com – Special thanks to marine author & historian Harold Kidd. Click the follow button at the bottom right of the page to get email alerts on new & updated stories. WW gets a LOT of emails every day – we like that, but sometimes we just can't answer them all, it's not that we're lazy or rude – just busy working on the next story :-) alan houghton – WW founder ©2026

CLASSIC LAUNCH – KAREN ANN

Todays launch is KAREN ANN, built c.1960 by Bishara Boats for T. M. Smith, probably to a Hartley (Harmony) design.

Her length is 31’8” and when launched she was powered by a 60hp Ford 4 cyl. diesel engine.

The photo (excuse the poor quality) is from Sea Spray magazine and comes to WW via Ken Rickets.

Despite being a Hartley design*, she looks very smart under power. The bow rail wouldn’t win any design awards 🙂 but I’m sure is very practical.

Anyone know what became of the craft – is she still afloat.

I’m not anti all Hartley craft – the 33′ one below built in 1951, named LOVELY LADY > STAR DRIFT is a real looker.

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