Author Archives: Alan Houghton - waitematawoodys.com founder

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About Alan Houghton - waitematawoodys.com founder

What is Waitemata Woodys all about? We provide a meeting point for owners and devotees of classic wooden boat. We seek to capture the growing interest in old wooden boats and to encourage and bring together all those friendly people who are interested in the preservation of classic wooden vessels for whatever reason, be it their own lifestyle, passion for old boats or just their view of the world. We encourage the exchange of knowledge about the care and restoration of these old boats, and we facilitate gatherings of classic wooden boats via working together with traditionally-minded clubs and associations. Are you a Waitemata Woody? The Waitemata Woodies blog provides a virtual meeting point for lovers of classic and traditional wooden boats.
 If you are interested in our interests and activities become a follower to this blog. The Vessels Featured The boats on display here (yes there are some yachts included, some are just to drop dead stunning to over look) require patrons, people devoted to their care and up keep, financially and emotionally . The owners of these boats understand the importance of owning, restoring and keeping a part of the golden age of Kiwi boating alive. The boats are true Kiwi treasure to be preserved and appreciated.

Cleona Mae

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CLEONA MAE

Cleona Mae as built by Brin Wilson in 1962 & is powered by a 6 cyl Ford diesel. In the above (hauled out) photos we see her in Feb/March 2017 at the Sandspit hard stand, where she was getting some TLC. Home of Cleona Mae these days is Scott’s Landing, Mahurangi. Below, her previous owner, Nigel Drake of Tauranga has documented some of her past. Thanks to Ken Ricketts for sending this to me. Special thanks to Nigel for sharing the story. (photos ex Nigel Drake, Ken Ricketts & Brian Worthington). On her launch day she had a wee opps, refer photos below.

“Cleona Mae, was built by Brin Wilson in 1962. Launching looks as though it was in November, as that is the date which is on the original photos of her, having fallen off the trailer on that day.

She was built for Bert Follas, a well known builder in Takapuna. She is named after his daughters, Cleo and Shona, and his first wife Mae. The story as told to me by one of his grandsons, was that Bert knew Brin Wilson quite well, and when talking with Brin one day, during a bit of a slow period for Brin, they agreed that Brin would build Bert a 34 footer. Bert apparently told his wife of the agreement that night!

Previous to Cleona Mae, Bert owned the smaller Cleona, which I understand, is still in Milford marina.

Cleona Mae lived on a mooring in Westhaven, and Bert used to row out from the dinghy storage area, though he did have some trouble climbing over the transom, as he was on crutches from age of about 50. He used to take business associates from Takapuna out to the Barrier. Large bronze bollards are on each side of the transom as he was involved with the Coastguard and used to tow boats home when required.

In 1983 Bert sold the boat to his solicitor, Ian Armstrong. Ian appears to have owned her for only 1 year, as she was purchased by Bill McNutt of Tauranga in 1984. I have a feeling the flying bridge was added in 1983.

I purchased Cleona Mae in 1999. I added the mast in 2003. It had been a flag pole, one of many, on top of the Wellington Harbour Board building. They were removing them and selling them off at the time. I did many trips up the coast from Tauranga to the Mercury Islands, Great barrier and into Auckland.

She is a great little boat.

I sold her to Aubrey Montague, her current owner, in Nov 2012 having purchased the 40 foot Woolley “Freelance” in 2011.

I did the delivery trip to Gulf Harbour with Aubrey.”

Classic Yacht Racing – Waitangi

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Classic Yacht Racing – Sailing Sunday

Sorry for the late post today, been out & about watching the A-Cup, 1-0 is a great start, even better is the fact we are actually (& mentally) 2 – Zip up on Oracle 🙂

Seems only fitting that we have some classic yacht racing today. The u-tube movie below is by Roger Mills & was bought to my attention on the WoodenBoat Magazine USA forum by kiwi classic yachtie Patrick Xavier (that’s not his real name, but I wont ‘out’ him here).

The clip shows the 1894 gaffer Waitangi preparing for a race in the winter series – 2016. Enjoy 🙂

 

Heading Across The Ditch In November?

The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum ( JBMM), in NSW, are holding a Classic Wooden Model Boat Festival on the weekend of November 10/11/12. Based on the info that I was sent by woody boat builder Colin Brown, whose brother Stan is on the Festival committee it’s a cracker weekend. See below details

On Friday evening (10th) there will be a casual “ Meet and Greet” in the museum.  There should be chance to mingle, swap yarns & partake of refreshments.

The museum is land-locked but has large grassed areas surrounding the main building with a large shallow pond.

The northern area overlooks the Currambene Creek which flows into Jervis Bay at the coastal village of Huskisson which is only a short walk away.

We plan to have Trade Stalls and Hard Stand boat exhibits.

So woodys if your in Australia & looking for something to do put this event into their diaries. For more details you can contact Stan at su.stan@bigpond.com

Check out the Museum here www.jervisbaymaritimemuseum.asn.au

 

 

Rakanui >> Mona’s Isle II

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RAKANUI  >>  MONA’s ISLE II

Andrew Pollard recently sent me the above photos (ex Baden Pascoe & Russell Ward) of the 1926 motorboat Rakanui. I’m unaware of her history, which I’m sure the 2 previously mentioned woodys will supply. But I have to say – WoW what a stunning vessel.
Below is a photo of her later in life after she had been converted to a tug & named Mona’s Isle II.

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Input from Russell Ward
Harold elicited that her ownership was as below (built by Bailey & Lowe):
1. W.R. Patterson (1926-1937)
2. J D Bell Ltd (1937-1939)
3. Winstones (1939+)
She had a Widdops semi diesel when new and hence the tall funnel to get the soot and smoke away. They were replaced soon after she was new. Ray Morey sent us a problem pic of her from Australia and I am hoping it will be posted because she was on a jolly with Capt Bell and passengers and we were not sure of the date or actual location in the harbour.
Superb tug and well praised by all those who served on her. When Patterson sold her to Bell pre WW2, she had to be renamed and Bell, being a Manxman, chose the name which was already in use by a Clyde ferry -hence she is the second of the name. Took us a while to fathom that one.
(Photo below taken when Bell owner her)

Input from Ray Morey
She also sported a pair of K4 Kelvins then Gardners before the Detroits which I am sure Keith Wright installed. I believe “Mona’s Isle” is the old gaelic name for The Isle of Man.

Input from Ken Rickets – Was run by the Julian family for a number of years as a tug, under ownership of Gulf Freighters Ltd, a joint Julian & Winstone company. She had 2 x 88 Hp Kelvin diesels, which they replaced with 2 x 95 hp 5 Cyl Gardners.
Input from Paul N. – In the ninetys she was owned by Sir Michael Fay and would tow a barge full of building materials from the Tamaki river down to the Merc’s. Later was sold to McManaways in the South Island and was used for towing a barge. Unfortunately the barge toppled over with the weight of two concrete trucks while loading, with the loss of two lives.

mona's isle II

Additional Input from Andrew Pollard
Julian used her extensively in the harbour bridge construction. The photos below are ex BadenPascoe / Russell Ward / Chris Robey

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Input from Robin Elliot (photo ex Russell Ward*)
In February 1945 Winstones loaned Mona’s Isle to Royal Akarana Yacht Club for use as their flagship at the club’s 50th Jubilee Regatta.
At RAYC’s centenary regatta in 1995, she was there again as flagship, now named Rakanoa and skippered by the redoubtable Peter Vandersloot who was tug-boat skipper for Sir Michael Fay.

*The photo is by Tinny Brown, who was a tug man of the times we speak of, and came to Russell via Tim Brown –a good steamer and ex Bailey’s man (hence a great craftsman). Now steaming in Whangarei with his steamer Clansman.

(Ron Trotter has advised she has been in Coromandel Harbour / wharf for the last year+)

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30-01-2018 Input from Janet Watkins

From Whangarei records by AH Pickmere I was updating yesterday!!
“Old timers will remember W.R. Patterson who grew up in boats yet he never learned to swim. He started with a small open sloop but began trading with a larger vessel Lupe, a cutter. Then he acquired the passenger launches Rose and Eva, and later Lady Eva and Rakanui. W.R. Patterson owned Eva 1910-1928, Lady Eva 1013-1920 (Latterly owned by Subritzky) and Rakanui 1926-1937. Rakanui, renamed Monas Isle II, brought back to Whangarei by Keith Wright and name reverted to Rakanui. Should be Rakaunui meaning Big Tree – Capt Patterson was the local agent for Big Tree Benzine and in the days before either rail (late 1926) or good roads, cased benzine was regularly barged from Auckland to Patterson’s depot near Doctor’s Creek – behind the old Drill Hall in Whangarei.

Takitimu

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TAKITIMU

AIan Sexton took the above photos of the Owen Woolley built ‘Takitimu’ at Whangaroa. Takitimu was launched in 1975 for the then GM of NZ Forest Products, Doug Walker. She is 42′ and was powered with a horizontal 250hp Volvo, possibly still is looking at the smoke coming from her 🙂

The Walkers started boating the same time as Alan, their first launch was Gay Dawn in 1971, a couple of years later they purchased the Woolley Karere II, followed by Takitimu. They owned Takitimu for approx 10yrs then downsized to a 10.5m Woolley flybridge launch. Doug’s son Paul later ran the Woolley launch Alchemy in charter.
The only change to Takitimu since launching is the raised flybridge windscreen and solid canopy.

 

Voyageur – A Very Big Woody

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Voyageur – A Very Big Woody

Voyageur was built in 1953 to a Chris Craft design, she measures 60′ with a beam of 14’5″ & draft of 5’6″ – so is a rather large old girl.
She is D/D kauri that has been glassed over, with a teak interior. A recent refurbishment included new Volvo engines. For sale at $750K, a lot of money for a 60′ woody but its a lot of boat & being set up for game fishing & in MOSS survey, I assume its a business venture as well.

Any one able to advise the builder?
Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe heads up.

UPDATE

Ken Ricketts has advised she was built in 1958 by T K Atkinson at Browns Bay, at 40 feet, for Takapuna Ford dealer Jack Lewis, (Lewis Motors), who extended her in 1965 to 48 feet, the work once again being done by T K Atkinson. —
Lewis took & a friend & me to Browns Bay one day, to see the extension in progress. He was considering a 3rd centre engine for her at that time.
She has obviously been extended again.
What a shame all her lovely exterior varnish has gone — it was such a special part of her beauty & character.
View photos from her early days as a 40 footer here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/03/18/voyaguer/

04-03-2026 UPDATE ex DEAN WRIGHT – photo below of Voyageur, in Whangaruru

Hirere & Poaka

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HIRERE & POAKA

I have had the above photos that are both taggged ‘Hirere’ in my ‘upcoming ww stories’ file for a long time, hoping that at some stage I would uncover more (some) details on the name & determine if they are the same launch & if not which one is Hirere. To date nothing – so I put her out there today to she if we can answer my mystery.

Input from John Blundell

“The photos today came to you from a group I sent to Harold Kidd a couple of years back. The top photo is Poaka which was built about 1959 for my father Stan Blundell by Snow Waters. She was featured by Sea Spray magazine not long after as a”quart in a pint pot”.He sold her to Athol Mellars a couple of years later and his son John later took her to Gt Barrier where he lives.
The other photo is the 29foot Vindex built also for my father about 1963 by Jim Young in his shed at Birkenhead wharf.Dad wanted to keep the engine out of the main cabin so it was installed further aft and fitted with a vee drive.
Re the dinghy it was one of Phil Bartons 8footers and was the best of the bunch that were around at that time. The wooden one in the photo was used as a mould to produce fibreglass versions not long after.That is another story.”

Ngapuhi – Help Wanted

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Ngapuhi – Help Wanted

Today’s post features a launch that is most likely named Ngapuhi. In fact Harold Kidd is 95% sure of that & we are pretty confident she was owned by S.B. (Hoki) Williams the manager of Shipbuilders post WW2.

But the big questions are – who built her?, when? and what happened to her at Shipbuilders?. One thing for sure, she is a fine looking ship. So woodys can anyone help out on her provenance?

UPDATE 18-08-2022 photo below of Ngapuhi in Schoolhouse Bay, Kwau Island xmas 1949 ex Ken Rickets.

18′ Clinker Day Boat Restoration Project

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18′ Clinker Day Boat Restoration Project
Today’s story is a pictorial of the restoration at the Peter & Angela Murton – Murton’s Timbercrafts yard in Richmond, Nelson of an 18′ clinker day boat. It’s claimed to be a Colin Wild design/build but could equally be a Seacraft.
Peter has done a wonderful job of sympathetically rebuilding the boat, equal with her vintage. Right down to the Via 7hp two stroke engine.

Hats off to her Christchurch owner, funding a restoration of this scale on a 18′ craft is a big call & needs deep pockets.
No-doubt we will see her at next years Lake Rotoiti (Sth Island) wood boat festival.
You can view more of Peters work here http://www.murtons.co.nz/

Unknown Yacht Wreck – Sailing Sunday

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UNKNOWN YACHT WRECK – Sailing Sunday

Today’s post features two Tudor Collins photos of an unnamed yacht beached at Baddeleys Bay, on the Tawharanui Peninsula, photos ex the TC collection at the Auckland Museum emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.
Anyone able to ID the yacht & how she came to end up on the beach ?

Few things in life scare me – but I do have a thing about snakes – if it had of been me working on the electrics of this boat, an underpants change would have been on the cards 🙂 Click link below to watch the video

White Cloud Movie – Leaving The Shed + Launch Day

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White Cloud Movie – Leaving The Shed + Launch Day

Today’s post is based around a movie of the launch White Cloud, being shoe-horned out of the Supreme Craft shed at 1a Summer St., Ponsonby & making its way to Fodenway Motors, Penrose for engine fit out. And then the final leg to launching at Panmure in June 1965. The movie was filmed by her original owner, Len Buckby & shared with ww by his daughter Pam Mare via Ken Ricketts.

You can see & read more about White Cloud here

The Building & Launching of White Cloud + A Peep Inside 1A Summer Street