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.
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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.
MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH DOCKSIDE – BELL BIRD
Todays woody popped up on a post that Don France made on the Tug & Workboat fb.
From comments made the bow scroll tends to point towards either a Collings & Bell or Bailey & Lowe built vessel.
The location has the look of a tide estuary / coastal river.
I’m being very generous in the heading with the use of the word ‘dockside’, I’m sure it was fit for purpose but wouldn’t pass todays OSH standards 🙂
Anyone able to ID the boating location.
15-05-2025 INPUT ex PAUL DRAKE – This is surely the present day BELL BIRD. She has been at Taupo for many years and is in frequent use. Certainly Bailey and Lowe. Photo below ex Jason Prew Jan 2015.
★ Mondays AVALON photo bomb was the highest rating in terms of views for YTD 2025 – looking forward to more updates.★
THURSDAY’s WW Story – tomorrow we have the last of the 7 part series – ‘AN INSIGHT INTO NZ’s UNIQUE MARINE ENGINES’, complied by Ken Ricketts.
While having a niche audience, we received a lot of positive feedback and additional intel from readers. When approached by Ken Ricketts re WW running the series our primary aim was to record the data on a searchable source for access now and in the future.
WW thanks Ken Ricketts for his passion, time and tenacity in pulling it together. In the next few days I will do a post to provide all the links to the 7 stories in one location.
Back in 2023 WW was contacted by Tim Munro regarding the classic 16’ run-about MARE-EE-AN, at the time Tim was trying to locate a copy of her original Carl Augustin plans to help with an upcoming restoration. Thanks to Cam Malcolm at The Slipway Milford we were able to track down a copy. Last week Tim contacted WW to update us on the project – Tim tells the story below:
“The boat was in pretty good condition other than needing a new transom and the top windscreen being constructed as at some time it had been taken off and replaced with a curved perspex one. The plans WW found for us came in handy for this. The boat was refurbished in 2023/24 and re-launched back into the Kaipara 60 years to the day after it first being launched.The two black and white photos are of her when she was in the Epiglass 40 regatta in late 60s. The photo with the 1970 Atlantic 100 sticker is it in this race. (For the 100 miler race Bryan McLeod (Tim’s father) needed to have a number in the 100s, so he just stuck some black masking tape either side if the number 8 for the 40 miler to turn it to number 181.) The older photo of it in front of the house with Bryan and his daughter is with them holding the trophies from these races. (Economy Class). The remainder of the photos are on the day of the re-launch into the Kaipara River.”
Tim also commented that that his wife, Janette McLeod had written an article for a local Helensville newsletter as Bryan lived his whole life in the area. I have reprinted the article below.
“Our Dad, Bryan McLeod, built Mare-ee-an in the woolshed at our farm in South Kaipara Head in 1964. Built out of marine ply to a Carl Augustin design my older siblings (I was only one year old at the time) would be commandeered after school to hold the ‘dolly’ under the upturned hull while Dad banged in the copper nails, bearing Dad’s stern words when the dolly was out of position. My understanding is that Mare-ee-an’s name came from the song ‘All Day All Night Marianne’ (Dad’s spelling slant applied) as opposed to being named after the neighbour’s daughters Mary and Anne.
Mare-ee-an has been involved in many fun filled escapades over her 60 years including fishing, waterskiing, diving, gathering mussels, regattas, ‘Epiglass 40’ and ‘Atlantic 100’ races (winning the economy classes), overnighters and various explorations – the Northern Wairoa and Hoteo River being particularly memorable. A terrifying crossing of the Kaipara Heads also lingers in my mind when an extra large wave came her way giving no time for us to turn around. Thankfully Dad was a skilled enough boatman to ride her over it…scarily, looking back on the event, none of us were wearing lifejackets at the time.
Over time Dad had made various alterations such as replacing the windscreen with a more protective one and attaching alkathene – I assume left over from one of his farming jobs – around the bow as a protector, all the time keeping up with other necessary maintenance. A new motor was required when Mare-ee-an’s was stolen while moored overnight in the estuary at Mangawhai Heads. Roller doors were fitted – too late – to the garage under the house after a second motor was stolen from her.
During my teenage years in the 70s it came time for Mare-ee-an to have a repaint and I suggested to Dad that we change the colour to the more modern tone of the day, orange. Mare-ee-an remained this colour until we recently had her refurbished (by Brendon Driskel of Sea to Shore on East Coast Rd, Albany) and returned to her original turquoise, the windscreen made as close as possible to the original from what could be gleaned from various photos and the alkathene removed. It’s thanks to my husband Tim for encouraging the refurbishment rather than putting Mare-ee-an out to pasture even though it has used up my inheritance.
The varnished timber sections at the stern have remained. Dad loved the timber grain and could not bring himself to cover it all with paint so left this region as a feature.
It was so very special for Tim and I to relaunch Mare-ee-an 60 years to the day in the company of my brother and sister-in-law Graeme and Janet and our nephew Lee along with one of Dad’s favourite tipple – Velluto Rosso.
Mare-ee-an is ready for another 60 years of adventures! I know Dad would be pretty chuffed.”
Back in Feb 2020 one of the WW spies spotted the launch – AVALON ‘parked’ on a lawn in Auckland’s north shore. From the subsequent WW story , linked below, we learnt that the 24’ AVALON was built be Sam Ford and launched in 1954 . AVALON has enjoyed one extended family ownership since new and at the time Tobias Forsyth (MV Callisto) was planning to give the launch a birthday. The top photo (launch day) above was sent in by Cameron Pollard Feb 2020https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/02/17/mystery-sam-ford-launch/
Fast forward to Nov 2021 and Tobias gave us an update, link below, which included a wonderful collection of historical AVALON photos over the years. He also shared a design sketch of the thinking re the ’new’ look (4th photo above). Nov 2021https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/11/29/resurrection-of-avalon/
Then last Friday the gallery of work-in-progress photos above landed in the WW inbox. The Forsyth family, including father Ian (MV MEOLA) are very talented chaps as you will see from the work underway. Tobias commented that it had “been a busy few weeks with some big milestones but plenty of work has gone on since she was installed outside my kitchen window. Getting onto the shiny bits new with new solid Honduran mahogany cabin sides with a slight more sleek take on Avalons original design, engine is in and things are progressing well. Hopefully she can be in the water for summer 2026 in a rough and ready mode.”
As always – click on photos to enlarge 😉
UPDATE ex TOBIAS FORSYTH – AVALON will be re-powered new Mercruiser 3.0 petrol engine with new hydraulic transmission.
The old engine (Morris Naviigator) was too far gone and finding parts made it uneconomical. Its still sitting in my garage if someone looking for parts as there’s all sorts there and spares too including the Paragon box with 2:1 reduction. Would make a good static museum piece as it’s quite neat with the hand crank start etc. it seems too good to take to the scrap dealers.
The new engine is half the weight, 8 x more HP , narrower and shorter, so gives me much more internal room. And it should be nice and quiet inside the cabin when running. Plus she may boogie a little faster now.
I intend to tow her around the country and visit a lot of the lakes and hard to reach spots right down south in the future so she will be a full trailer boat now. Plus the anniversary races etc.
Tobias also commented that he is the second owner of Avalon, his grandparents had her hull and cabin sides built by Sam Ford in early 50’s and grandfather transported her home on the truck and finished her outside their kitchen window over a period of about 6 months with what ever he could find that would do the job, tounge and groove and canvas cabin tops. They then kept her at their wharf in Helliers Creek that Avalon help build as she towed the logs to Riverhead to be pressure treated and milled before towing/carrying them back rather overloaded at times. Tobias’s Grandma used her regularly well into her 80’s before she ended up on the lawn . Tobias’s mum Carol is the baby in Granddads arms on launching day.
AVALON is a genuine one family owned vessel since new.
Todays woody photo was sent in by John Dawson who found the photo on a Paul Lishman fb post. Paul commented that the location was Vine Street, St Marys Bay, Auckland and taken by M. Friedlander.
In the comments section there was debate on both the design of the yacht and the possible date. Paul commented it was 1970 but others felt based on the cars shown it was more likely in the 1950>60’s period.
Comments that the yacht looked like a Townson design, possibly 30’.
Any woodys able to help confirm the approx. date and design.
A scary observation – when this photo was taken you could have bought a house in Vine St for around $5,000 – did a search on a random number e.g.10 Vine St = $3,650,000 …………
INPUT ex JIM LOTT – Definitely a Townson 30 with higher freeboard than the 26 ft earlier design. Looking in the Townson book, Magic Flute was finished by Alan Warwick who took delivery of the hull in 1966 and lived in Herne Bay. Des built all the hulls himself. Owners finished them off. Names include Firebird, Mercury, Falcon, Anitra, Finesse, maybe about 4 others, so probably 1967 or 68.
Earlier in the week, Rob Watt drew my attention to a YouTube video by Darren Guard on the life of his grandfather Jack Guard, one of New Zealand’s great boat builders.
Pour yourself a coffee and sit back and enjoy the video, lots of wonderful historical photos and footage.
Make sure you hang in there to the end – there is a terrific poem titled – ‘Making It Back’ penned by poet Sam Hunt, a Jack Guard boat owner.
The classic wooden launch – SEAFORTH has made several appearance on WW, links below. In the 2015 story she was on a mooring in the Orakei Basin, then in 2022 we saw her hauled out at the Clevedon Cruising Club. Fast forward to Sept 2022 and she’s hauled out at the Stillwater Boating Club. That story prompted her new owner, Mikaela Thwaites, to make contact and update us on the status of the launch and supplied a few photos of the work undertaken. All in the links below.
In 2024 Bryce Symonds made contact and advised that he had photos of SEAFORTH from the 1984>1986 period when he owned her. On one of my infrequent trolls thru the WW back files, I saw that Bryce hadn’t responded to the request to share the photos, so pinged off an email and jackpot Bryce shared the photos you see today. Quite a looker in her day with the varnished / painted coamings.
Despite lots of chat in the previous WW stories we haven’t been able to put a builder and launch date to her – anyone able to help.
Back in April 2023 we ran a story on the 28’ launch – MOOSE, built / launched in early 1939 by Collings & Bell, link below to that story. At the time boat builder Alan Craig (Craig Marine) provided and update us on the vessel, including photos. WW APRIL 2023https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/04/27/moose/
Fast forward to Tuesday night and I get an email from Craig headed up ’Sneak Peek’ – now Alan’s emails are few and far between but always include gold, so I was keen to open and view.The sneak peek was the above two photos of MOOSE being extracted from her boat house at Moose Lodge, on the shore of Lake Rotoiti.
Alan has promised more photos / detail asap, so fingers crossed. We will follow this project closely, the launch has wonderful provenance and will be in great woody hands at Craig Marine.
The 42’ ex workboat LYNNRAE has been popping up on and off the normal 4sale sites for a while, I’m assuming still looking for a new owner.
Her owner has done a lot of work in the conversation to pleasure use, but still very much a blank canvas. Perfect for someone with the basic skills to compete the work.
All of the expensive systems, nice to haves, have been installed so posting interior fit out / cosmetics.
Built in 1968, possibly in Naper, wooden hull, powered by a 200hp Detroit 8v71 diesel engine that gives her a cruising speed of 8 knots.
Her stern says Houhora, so home must be in the Far North. The listing (thanks Ian McDonald) mentions she worked (fishing) the Three Kings Islands and northern waters.
AN INSIGHT INTO NZ’S UNIQUE MARINE ENGINES – Part Six Todays WW story follows on from earlier stories – link below to Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five As per pervious stories in the series the content has been pulled together by Ken Ricketts and ‘polished’ byPatrica and Ken’s daughter Corinne Pettersen. As always we have endeavoured to be as factual as possible but there will always by matters others will either know more about or be able to correct errors – so woodys do not hold back in commenting.
BENZ DIESEL ENGINE – BENZ OM59 55HP 4CYL DIESEL ENGINE PROBABLY SIMILAR TO THAT IN THE MANUNUI
MANUNUI WITH HER 55HP 6 CYL BENZ DIESEL ENGINE DURING WWII
MANUNUI AS BUILT AT SPEED WITH HER BENZ DIESEL ENGINE
The MANUNUI was built for Percy Colebrook in 1939 by Bill Couldrey and had a medium / slow revving 6 cylinder 55 hp Benz Diesel engine fitted when built, which she retained until 1963 when it was replaced by a 100 hp Perkins Diesel.
CRUSADER V8 MARINE PETROL ENGINES
TWIN CRUSADER ORIGINAL V8 PETROL ENGINES HAVING SERVICING, FROM THE RIVA TRITONE “LOLA,” WHICH ARE STILL IN HER TODAY.
Crusader engines, while major marine engine suppliers in America and other countries, have only made a cameo appearance in New Zealand, with only a handful of these lovely engines in use here, as far as I can ascertain.
Overview: The only craft I personally know of for certain is the stunning 1962 Italian-built Riva Tritone, LOLA.
However, WINSOME II may have had one, back around the 1950s when owned by Andy Donovan. I know her previous Chrysler 8-cylinder inline engine was replaced around that time by a V8, that was either a Crusader, Chris-Craft, or Flagship. However, the memory banks have failed me, making it impossible to determine which of the three it is, so come on, you WINSOME II experts, help me out here!
In the 1960s, Crusader Marine Engines was a prominent brand worldwide, providing inboard power for many boats, particularly cruisers and sport fishermen. They were known for their premium quality and reliability, used by leading boat manufacturers like Chris-Craft.
Crusader engines were based on standard automotive engines, but were marinized for marine use, with many of them based on Ford engines, and later with Hercules and Chrysler base units.
LOLA WITH HER 2 X CRUSADER 270HP PETROL ENGINES
LOLA, the 1962 Italian-built Riva Tritone Aperto, has a LOA of 27 ft and is one of only 15 in the world.
It is believed to be the only original Riva in New Zealand and a stunning example of boat restoration, all completed in NZ. Only 3,000 Rivas were built between 1950 and 1966, and she still has her original engines. She lives, or did live, in her own, purpose built, fully air conditioned boat shed, on the banks of the Marlborough Sounds.
WINSOME II – MAY HAVE HAD A CRUSADER V8 PETROL ENGINE IN THE 1950s /60s ERA – POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES ARE FLAGSHIP & CHRIS CRAFT
CHRIS CRAFT PETROL ENGINES.
CHRIS CRAFT 1950s 6 CYL FLATHEAD PETROL 135hp ENGINE SIMILAR TO THAT IN THE GLENIFFER IN THE 1950s
These are another brand of engine that is sold in huge numbers worldwide, particularly in America, where all genuine Chris-Craft boats are built. However, they have only made a cameo appearance in New Zealand, with most of them coming here in imported Chris-Craft boats.
There are a few New Zealand-built boats that have or have had them. I have only ever seen a petrol version, although naturally, they do produce diesel engines in their lineup. All the engines they produce are based on other major engine manufacturers’ base engine blocks and are marinized by them. Hercules is a major engine block supplier to them.
GLENIFFER WITH HER CHRISCRAFT 6 CYL FLAT HEAD PETROL ENGINE RUNNING ON KEROSENE IN THE 1950s – OWNER PERCY JENNINGS IS AT THE HELM.
Input copied from previous post, ex Harold Kidd. – “Trevor Davis sold GLENIFER to P J Jennings of Paeroa in 1937 and he sold her to George Manktelow of Paeroa in about 1959. The Gleniffer was replaced by a 6-cyl Chris Craft (Hercules block) during the 50s, converted to run on power kerosene with a Model A Ford Zenith carb.”
FLAGSHIP MARINE ENGINES
FLAGSHIP 1958 250HP V8 PETROL MARINE ENGINE – BASED ON A CHEV BLOCK
There were a number of these engines that found their way to NZ in the 1950s/60s era and this is one of the possibilities for the V8 engine that was installed in the WINSOME II in that era by Andy Donovan who may also have had an agency for them, around that time.
Todays classic wooden launch has recently popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald). Terrible listing, eg so few details but putting that aside with an $8k asking price, PUTIKI could be a great project for the winter. Some boatyards would charge you more than $8k to make that butterfly hatch.
What we know is she is 32’ in length, kauri planked (but sadly f/gased – but maybe thats keeping her a float) and powered by a 80hp 4 cyl. Ford Lees diesel engine.
Home is currently Kerikeri.
The boat and name is unknown to WW so keen to learn more on her past .
06-05-2025 INPUT ex STEV LITTIN – Putiki was owned by my father Albert Littin while in Port Albert from about 2003 till 2010 and then moved to One Tree Point, Whangarei till sold about 5 years ago to Totara North. Current engine was rebuilt and fitted by Dad to replace the engine that broke a crankshaft and self destructed while fishing on the Kaipara.
Built 1907-10 we believe in Mangawhai. Dad has a picture from I think the 1940’s-50’s taken on the Mahurangi River.
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