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.

Mystery Launches 13-01-2016

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Mystery Launches
photos ex Harold Kidd

The two photos above are of the same place and probably taken at the same time period (if not consecutively). We have the 1942 Vos built, ex NZRN (ML410) ship La Reta* alongside in one, can we ID the location & the other boats?
The wee clinker with the Seagull is very cute.

* to read more on La Reta link this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/20/6468/    there is a great tale there from her later years when she was operated as a day fishing excursion vessel from Princess Wharf launch steps 🙂

1966 Holiday’s on the Waitemata

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1966 Holiday’s on the Waitemata
photo ex the Gordon Miller family archive, sent in by Adrienne Miller

I have been sitting on this photo for a few weeks – aside from being a very cool photo, its a hoot because it shows two very well known boating people in the photo. The pic was taken in the Christmas 1966 period & shows two Mason Clippers. One person is easy to ID – in the background we have Tony Mason and his family on their Clipper.

The question of the day is – who is the ‘lad’ in the foreground snoozing on the stern of the Clipper ‘Diana’?

ps I’m in hiding – I might get a clip on the ear for posting this 🙂

MoanaLua

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Collings & Bell 1935

MOANALUA
photos ex Philip Hamlin

Sadly for a lot of folks today signals the return to the office, so I thought I would try to brighten up the day with a rather special post.

In early December Helena & Philip Hamlin, the owners of the magnificent 1935 Collings & Bell launch MoanaLua, sent me this amazing photo essay of Moanalua’s past. Philip & Helena would like to acknowledge the generosity of their friends & previous owner of MoanaLua for sharing this collection compiled by Allan Keane.

Where possible I have captioned the photos & remember you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it. Enjoy.

Input from Allan Keane – past owner
Fantastic – great to see that this history is not lost and there is no safer site than WW. I hope people enjoy seeing boating as it used to be.
Seeing crew on the bow reminds me that when we bought her there was no deck access to a huge anchor locker. This locker originally had a large header tank to give pressure water, including to the bath aft. Graham Watt who used to cruise on her told me his first job each day was to pump up water to the header tank—how things change! So all the anchor rode was carried on deck.
We built two good hatches to rectify having to pull everything out over the front berth, and of course the bath is long gone.

1930’s

1935 Launch Day
After launching
Christmas 1935 Cruise. Monowai (ex Razmuk) in background
New Year 1935 Cruise
Northern Cruise 1935. Note extra fuel on board
New Year Cruise 1935
New Year Cruise 1935
Northern Cruise 1935
Underway
Taking snaps 1935
Opua Wharf 1935
Atau Crew – Barry, Cuts & Dolci Boucher
Original interior
Easter 1935 on-route to Kawau
Northern Cruise 1935
Easter 1935 – Uncle Pip,Bill Boucher,Cuts,Mrs Boucher,Aunty VE,Dulcie,Bob
1935 – The Skipper – Bill Boucher
1935 – The New Skipper
1935
1935 North Cruise – Russell
1936 North Cruise. Fueling at Auckland
1936 Nothern Cruise. Russel
1936 Northern Cruise. Opua Wharf
1935/36 – in Matiatia
Christmas 1937. Mansion House Kawau
Christmas 1937. Muriel,Dulcie,Ken,Bob
Christmas 1937. After big storm
Jan 1938 Cruise. Ken,Irene,Sam
Christmas 1938. Alice,Betty,Loris,Irene
1939. Rewa wreck
With cockpit dodger,flybridge & bow rail
Christmas 1939. Muddy Bay Kawau. Te Rauparaha (fwd)

1960’s

c.1969 – Mansion House Wharf. Owner Ken Burroughs

1990’s

Coromandel 1993. Owners Broadbent & Keane families
c.1994/95 – 9>10 knots
1994/95
1999 Refit at HMB
1999 Refit at HMB

2000’s

Schooner Bay, Great Barrier 2001/02
2010 – Patio Bay, Waiheke Is.

27-04-2016 Input from Graham Watt

I am the Graham Watt referred to by Allan Keane as the Lad who had the onerous morning duty of pumping up the water header tank. Moanalua was owned by Denny Bishop during the late 50’s and early 60’s, and his best mate,my father Colin Watt ,plus family made up the regular crew. I believe Denny purchased the boat from the Boucher estate.
She was moored on the piles ( pre marina ) at Westhaven and our regular cruising was to the “bottom end” and Kawau ,with Christmas to the Bay of Islands and as far as Whangaroa.
To clarify the comments around engine, at that time it was a Petrol Kermath Seafarer Special along with a wing motor with its own shaft. Another feature was the R.T. , ex army ZC 1, a massive multi dial affair whose only purpose was to call Auckland Radio to get a telegram away to a mate giving instructions on horse racing bets..
Both Denny and Colin were builders who figured that by cladding the cabin with this latest Formica product they could get a permanent finish without the varnishing. Not a good idea with the benefit of hindsight.

Vagabond – Sailing Sunday

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VAGABOND – Sailing Sunday

Story alert ex Frank Stoks

Frank who owns the classic vessel Atatu sent me a link to this very cool story that appeared in ‘The Marlborough Express’ newspaper on the 28-12-2015, written by Kat Guggan.

Marlborough woman Viv Murray’s 1926 yacht, Vagabond, has been passed through generations of her family.
Viv said that she has grown up with it, her grandfather had it built and when she was 5 years-old he handed it on to her father, so we started cruising the sounds.
Built in Wellington, Murray believes her grandfather based the design of Vagabond on boats the Americans were building at the time, having seen similar styles in boating magazines from the era.
She and her brother, Rick Holmes, have made alterations to the boat, including an extension to the cabin, but kept its decor largely the same.
“It’s still in the old style … we have changed a few things but we put in old-fashioned things rather than modernising it,” she said.
Vagabond was kept at the Port Nicholson Yacht Club until about 30 years ago.

Click the link below to read the full story – it’s a great tale 😉
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruising/75483136/on-the-water-viv-murray-spends-a-lifetime-cruising-the-marlborough-sounds.html

Harold Kidd Input

VAGABOND was primarily a launch, a motor sailer, or at most an auxiliary like her later near sister NEREIDES. Both were built by B.J.L. (Joe) Jukes at Balaena Bay, VAGABOND for Arthur Moody Holmes (Jock’s father I believe) in late 1925 and NEREIDES for C.H. Mitchell, launched in October 1926 with 28-36hp Ailsa Craig power.
VAGABOND had a 45hp Thornycroft in 1937 but that replaced an earlier unspecified 24hp unit.
She was in NAPS as a patrol vessel 1942-3.
Both these Jukes boats were built for Cook Strait work. No wonder they have survived so well.
Arthur Holmes’ first boat was the little keel yacht NANOYA in 1907 and he was a staunch Port Nick sailor for many years until his death in 1963.

Captaur

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CAPTAUR

Another launch photo from Rocky Bay, Waiheke Island. She appears to reside there permanently.

Each to their own but her lines appeal to me, all the angles work, even the cockpit canopy 🙂

What do we know about her ?

ps Anyone know what the 3 rectangular ‘things’ are on her topsides?

Hoax Woody

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Hoax Woody
The above person is not a classic wooden boatie. If you sight him loitering around marinas & wharfs please confiscate the ww tee-shirt. He obtained it under false pretenses.
As a result of his behavior, future purchasers of ww merchandise may have to supply proof of their trustworthiness & commitment to the wooden boating movement 🙂

ps Its not a photo of  Xxx  Xxxxxxxx .  Name removed due to lack of a sense of humour 🙂

Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing

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Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing
photo ex Historic NZ Photos

I may have posted this before, but do not think so, there are a lot of similar images around from c.1930’s of motorboats moored to watch a power boat regatta held in the upper reaches of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.

Russell Ward commented that the launch on the left is Little Tasman, which given how good-looking she is would have to be correct.

Anyone able to ID the launch on the right & supply some details on the wee racer Peggy?

12-01-2016 Harold Kidd Input

It’s pretty clear to me that this pic was taken at the NZPBA Regatta at the Whau Creek/River on Saturday 18th February 1928. TASMAN was an entrant in the race for “fast cruisers” and PEGGY in the Burns Gold Cup for outboards.
The starters in the fast cruisers race were TARUA (scr), TASMAN (3m), ROMANCE II (5m 45s) and LADY MARGARET (8m40s). TARUA carrying number 18 won from TASMAN carrying 82. I think it’s possible the mystery launch in the above image is TARUA (photo below). While the hull details in the above image generally match, the strake forward is absent and she’s painted quite differently. What do you guys reckon?
If not TARUA then she’s a spectator launch and there’s no record of those for this event.

Tarua

I must be getting old :-)

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There I was anchored in West Bay, Rakino Island minding my own business, reading a good book & this ‘thing’ slides into the bay & almost anchors on the beach. At a guess 7>10 on board + a cat. Now that black box below the wind generator is a commercial (band) size speaker i.e. loud – VERY LOUD 😦

In the old days someone would have put a bullet thru it 😉

So folks if ‘Prickety Witch’ makes an appearance in your bay – might be time to move on or find the gun.

ps now if they had been playing Van Morrison , I wouldn’t have minded 🙂

Fiesta

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FIESTA

I spotted the above launch anchor in Rocky Bay on 30-12-2015, wind & tide were never my friend so I did not get to see if she had a name on her stern.

She does look familiar – possibly owned by an Alloy Yachts employee & kept in the Viaduct for a while 12>24 months ago ???

Anyone able to shed some more light on her?

Andrew Pollard advised she is called Fiesta & was built by ‘Laing’, powered by a 120hp Ford & moored at Panmure.

Harold Kidd Input

AYA records show FIESTA was built in 1962 by “Lang”. She was 31′ x 10′ x 3′ and had a 100hp Fordson diesel. The first owner appears to have been K.R. Buchanan of Arney Road, Remuera who may have sold her to J.J. Lenwood of Balmoral Road in 1973, although I think there may have two FIESTAs at the time.
So was it Dick Lang who built her? He would have been 74 in 1962 but I’m not sure he was still building that late in his life. He died in 1972. Her hull is sweet enough to be by Dick, not too sure about the tophamper though. The strip plank construction doesn’t sound like Dick. There were other Langs/Laings/Langes about in the 1960s, including Philip Lang, who favoured strip planking and he could be the one. Anyone know anything about him?

23-01-2016 – Update – the photos below are ex Baden Pascoe. Baden has advised that she was built by Philip Lang in 1964 (confirms Harold Kidds thoughts) & is currently owned by Gordon Love.

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