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.

Ethel

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ETHEL
Info below ex Capt. Tom Leary    B.V.A. (Syd.)  C.L.M.  N.Z.W.G. – sent in by Judith Gardiner (+ b/w photos). Colour photos ex Alan H
Designed and built by the Logan Brothers at their Devonport shipyards in 1896 (Nov 16th) for H. Dawson the owner of Greater Mercury Island. She was 60′ LOA, 11’8″ beam & 5’8 draft. Triple skin kauri & copper roved. Ethel was built as a family cruiser/ racer with slightly more beam than those of her contemporaries. Ethel spent her early years cruising and racing mainly around Auckland but also in Wellington.

Around 1918 Ethel was taken along with other larger vessels into the snapper fleet and given the sail # 33. After the war years she moved to Waitara on New Zealand’s West coast where she remained for fifty years long lining for snapper, it was during this time she had an engine fitted. Whilst in Waitara where she had her own wharf, she was called by the locals ‘The Queen of Waitara.’

About 1970 she returned to Auckland and continued to fish out of Westhaven.

In approx. 1975 she was purchased by John Smith from Thames who did extensive restoration work including new decks new cabin, new interior work and restored her original yawl rig as the mizzen mast had been removed for fishing.

In 1999 I purchased Ethel from John and again an extensive refit began.

Half of her port side was replaced due to dry rot. New fuel tanks, a recond. engine was fitted, new electronics/ wiring including smart charging systems, electronic toilet  and fridge installed she was completely recaulked including scarfing in slithers to her garboard plank. All this work was done under the guidance of Nortel surveyors. 2003 saw more work done during a winter refit her coach roof was glassed over, her main mast and gaff had another two meters added to them to take her back to her original rig. Her cockpit area was increased with self drainage this was done to take six to eight people comfortably. Wheel steering was added and her decks were recaulked with sika. A yard was added and new sails cut to fit. All Ethel’s standing rig is new galv. most of Ethel’s running rig is also new. Ethel is a very well appointed and maintained classic and has been chartering successfully for the past three years.

The Auckland museum has many early photographs of Ethel, as with today, she is a much admired and photographed yacht.

Alan H – Ethel is now owned by Keith Munro & has again undergone an extensive refit & you will see from the photos below is looking rather smart.

Info ex Judith Gardiner on Ethel’s first owner – Herbert Dawson, who was Judith’s great grand uncle through her mothers line.

Herbert Dawson was born 19 April 1859 In Leeds Yorkshire. He married Jane Eleanor Darrell  on 29 December 1886 in Hutton Buscel East Yorkshire & they had two children –
Ethel Fanny Dawson
Born: 14.11.1887 – Lebberston, Filey, Scarborough

Eleanor Sybil Dawson
Born: 03.05.1889 – Falsgrave, Scarborough

Herbert, Jane, Ethel and Eleanor (known as Sybil)  emigrated to New Zealand and landed at Port Chalmers.  They had sailed on the ship Tainui which had left London on 12 May 1892. Herbert purchased Great Mercury on 02.10.1893. Herbert sold Great Mercury Island on 26.02.1912 to John Kemp of Epsom and Frederick William Kemp of Tauranga.

Herbert contracted Logan Brothers of Devonport shipyards to build a ‘boat’ to accommodate his need to transport to and from Great Mercury Island.  It was launched on 16 November 1896.  It was probably sold within the year that Herbert left Great Mercury Island.

Judith would very much like to know who owned it after Tom Leary any other information would be appreciated.

Herbert & Jane Dawson

Herbert Dawson Jane Eleanor Darrell

Matangi – Sailing Sunday

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Matangi s:s

MATANGI – Sailing Sunday
photo & details ex Nathan Herbert

The above photo shows the yacht Matangi & given the photos owners family connections, is most likely a Winkelmann photo. What more do we know about the yacht?

Harold Kidd Input

Robert Logan Sr built MATANGI for C.B. Stone, then Chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board and Commodore of the Auckland Yacht Club in 1887. She was a typical schooner-bowed cutter/yawl of the period, rating at 15 tons with dimensions of 51′ loa, 9′ beam and 6′ draught.
Stone sold her to John Wiseman and Willie Wilson of the “N.Z. Herald” in 1888 as a swap for TAWERA. She remained with Wilson for nearly 28 years but he sold her to Alex Alison of the Devonport Steam Ferry Co in 1905. Ernest Davis bought her in 1909 after she had been hauled out at Stanley Bay for several years. In early 1912 H E White bought her and had her sailed down the coast to Wellington. She had a 14hp Anderson auxiliary installed and was sailed by Oscar Freyberg. Later in the year she was sailed back to Auckland, White went off to Sydney. In August 1916 Chas Bailey broke her up for her lead. There was only just over 6 tons of it.
Bloody shame. I guess her her lead was turned into .303 projectiles by Colonial Ammunition Co and strewn about the Somme.

waitematawoodys.com Gets One Million Views

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waitematawoodys.com Gets 1,000,000 Views

At some stage today the counter on the watematawoodys.com blog site will tick over & show that people have viewed the site 1,000,000 times.

I choose the above photo for todays post because to me it captures what the classic wooden boat movement was / is all about. Its got everything there – motor boats, yachts, dinghies, people hanging out having a good time – there is even a dog 🙂 . The location is obviously Mansion House Bay at Kawau Island. The photo was sent to me by Robert Brooke & is from his father’s, Jack Brooke, stunning collection. (click on the photo to enlarge)

When I look back at the first few posts on waitematawoodys its amazing how we have evolved & now how big the audience is both in terms of numbers & the geographical reach.

I would like to thank all the followers of the site, but special thanks must go to everyone that sends in material (photos & info). Doing a daily post can be a little challenging at times but just when I start to panic, an email arrives from someone with some old photos of granddads boat. I would also like to thank Harold Kidd who gave me a swift kick in the backside 2 years ago in terms of getting serious about the site & the accuracy of the content. I would be embarrassed to say how many hours I had to spend to go back & populate the existing posts in terms of year, designer,builder etc but now the site is the #1 reference tool for New Zealand classic wooden boats. But that is a by-product, the real success of the site is that everyday it delivers to people something fun & enjoyable to read & interact with, something that puts a smile on their face.

Way did I start waitematawoodys ? – well the idea came to me via my involvement in the NZ Classic Yacht Association, the CYA is a great club but like most small clubs it can be seen as slightly cliquish, we do so many neat things but the audience is small & there are so many more people out there with an interest in wooden boats. With the birth of social media networks, stuff (photos, stories, info) that had previously been packed away, could now be available to anyone with a computer or smart phne. The future was all about content being on-line & easy to access. It was also about being collaborative. With the advent of personal websites (called blogs) people like myself are able to create a communication channel that has no boundaries. But more importantly blogs are able to be managed/controlled so that they remain true to the topic, which in the case of waitematawoodys is – the study & appreciation of classic wooden boats & the desire to tell the stories behind them & the people who built them, owned them & crewed on them.
At the start the content was all about motor boats but as the audience has grown the readers now have a broader interest in all classic wooden boats & things related to them.

Why did I call it waitematawoodys – now I could put my advertising hat on & rabbit on about what the words mean to people but the simple truth is its just a cool name & looks great on a tee-shirt 🙂

I still get a buzz out of posting daily & from the feedback I get, so do you. But folks – do not hold back on spending stuff to me, some of it in isolation may not be enough for a post but I file it & then bang, someone else sends me something on the same topic & we have a story.

Again thanks for being part of waitematawoodys & remember – its all about wooden boats.

Cheers Alan

ps below is an advertisement I made to plug membership of the CYA (you should join up) the photo (ex Chris Miller) shows we are still enjoying these wonderful craft. If you look hard that’s me in my number one clinker dinghy – I say #1 because there are a few…………..  🙂

CYA Classic Journal – Issue 100

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CYA Classic Journal – Issue 100

In todays world of publishing, hitting 100 issues for a bi-monthly is pretty impresive. If the below is a little hard to read, click on the blue link below to download a pdf file. Enjoy 🙂

CYAJUNE2015a

Santa Rosa – Argyll – Lady Argyle

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2013
2015
2015
c.2007
c.2007

Santa Rosa > Argyll > Lady Argyle
Updated details from Harold Kidd, Don Galbraith, Lynton Bates, the Lidgard family & Ken Ricketts. photos ex Don Galbraith& KR

Lady Argyle was built in 1965 by John Lidgard at his Glen Eden factory, for Mac Stewart & one other partner (a taxi driver), when launched she was named Santa Rosa. She was built based on drawings done for the original owner by “Hoki” Williams, a retired staff member of Shipbuilders Ltd., with modifications by John Lidgard.

She is a  big volume, massively strong traditional bridge-decker measuring 52′ with about 15′ beam & an impressive flared bow. She is still powered by what is believed to be her original engines, 2 x 6 cyl. 130hp Ford Dover diesels, with 2 enormous props, which John & Graeme Lidgard both think are original.

Mac Stewart & partner retained her until c.1975. Norm Galbraith was the next owner & changed her name to Argyll after the part of Scotland from which the Galbraiths originated. The Galbraiths sold her to Maurice Mahaffe (a Salvation Army officer) who  changed her name to Lady Argyle. Mahaffe most likely sold her to a John Taylor (who previously owned Marine), Taylor still owned her in 2002. Another owner was “Spick Spicer (date unknown). Someone (??) sold her to a Steve Lay, who sold her to a Dr. Eric Horne, a Scottish GP, Horne sold her to Graeme Lidgard, a cousin of John Lidgard,  who has owned her for approx. 2 1/2 years.

Check out the comments section for more chat on her

Classic Reproductions

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Tawera and Ngaio
Tawera and Ngaio
Rainbow and Jesse Logan
Thelma
Waitangi
Waitangi deck

Classic Reproductions

Today’s post profiles the work of Wayne Spicer, a very talented modeler who has built an impressive number of our classic fleet. Wayne has been modeling for approx. 17 years & is a volunteer model maker at the Maritime Museum in Auckland (on Tuesdays). Wayne has built a number of square riggers including Endeavour, Bounty (3), Victory (3), Spanish galleon.

While at the Museum Wayne meet Rod Marler, the owner of the Logan yacht ‘Little Jim’, Rod commissioned Wayne to build a model of LJ & this got Wayne hooked on Logan boats. Wayne told me that he enjoyed the classic lines of the Logans and how they showed the evolution of sailing designs since the late 1800’s. You will see from the the list below that he has built quite a few.

BUILT TO DATE:

Thelma
Rainbow
Waitangi
Jessie Logan (2)
Little Jim (2)
Tawera (2)
Ariki
Aromoana
Ngaio
Gypsy
Nomad
Ranger
Helen

Most of Wayne’s models are made from scratch which means they are not kit sets, fyi below are some photos of the model making process for Nomad.

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Aroha

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AROHA
photo ex Robert Brooke

Another photo from the Jack Brooke collection. Son Robert thinks the location is North Harbour, Kawau Island, but not positive.

What do we know about Aroha ?

Input from Harold Kidd

I have always thought that this image was at Lidgards’ property at Shark Bay in Bon Accord. The launch is the 23’9″ x 6’3″ AROHA owned by T H Scandrett of Mullet Point about this time. She was built about 1907 in Auckland but I can’t tell you who built her. She had a 4hp Standard marine engine and reverse gear.

A Quiz

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A Quiz photo ex Harold Kidd With todays post we are looking to put a name to this Auckland steam launch, her build / launch date being just post the WW1 period. She was twin-screw, twin Simpson-Strickland tandem compound-engined. Her boilers were by Price, 40 ihp per engine @ 250 rpm that pushed her along at very impressive 24 knots.

Anyone able to ID her or provide  more info?

27-05-2015 A Confession from Harold K

Alan has suggested that I come clean and confess that I was winding up Russell aka vintagesteamer.
Daniel was a bycatch.
I bought the postcard on which this image appears many years ago and immediately thought it was a spoof for all the reasons that Russell and Daniel advance. The Simpson Strickland, 24 knots etc were poetic licence on my part.
In the original image there appears to be a shimmer of heat from the forward “funnel” which smudges the rigging of the little coastal steamer at the wharf. That does lend verisimilitude to the steamer thesis.
The point that Frank Stoks makes never occurred to me, that the conventional oil launch nearest the camera was conveniently juxtaposed in front of a twin-funneled steamer. I am not at all sure that’s the case as the same objections would apply to the boat behind which would have to be jolly small (and a fake itself perhaps). I did think that the boat behind (if there was one) could be some kind of smart Naval picket boat or pinnace from, say, one of the many visiting warships during the interwar period but can’t find a suitable prototype in the British, US and Japanese navies.
I now think that the two funnels are dummies done as some kind of visual joke…but why?
And why have those two short clerestories, which would seem to serve no purpose, unless they are dummies too?
I trawled through newspapers of the time and can find no reference to such a spoof taking place, nor can I id the launch, sans accoutrements. I have been busy and haven’t followed up one wild line that might explain the spoof. Will do so and report.
However, it’s time to confess and congratulate the contributors on their display of erudition and common sense.

Mandalay

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Mandalay II?

colour photos ex Ken Ricketts

The question for ww’s today is – is the Mandalay above the same boat as below – the 1957 Mandalay, built by Dave Jackson & Graham Christian in Devonport for Ken Quinton. She was designed by Brin Wilson ?
Keen to know more on the vessel.

 

Rawhiti – A Once In Your Life Time Opportunity

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Rawhiti – A Once In Your Life Time Opportunity
photos ex Classic Boat, Chris Miller, Alan H & owner

Firstly – a challenge – can anyone dispute that Rawhiti is New Zealand’s finest classic yacht afloat? From all angles she is simply beautiful, a true classic from the drawing board of Arch Logan & built by Logan Bros.
Rawhiti was completely rebuilt by Peter Brookes at Brookes Boatbuilders in 2011. For her owner Greg Lee, it was a pure labour of love, he extensively researched every aspect of the project & worked alongside Peter on a daily basis, the end result being a Logan that is better than launch day in October 1906 & thats pretty bold statement to make about a Logan.

Yachts like Rawhiti only come along once in a life time, to get the chance to buy one is even rarer. That opportunity now exists, to do that – to own this beautiful piece of New Zealand’s maritime heritage, a floating work of art.

So my 2nd challenge today is to all classic boating aficionados – gather your friends or business associates & form a syndicate, sell that bloody ugly Colin McCahn, sell a few shares, sub-divide that section – do what ever you have to do, to put the money together to acquire Rawhiti.

Interested? – read on

Without boring you with details, Rawhiti’s owner is serious about selling her & now via another business transaction has the opportunity to offer Rawhiti for sale to the right owner for a fractional of the restoration cost i.e. in the $400k range.
The time window in which the business transaction is available is short and therefore there is a limit to how long Rawhiti will be marketed in this price range. If you are interested in discussing the sale, please initially, contact the owner Greg Lee on the email address below.
For anyone with an interest in acquiring Rawhiti who is unsure what they might be doing with her in the short term (but wishing to secure the opportunity to acquire her now), her owner has had provisional discussions with Peter Brookes about storing her under cover at his yard at favourable rates.

Owner email contact:       greg-lee@xtra.co.nz