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 21-07-2015

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MYSTERY LAUNCHES 21-07-2015
photo ex Harold Kidd

During the recent post on the launch Manana (Raehutia) Harold Kidd sent me several photos of Manana while she was owned by the Seagar family.
Thats her on the left in the photo above – today’s question for woodys is what are the two launches to the right of the wharf ? & while we are at it – the location?

To view / read more about Manana – click link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/07/17/manana/

And to brighten up the day – some stunning yachting photos from the first 2 days of the British Classic Week -click the link below

A spectacular 2 days of Panerai’s British Classic Week in images.

Update from Hylton Edmonds

From Left to Right – Manana (pre Leon / Chris Brown), Albacora (Pat Edmonds) and Lady Doreen (“Snooks” Fuller / AE Fuller & Sons), – and yes, taken at Otehei Bay, hmmm… guessing around late 50’s?. Due to the fact that Otehei Bay had the Lodge and was an official BOISFC Weigh Station Site, a lot of the Big Game boats  would operate out of there,  (as well as their home bases Russell / Paihia ) over a season. A few of them had permanent moorings down there too. Great Photo of a wonderful era.

ACHINAR > Achernar > Betty

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ACHINAR > Achernar > Betty
photos & details ex William Horne

Yesterdays post on Betty uncovered the impressive collection of photos above. I could have just added them to yesterdays post but they deserve their own post.
The photos are from William Horne & from the 1970’s when his father Rod, owned Achinar. If you have read the previous posts you will be aware there has been a degree of name rotation in her past – the link below explains this. It would be nice if at some stage she reverted to Betty again 🙂

William commented that you can see from the photos that she had the Achinar spelling back then so it appears it was spelt that way for a long time. Rod Horne purchased the launch from Dr. Gilbert in Tauranga and the photos show her as first seen by him up the Wairoa River & then later in black & white at her mooring.

William’s family had many holidays on her, in fact William was on the boat before he could walk and it was the first vessel he helmed so his father must have owned her for a few years.

Betty / Achernar / Achinar

Betty (Achernar)

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Betty 1947

BETTY  (Achernar)
photo & details ex Betty Black (Stewart)

Today’s post is an example of what makes ww so special & motivates me to keep doing it. I received the email below last week.

“Dear Alan
 
My son in Sydney was browsing on the internet presumably looking up about his grandfather Bob Stewart, when he came across your blog about Achernar.  I was most interested to read this as I had no idea what had become of the launch “Betty”. It was  requisitioned by the Americans during the war. My grandfather died in 1943  and my father became the owner.   He got it back after the war in an appalling condition.  I remember him saying there was oil all through the bilge.  We had a number of family holidays on it  until the yacht Helen* was built.  The photo was taken by me in 1947 (on a Box Brownie camera).
Kind regards
Betty Black (Stewart)”

To read / see more on Betty / Achernar click here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/10/14/achinar/

*Photos below of Helen (K1) during 2015 CYA Classic Yacht Regatta

Update 29-07-2019 Oct 1939 photo below

Betty Oct 1939

Helen 2015
Helen 2015

Ben Bolt S48 – Sailing Sunday

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BEN BOLT S48 – Sailing Sunday
photo ex Gillian Williamson

Today’s post is of the mullet boat Ben Bolt when she was owned by Gillian’s father Tom Hollows.

Gillian & Tom would love to know what happened to her & if she is still around today.

ps sorry about the poor photo, must have been a photo taken off a framed photo, a bit of reflection going on 🙂

Robin Elliott Update

Whisk Martinengo maintained that Ben bolt was in fact a Rudder cat-boat design built by Arthur Perkin(s) and I have no cause to doubt him. He was right about so many other things. Many Rudder designs were appropriated by local yachtsmen and modified to local needs, the cat-rig itself never finding favour here apart from small centre boarders such and the Tauranga (P-class) or the Zeddie.

Here is all I have of her owners. No mention of Tom Hollows but there are plenty of gaps in the registered dates so he could be there somewhere.

What date is the photo? I see she’s flying an RNZYS burgee and I seem to recall her being on the register of the Squadron post war, but I can’t fine my old RNZYS year books to see if I missed something.

A. Perkin 1922/23+? A. (F.) Glover (Grover?) 1925?/30+?; A. Sainty & Others 1931?/33; S.V. Cunningham 1933/34+? ; Brown (Whangarei) 1939?/40+?; R.M. Allen (Whangarei) 1945+? ; D. O’Donoghue (W’rei) 1948?/50+?

NZH 30/1/1940: Racing Onerahi Regatta
SS May 1949: Racing with Whangarei CC
NZYB Sep 1978: G.F. Brookbanks says he owned her before WW2.

Update: Gordon Brookbanks owned her in the 1935/36 season.

Maitiatia Classics

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Maitiatia
photo ex Simon Smith ex the Sir George Grey Collection

The scene above is a wee bit different from life today in Maitiatia at Waikehe Island. The hills look a lot higher without todays planting & housing.
Its not the best of photos in terms of quality but there certainly are a lot of classics at anchor – must have been a holiday weekend.

TIP OF THE DAY

Looking For Info On waitematawoodys ?

You may have noticed that I sometimes repeat post ww followers comments in the main section of ww. I do this because when you use the ww search box the search does not include content posted in the COMMENTS section. If you want to do a full search of the ww site, use google. Just enter waitematawoodys.com followed by the word / topic you are interested in e.g. waitematawoodys.com clinker dinghy & you will see all the content that relates to those words.

The lack of a full search function is the wordpress site administrators doing, not mine, its done to limit excess ‘chit-chat’ filtering into posts.
When content is factual & very interesting (just about anything that Harold Kidd writes) I repeat it.
So remember if you want to view every single item on a subject, use google as I described above.
BUT REMEMBER TO RESPECT COPYRIGHT

As I post this I’m sure Karen Moren is typing waitematawoodys.com mcgeady into google right now 🙂

Manana (Raehutai)

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MANANA (Raehutai)
photo & details ex Gavin Hargreaves

With today’s post we are looking to see if we can join the dots. Gavin sent me a photo of Manana, his Colin Wild launch.  Gavin has owned her for 7 years after purchasing her from Bill Webber of French Pass who owned her for 20 odd years running a fishing charter business. When purchased she was pretty run down with what appeared to be the original interior. Gavin spent many hours and money giving her the love she deserves. The only difference in looks now is she has a fly bridge and a cut in stern leading to a boarding platform apart from that she still looks as pretty as the day she was launched.

Now back in 2013 via Adrienne, Dave Jackson sent in the photo below of a launch that he thinks was Raehutai, that Bill Seager changed the name to Manana.
So the question of the day – are these the same boats? For easy of comparison I have dropped both photos into a slide show.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Harold Kidd Input

Bill and Gerry Seagar got the design from Colin Wild, probably the last he ever did. They got her built at Chas. Bailey & Sons because, effectively, they owned that company at the time. Harry Pope was the foreman on the job.
The two brothers were notorious for their barneys with each other. Bill wanted her called REHUTAI after the two steam launches the family had built in the 1910s but Gerry wanted her called MANANA. She was launched as MANANA.
Photo below of her in Seagar ownership.

Wainui

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WAINUI
photo ex Jason Prew

Photo from Jason Prew’s during his trip up the Tamaki River with Otira to the Chris McMullen workshop CYA visit. Jason photographed some of the many moored wooden boats moored on-route.

Today’s launch is an ‘interesting’ mix of styles…………. I can just make out a shortish name on her stern starting with W, can anyone ID her & supply more details on her past?

Input from Cameron Pollard

“Wainui” 33ft x not a lot x 3ft. Two skin kauri, built around 1900 .
We have owned her for close to 20 years and was the start of our obsession / illness of collecting old boats.
Steamed from New Plymouth to Onehunga wharf after fishing down there for years.
We rescued her as a half sunk hulk at Te Atatu after the cabin had been fitted in back streets behind K’Road by previous owner.
Replaced quarter of her stern. (Counter already shortened by then)
Fitted a 3LW Gardner of course to replace the old ford. (No clapped out Jap import truck engines go in our fleet)
Used her as our taxi up and down the Tamaki river.
Got tired of the 3LW shaking the coke out of the rum so 6 or more years ago we pulled her at Half Moon Bay and gave her a birthday.
Eased up the window shapes that had previously been fitted retaining the main structure tho as room inside is ample for her size.
Removed the 3LW and fitted a rebuilt 4LK light weight high revving (2000rpm) Gardner. Engine very rare ex ww2 midget submarine but that’s another story on its own.
Relaunched and now a very smooth and quiet wee launch.
Due for her 3 yearly tidy up but will always be part of our clan.

21-07-2015 Photos added – Wainui at Onehunga wharf in 1987 after her trip from New Plymouth & 2 showing her out of the water.

SOS 1896 Chas Bailey Yacht To Be Broken Up

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SOS 1896 Chas Bailey Yacht To Be Broken Up

The 40′ 1896 Bailey TE UIRA is facing being scrapped in Australia, her owner is offering her free to a good (even bad, if it stops the back hoe) home. She is currently located at Glebe in Sydney NSW. Her hull apart from a leak near the the prop is in sound condition, she needs an anti-foul. Her owner says that above the water line is in ok condition, just needs some TLC Her demise is near so if you or anyone you know are interested, contact the owner, George Lloyd, on the email link below.
glloyd01@gmail.com

Harold Kidd Input

TE UIRA (usually shortened in Oz to UIRA) was built by C.& W. Bailey and launched on 17th October 1896 for Gidgeon Palmer of Melbourne as a 5 rater.
She was taken across by the steamer TARAWERA with Chas. Bailey Jr going with her to settle her in.
She was quite successful in Melbourne but came up against SAYONARA, the bigger Fife-designed cutter.
She raced in Melbourne with the St. Kilda club for many years, converted to a Marconi rig in 1925.
She was sold to Sydney in 1976 and is now languishing in need of a good owner.
SHE NEEDS TO BE PRESERVED.

SAVED – 05-08-2015

Hi Harold, Pam, Alan, Tom, Kelvin and Rhodes33,
Just to let you know that that the task of rescuing Te Uira is under way. Myself and two classic yacht enthusiasts, Colin Grazules and Bruce Harris got together to save her. She has been purchased, scraped, sealed, painted and was put back in the water today. I have gone back to Melbourne with Colin and Bruce towing her across the harbour to Woolwich marina today. She is in a pen waiting for transport to Melbourne which should become available next week. Her hull is in pretty good condition and very solid. Some non structural worm strikes up forward and only a small area of rot in the stern to be dealt with. Obviously that cabin must go and then a new deck and rig.  I am the new owner and have a factory to store her in but there is no real plan yet.  I would like to gather as much information as possible. If anyone can assist it would be greatly appreciated. The email is p.denniston@celltec.com.au

Flyer

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FLYER

photos & details ex Darrin Kennedy

Flyer is a 1966 Shipbuilders 26′ launch. Darrin has owned her for approx. 2 years. Previously she was based in Tauranga, owned by Tommy Verran. Rumour has it Verran used to take her  out to White Island in some pretty challenging seas so she must be a good sea boat. Powered by 110 h.p. Ford with a dry stack. At 26′ with a 110 h.p. motor she must have a good turn of speed. Flyer is currently hauled out undergoing a makeover to bring her back to as launched condition. Can anyone provide more details on Flyer & her past?

Showboat

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1926

SHOWBOAT
photo ex Gillian Williamson

Today’s post is of the launch Showboat & is from 1926 when she was owned by Gillian’s father Tom Hollows who was 18 at the time. Must have been something back then for a teenager to own his own motor boat.

What more details can we uncover on her?