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.

Eros

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EROS

photo & details ex Harold Kidd

The above photo is of the 34ft launch EROS racing in the 1929 Anniversary Regatta in the race for cruisers over 12 knots.
Stan Parker of Parker Engineering bought her in late 1927/early 1928. She was supposedly “well-known on the Manukau” prior to that, but who built her, under what name and when HDK hasn’t yet figured out.
Maybe she was built by Les Coulthard?
Stan Parker re-engined her with a 100hp Hall-Scott (probably an aero-engine) and set about racing her with the NZPBA, Victoria Cruising Club and Devonport Yacht Club. She was an 18 knotter.
Stan sold her to W. Fullerton in June 1935 and took Fullerton’s NOMAD in exchange which he then handed over to Lidgards to completely rebuild, extending her from 35ft to 42ft and renaming her ARAWA. NOMAD had been built in 1919 as IRIHAPETI but is now a bridgedecker known as REHUTAI but supposedly with “Lanes” as her builder and a build date of “1949”.
Fullerton sold EROS off immediately to J. Gresham of Tauranga who had her until at least February 1938.
So, what were EROS’ origins before Stan Parker and what happened to her after 1938 in Tauranga?

Tradition

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TRADITION

photos ex Ken Ricketts ex boatbuilders website

I don’t know much about Tradition, as nice smart looking launch. I understand that she is owned by a couple that divide their time between Tauranga & Wellington. She supposedly originally came from Picton. Has had a refurbishment at Hutcheson Boatbuilders in Tauranga.

Anyone able to supply more details?

Waitemata Wakas – Sailing Sunday

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Waitemata Wakas

Motoring back from the CYA Patio Bay Race weekend, with Barb & David Cooke aboard Trinidad we passed this impressive fleet of Wakas off North Head, Devonport. Seems they had assembled to get a visiting Waka that was doing (I think) a circumnavigation of the world. An impressive site & of particular interest to the Cookes as their son-in-law Greg Salthouse built them. Very talented & diverse yard is Salthouse’s.

ps big day today – its my birthday 🙂

Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #14 – Kiariki Easter 1962

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Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #14 – Kiariki Easter 1962

Another  Jack Brooke drawing, published on ww thanks to son Robert making them available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise. Todays post is the 14th featured.

The above drawing records the travels of Kiariki over Easter 1962, they cruised to Kawau Island, Leigh & Waiheke Island & a few points in-between.

Crew: John Brooke, R Hunt snr., R Hunt jnr., R Smith & W Bass.

waitematawoody t-shirts

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WW t-shirts

I have been playing around with a t-shirt for ww’s for a while – several design prototypes have been done & styles of shirt tested.

Now if I asked my 23 yr. old son to wear a  t-shirt, any t-shirt, he would tell me where to go. So when he ‘steals’ one of the latest designs & then wears it to the extended family & friends xmas lunch today, I think I might have a hit on a good design + his mates at lunch all asked for one 🙂

ps the raspberry pavlova was a winner as well.

Merry Christmas Waitemata Woodys

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Merry Christmas Waitemata Woodys

I hope Santa found you and delivered up what ever it was that you wished / hoped to get, whether it was something material (think boat stuff) or just a call / visit from someone special.

I’ll keep this short so you can make that Xmas lunch / dinner. Waitematawoodys is all about you, the readers and the team that post comments and send me their photos and stories.  Its you that make it happen.
My view is that ww is just the window into the passion we all share and I’d like to think ww has helped propagate that passion.

I have a request – if you have not posted a comment on ww or sent in any material, please do in 2015. I’m here to empower you to tell stories about our passion thru photographs, words and videos. Stories about the diverse people, history, events and activities that make up the wooden boating community.

Enjoy the holidays and safe boating

Alan Houghton

ps as much as technology afloat will allow, I’ll keep the ww posts running so make sure you check in daily & remember if you see a good looking woody out there – take a photo & email it to me 🙂

Summertime – Rosie Lees

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Rosie Lees & Summertime

Where it all started

Final Push / Prep

Launch Day

SUMMERTIME
photos ex Lees Family
How today being Christmas Eve I really wanted a nice, feel good post today – when the details & photos of this one started to hit my email inbox, it went straight to a file tagged 24/12/14 🙂

If you follow ww you will know that Greg Lees is a very talented boat builder & runs one of the best classic friendly boat yards in NZ, what most of you would not have known is that Rosie his 20 year old daughter is also very talented. Todays post is proof of just how talented.

In October 2013 Rosie started building a Pelin Ventura, named ‘Summertime’ – now the build timeline got a little stretched out with things like work (Blenheim) getting in the way. However a 6 week period between Sept & Nov 2014 provided the ideal window to finish ‘Summertime’ off & she was splashed in early December 2014. You can see from the above photos that the boat looked beautiful and I’m told went better than expected i.e. 45mph with ease & Rosie was thrilled.  Now this lady does not muck around,  Saturday night Summertime was wrapped in shrink wrap and Sunday morning Greg and co. towed it down to Wellington in time for the ferry to Blenheim. Seems Rosie has a Regatta to attend. By the standard of the artistry, both the boat & Rosie the builder, should scoop a few awards.

Now this is quite an achievement for a 20 year old, seems to me that the Lees gene pool is mighty strong 🙂

05/03/2015 – Rosie & Summertime In the news (Marlborough Express)

Avalon – the game fisher

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AVALON

photos & details ex Harold Kidd

The above 3 photos of Avalon are from the Tudor Collins Bay of Islands game fishing collection*.

Avalon 36′ x 8’6″ x 3’6′ was built by Collings & Bell in December 1927 for Peter Williams of Russell for use as a game fishing boat in the Bay of Islands. She was one of Collings’ typical concave-convex square bilge designs like Alma G, Manaaki, Lorna Doone and Zane Grey also built for the Zane Grey game fishing circus. She had a 85-100hp Redwing engine and was designed for 16 knots. She was often chartered by Zane Grey who took her to Bermagui, NSW in 1936 for game fishing (sharks) there,  she came back to NZ after the expedition. Some few years ago she was exported to the US to the Zane Grey Museum, somehow avoiding the then Antiquities Act.

*the images in the collection were bought at a flea-market by Sharon Knight who has made them available via Harold for all of ww followers to relish.

Photo below from classicgameboatsnz

More photos from the Tudor Collins collection – this time taken during the 1930’s visit of the Duke of Glouster. Mailed in by Ken Ricketts

avalon-14

avalon-15

Raema

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RAEMA

Raema a 1940 Collings & Bell bridgedecker, has just changed hands & is now berthed at Port Motueka. She is 34′ LOA, 9’2″ Beam, 4’3″ Draft & powered by a 120hp 6cyl. Ford diesel.
On board there is a plaque saying ‘Raema RNZYS’ & she is rumored to have been once own by a past rnzys commodore.
Her owner would love to know more details on her past & see some early photos if they exist.

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Harold Kidd Update

RAEMA was built in late 1923, not 1940. Her first owner was Gordon Bartleet, who had REHIA built by Colin Wild in 1939. I can find no contemporary reference to her builder, but Collings & Bell is almost certainly correct because she had a 4 cylinder Doman engine for which they were agents.
In March 1924 Bartleet sold her to Moller who was then Commodore of the Takapuna Boating Club and bought her back from him in September 1928. In October 1930 Percy McGill of Rotorua bought her, keeping her until the winter of 1933 when Horsley bought her. She then appears on the Kaipara in 1938-9 owned by Bo Bogle and then R. Smith (unless that’s another RAEMA). Then nothing in Auckland. She does not appear in the RNZYS records up to the mid 1960’s (which is where I’ve got to in transcribing them).

PS The only photograph I know of is at the Matakohe Museum and numbered PAHI 88. It shows her at the 1938 Pahi Regatta.