Classic’s in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island
Lots of classics on the bay – my attempt at ID’ing them – from left Menai, Safari,?,Trinidad (or Lady Crossley), ?, Coquette, ?, Rehia (or Talua) Wirihana?,?
ELSIE EVANS
details & photos from Bob McDougall & the Timaru Herald
Timaru’s first pilot boat, the ELSIE EVANS, a 1901 Bailey (13m x 2.4m) has been relaunched into the Otago Harbour after a very long $500,000+ rebuilding / restoration project that saw her spend 59 years on land.
The ELSIE EVANS was built by Auckland firm Charles Bailey Jr, as the first pilot boat for the Timaru Harbour Board and as a replacement for its paddle-tug MANA.
It was launched on December 31, 1901, and named after the wife of the harbour board chairman at the time, William Evans.
The boat’s main tasks were to tow small craft, tend the big steamers, take the health officer out to deep-sea sailing vessels and carry the pilots.
Those were roles it continued until 1927, when it was sold to Captain Percy Moss, of the Portobello Railway and Ferry Co.
From 1928, it was used as a launch to tow barges, carry freight, and ferry passengers when the company’s other ferries TAREWAI and WAIREKA were out of service.
In 1944, it took over from the TAREWAI and regularly sailed the 2.4 kilometers between Portobello and Port Chalmers, carrying up to 37 passengers.
It was a role it continued in until 1954.
Life for the old launch took a turn for the worse after that. While several owners had big plans for the boat, nothing happened and it was sitting in a paddock when the South Canterbury Historical Society bought it for $1200 in 1997.
B/W photo above (ex Bob McDougall ) show ELSIE EVANS being brought to Dunedin’s Birch Street wharf from its long-time mooring at Ravensbourne, on 1 September 1962, and taken by road to Waihola, where it languished there and later with other owners/other places, for decades.
It is planed that passengers (exact number subject to a stability test) would be allowed on ELSIE EVANS by January after she has passed her survey
View TV news article on the launching here
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/century-old-boat-back-water-video-5527794
Check out in the posting below this post, of the 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration, stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.
ELSIE EVANS
Check out this 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration of the ‘Elsie Evans’, the 1902 Charles Bailey Jnr. built Timaru pilot boat. Some stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.
Then read the posting above for more details + relaunch photos.
LINDA 1927 Colin Wild
You would not know it by viewing her today but in the mid 1980’s Linda experienced a major fire that almost was the end of her. Enter Robert & Russell Brooke who rebuilt Linda to the magnificent classic launch she is today. I came across (classicboatingnz) a copy of the April 1974 edition of Sea Spray, which featured Linda pre fire & then 51 years old. Text might be a little hard to read (click image to enlarge) but the photos are interesting. For comparison I have also attached a photo of Linda on her marina berth & a July 2013 photo showing Linda post her recent lick of paint & Uroxsys.
Milford Creek in the days before the marina, some nice old girls in the picture. Not sure of the year but someone will be able to have an accurate stab based on the boats.
image ex classicboatsnz
Todays photo shows a pretty near perfect boating scene, any takers for location & approx date?
7’6″ – Selway Fisher Redshank Clinker Stem Dinghy
CYA member Alan Good (MV Lucille) has been busy over the last 12 months delivering this little beauty into the world.
Alan started the project at The NZ Traditional Boatbuilding school & then moved her home for the final fit out. Still a few more tasks on the list in regard to the sailing rig. I will update this post with some sailing photos when available.
The mix of timber is amazing – Kauri, Jarra, Dumari, American Ash, Kwila, Hoop pine, Kavalu, Hoduras Mahogany, Kahikatea, Yellow oak.
Well done Alan, I look forward to seeing her in a bay 🙂 AH
Yachts ‘versus’ Motor Boats
29 Jan 1953 – the day it all turned to custard
Now its commonly accepted that a lot of yachties do not hold motor boat owners in very high regard, hopefully its a little different with the CYA members, but even to this day, fathers are telling little Johnny that he would have won the local yacht club Opti race if it had not been for that bl_ _ _y launch that went past.
I think Harold Kidd summed the situation well in the book ‘Southern Breeze’ (published 1999) – extract below:
“Launches were originally considered an integral part of the sport of yachting and civilized it, providing comfortable, safe & (initially) segregated accommodation for the former yachting widows & the children.
Soon, yachtsmen assimilated the new order. Launch owners went out of their way to render assistance to yachts in distress & provide a welcome tow home in flat calms. The relationship, however, between yachtsmen & launchmen was always a little flawed by the affected superiority of the yachtsmen who deprecated launches as ‘stinkpots’, but the truth was that most of the crews were interchangeable, well-know to each other & experienced in both branches of the sport. That situation prevailed during the ‘classic’ period to 1960, but the advent thereafter of fast planing craft in the hands of often totally inexperienced owners diminished to some extent the mutual respect between yachtsmen & powerboat owners”
In my search for cool photos for waitematawoodys I have uncovered photographic evidence that it happened 7 years earlier than Harold thought, evidence of the exact day & event it all turned pear shape – 29 January 1953, Auckland Anniversary Regatta.
See photo above, the displacement launch in the middle of the photo is all good, the speed boat in the bottom right……………. you can just imagine the language aboard the yachts 30 seconds after this photo was taken.
From this day on we were all tarred with the same brush 🙂
Imperial ‘v’ Metric Measurement
One of the woody’s has asked the question below – maybe the waitematawoody boat builders or in fact any one, might be able to help.
“When did the marine industry in New Zealand change from imperial to metric measurement?. It might be an ‘old wives tale’ but I’m told some of the older boatbuilders felt they could get greater accuracy with imperial over metric, but I wonder when the practice finally died out”.
LADY MARGARET
She is back in Auckland after quite a few years in the far north. They are numerous posting on her on waitematawoodies, just enter her name in the search panel. But a quick overview – 1927, Colin Wild bridge-decker, 42′, one of THE launches in her day with a wonderful provenance.
Very very pretty, then aren’t all Colin Wild boats 🙂
Will be interesting to see if the Col Wild stable is enough to justify the asking price with potential buyers. Talk around the docks is that she sold for a LOT less last time she was on the market & the term used in the listing to describe the recent work is ‘ a make-over’ so best to view her as a wonderful classic that you could go boating in tomorrow but she is very ‘traditional’ in terms of motor, layout, fittings & finish so at some stage to return her to her best you will have to be visiting the bank manager. She will not sell for the asking price but launches with her provenance & looks do not come on the market often. Take a look at the ‘at sea’ photos – a fine looking vessel.
I will be interested to see how she fares in the current classic wooden boat market. The Logan (do not get much better breeding than that) launch Ngaio recently sold for sub $40,000 & was in similar condition, excluding the fresh paint.
More details here.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=620813973
Lady M out on the hard at Gulf Harbour, with her new owner giving her a tickle, Ken R took the photo 22/03/14.
A couple from the new owner
02/07/2014 – Launch date photo below at Colin Wild’s Stanley Bay yard. According to Papers Past the date was 9 Oct 1928, else were on this post we have her as launched in 1927?
I was mooching around Westhaven this afternoon, 17/08/2014 & spied LM on her new berth.
Updated Photo – 15/01/2015
