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Onehunga Beach 1954 – Sailing Sunday

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Onehunga Beach 1954  – Sailing Sunday
photo ex A. Turnbull Library via Historic NZ photos

This Whites Aviation photo from Feb 1954 shows an unidentified beach in Onehunga with Mangere Mountain in the background.
Given the number of young children playing in the water & the low number of adults I wonder if there was something else happening on the day e.g. group picnic etc.

Remember Folks Tomorrow is Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, so dust off the boat & get out there. No boat? make your way to one of the many excellent harbour side vantage points across this city.
More details here  http://www.regatta.org.nz/

02-02-2016 Input from Bruce Pullan

The beach in this photo was further west than the beach that Ken has referred to. The beach in the photo was accessed from a drive off Beachcroft Ave near where Arthur Street and Pleasant Streets join onto Beachcroft (the towns gas tanks where near here also). The houses to the right of the trees in the photo were on Seacliff Ave, some of these houses were taken as well as the beach for the motorway. The MY&MBC had a marker bouy out from this beach it was referred to in the yacht club course sheets as Mill Bay. When the MY&MBC racing was moved to Mangere and before the new club house was built the patrol boats were moored here and layed up for winter with chocks on the beach where the children are swimming in this photo.

Auckland 100th Ann Regatta 1950

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Auckland 100th Ann Regatta 1950
photo ex A. Turnbull via Historic NZ photos

Today’s photo by Whites Aviation shows a classic bridge-decker with a crowd of spectators on board watching the 1950 (100th) Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta. Bastion Point on left in the background.
At first glance I thought the launch was Valsan but its not, so what say the woodys?

It’s a big call given what we can see but anyone want to take a punt on ID’ing the other bridge-decker?

Big day today at Mahurangi for the annual classic regatta – lots of photos next week 😉

Remember Monday is Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta. More details here  http://www.regatta.org.nz/

 

Majestic

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MAJESTIC

Details & photos ex ‘Nelson Mail’ via John Burland (edited by Alan H)

The 14.5m Majestic started life back in 1937 as a commercial trawler & cray boat in Nelson. Built at the famed Wells family boatyard at Whakatahuri at the head of Pelorus Sound by her ex owner Lionel Wells and his late brother Gordon. She was built to their father Claude’s design, using Marlborough Sounds kahikatea (white pine) for the double-skinned planking, and heart rimu for the deck beams and stringers.
The brothers fished out of Port Nelson for many years, trawling for snapper, gurnard and flounder. Wells eventually bought his brother out and took the Majestic cray fishing from Milford Sound for 15 years.
He sold her in 1978 and Majestic continued its fishing career from Greymouth before finally being brought back to Nelson.

Two & half years ago Majestic was facing the chainsaw but was saved by the Motueka owner of Cotton Heavy Haulage in Richmond, Lynn Cotton who gradually restored her at the Richmond boat yard. The fish hold has gone and the accommodation has grown to allow for eight people. The few rotten planks were replaced and rimu and macrocarpa were specially milled to fit out the interior.
Most notably, the old superstructure was removed and replaced with a new one, each to their own but I would have chosen something closer to the original.
In the six years the boat had been idle the 190hp Gardner diesel had seized, but that was soon remedied and on the trip across Tasman Bay to its new mooring at Port Motueka it produced an average 8.2 knots.

Below are photos from her re-launch. One shows 95 year old ex owner/builder Lionel on the left with Lynn Cotton.

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Stone Pony

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STONE PONY

Over the xmas / ny period I dropped the anchor in Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island for a few hours & spotted the Stone Pony getting some TLC. Its an usual name so there must be a good story there. I was impressed to see the young lady painting at anchor between ferry washes 🙂 I did point this out to the wife & suggest she could get a few tips from her, fyi its hard to duck a backhand on a launch the size of Raindance 🙂

Anyone know anymore about the boat & owner?

Update – I have been told that one of the two tools below would be redundant during the construction of this boat – the other would get a lot of use 😉

Update – A personal tale on ferro built vessels from Michael O’Dwyer

There are are a few subjects that I refuse to argue about(religion,politics,who should be in the All Blacks) because the opinions go round and round and depending on the ignorance or superior subject knowledge of the various protagonists combining that with different levels of blood pressure and room temperature the outcome can be rather quixotic.Plus no one really wins the argument anyway.
Ferro cement boats is a subject I would add to that list. Forums on the subject are filled with a plethora of opinions on the pros and cons of this now dated construction method.
I personally would not buy a ferro boat because my passion is wood but if my family circumstances had been different I would have kept the Hartley Tahitian (Quis Contra*) my father (Michael) meticulously built over a period of 37 years in our backyard.The boat was sold last year to one of the Auckland Harbour Pilots who plans to live aboard and eventually sail back to England.
If looked after and maintained this boat will last a very long time.It will always be original, no new planks,fastenings,caulking and putty there.In my adult years I helped fit the boat out to the point that no ferro can be viewed inside.People ask what it is constructed from because the hull finish is the result of my then 70 year old dad’s six month long fairing programme.
My sentimental opinion maybe somewhat biased but under some of these stoney boats lies a real gem.

Duetto built by Vince Hooker (not Bill) here in Napier is a prime example.

p.s. the cast iron heater in the saloon was the type used in the old railway workman’s cottages.The doors,roll top desk,saloon table leg and most of the trim is heart Rimu.The saloon table top was made from an old Tawa bookcase.There are 54 wire splices in the rigging, all worm,parceled and served.Just about everything you see in the above photos bar the heater,clock,oil lamp and seabird dinghy was constructed in dads garage.It’s a credit to him.

  • “quis contra” is Latin meaning “who is against us? It comes from Dius pro quis contra which means “If God is for us,who is against us?”

 

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Break out the whites – upcoming woody events

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Woody Update #1

UPCOMING CLASSIC WOODEN BOATING EVENTS
There is a lot of on-the-water woody activity in the next month/s so I thought I’d give you a quick heads up. Most of these events are a good opportunity to see some of the classic fleet up close. Even if you are not a CYA member, join in & say hi.

In case the above links did not work – repeated below

http://www.raidnz.org
http://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/page/wooden-boat-parade-2016
http://www.classicyacht.org.nz

Chandos

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CHANDOS

I photographed the above launch in West Bay, Rakino Island in early January. She is a rather big girl & I would be surprized if the flight deck was an addition, looks like its been there since new. If not then it’s a good ‘fit’.
Anyone able to enlighten us more on Chandos?

A Replica Scow – Sailing Sunday

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A Replica Scow  – Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan Sexton

Alan took the above photos in Nagle Cove, Great Barrier Island last week, just before the wind started blowing.
The replica scow appears to be about 12m in length & is very well done, what do we know about her?

MATUKU – Matiatia Motorboat + Villiers Engine

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Matuku
photo ex David Glen

Over the Xmas / NY period David snapped this nice little low wooded motorboat tucked /  wrapped up in the NW corner of Matiatia at Waiheke Island. She has  a nice sheer, anyone know her history? see below

Now If She Needs A Motor?

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Mike O’Dwyer sent in these photos of a wee 7hp Villiers air cooled, diesel, hand start, with integral fuel tank, engine. Mikes not sure  of it’s date of manufacture but investigations have found it would be around the early 1960’s. It has manuals but these are un-dated.
The engine belongs to Mike’s father (who qualified as an A Grade mechanic back in the day), he fully reconditioned it in 1980 and it’s only clocked up about half an hour since.
Anyone able to date the engine & provide anymore info on them?

She would suit a small open launch……..  If anyone is interested they can contact Mike via ww and he will put them onto his father to discuss further.

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25-01-2016 Update from Alan Good

The boat is named Matuku, this may not be its original name was she was renamed by her owner some years ago when she was moved to Te Matuku Bay, Waiheke Island.
Alan has advised that she is a Bailey & Lowe, c.1887, approx 30′ long, with a schooner bow. At some stage she has been re-powered with a Daedong diesel.
Amazingly she is still owned by same family, a descendant of the ‘Lowe’ in Bailey & Lowe.

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16-02-2016 New photo ex Alan Good

Matuku

The cleats may indicate that she may have been a yacht originally.

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Florence May

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FLORENCE MAY

Florence May was designed by Dick Laing & launched in 1965. She is strip planked kauri & measures 28′ LOA . Powdered by a 80hp Ford diesel. Currently listed 4sale on trademe.

Can anyone expand on her past & possibly confirm the above details? Its says ‘Ngunguru’ on the stern so maybe the northern woodys can help.

Update from Rodney Webb (owner)

I have owned Florence May for 34 years.She was built near Auckland for Harry Muir and was named after his wife.She spent several years in Ngunguru then went to a retired sea captain in the bay of islands.She was then purchased by Tom Thompson who bought her back to Tutukaka.I approached him and purchased her 34 years ago.The builder was Phil Lange who lives in mill bay Manganui.He is 85 and still in good health.I still have her in Ngunguru.I guess you could say i reluctantly have her for sale and would probably refuse any offer 🙂