Category Archives: 1910’s

Leitner

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Leitner
Leitner c.1947

earlier photo ex Dave Jackson

1. Update from Ken Ricketts – The Leitner was owned by the late Trevor Davis who’s father Sir Earnest Davis bought her for him, in the later 1920s & sold her when he bought the Glenifer for his son, in 1932. — Ken’s father Ralph Ricketts sailed on her on most trips.

2. Update from Adrienne – Built 1913 by Harvey & Lang with a Buffalo engine supplied by David Reid.

Research in the NZ Past Papers, reveals that she regularily raced around the Auckland Harbour (Ak Anniversary Regatta) from around 1913 thru to early 1930’s and the skipper was a certain Colonel White.  She raced as a Bona Fide Cruiser in the 8 to 10 knots division and on one occasion finished a 10 nautical mile course in 3hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.

3. Harold Kidd Update

The Buffalo didn’t last in her long. It was replaced by a Mason & Porter-built 5″ x 7″ 4 cylinder 50hp engine in January 1914. F Restall and H L Rees owned her from 1926 to 1937. She spent a while at Paremata before she came back to Auckland and was owned by Dr. P A Restall for several years from 1959.

4. Update & c1947 photo from Robin Elliott

Leitner is currently owned by Roger Clark and partner and cruises out of the Whangarei Cruising Club. At some time she was ‘converted ‘ to a sort of bridge decker-type. The hull and trail boards are still original and some of the windows were used in the conversion.

Photo added 15-10-2015. At anchor at Fanal Island (Mokohinau Group). Photo ex Mac Taylor Collection

Leitner at Fanal Is Mokohinau Group 1

06-04-2016 photo below ex Hylton Edmonds of Leitner at Kissing Point, Whangarei.

LEITNER @ KISSING POINT WHANGAREI Feb2016

 09-04-2016 Update & photos below from owner via Ken R

Leitner is presently owned by Roger Clark of Whangarei & is moored at Kissing Point. Roger purchased her approx. 5 years ago from Half Moon Bay, Howick. She has a Perkins 6-354 which is an identical replacement fitted about 3 years ago, of the engine she had when Roger purchased her.

LEITNER AT WHANGAREI - c2015 -1

Sterling Girl

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Sterling Girl

STERLING GIRL
Built by Bailey & Lowe in 1913. Being a B&L Harold K will know doubt be able to shed some more light on her.

photo ex classicgameboatnz

Harold Kidd Update

Bailey & Lowe were agents for the very fine US-built Sterling marine engine and so were keen to promote the brand by incorporating the name in names of boats they built for themselves and even others eg the launches STERLING (2 of them), STERLING GIRL and the motorsailer LADY STERLING. STERLING GIRL was built for K.R. Taylor of Birkenhead and launched in November 1913. She had a 20-35hp Sterling engine and was built on their 35ftx 8ft 6in launch moulds that had produced a long line of fine boats including STERLING, PRINCESS, COUNTESS etc and which in modified form, produced the later MANU and ROMANCE II. Taylor sold her to Capt. G. H. White during the winter of 1920 when he had commissioned the 48ft schooner-rigged motorsailer LADY STERLING from Bailey & Lowe. Roy Henderson owned her in 1925 and then she was sold to the South Island. I saw her in Nelson in 1999 when she was owned by Ross Power of Christchurch and I think she’s still there.

10-12-2015 Update from John Burland

Photos below in Nelson Marina & she is still owned by Ross Power. Love the Ford Model T wheel.

Sterling Girl

Sterling Girl - wheelhouse

 

 

Arab

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ARAB

Now the caption says yacht but she looks more comfortable with the launch tag. The under-power photo is dated c.1900 & the moored one 1915.

photos ex ‘Sir George Grey Special Collections (Auckland Libraries)

Harold Kidd Update

You’ve got to worry about whoever wrote the captions to some of these recent postings. ARAB was built by Collings & Bell in September 1913 for John Ayling of Ponsonby and had a 3 cylinder 15hp Doman engine. She was 32’x8’6″. She used to winter at Henry Thode’s slip in Cox’s Creek.

Ayling sold her to W. Grundy of Onehunga in 1918-19 but she was brought back from the Manukau in the winter of 1920 by Bruce, Ferguson and Maude who raced her effectively with Ponsonby Cruising Club (see illustration on p83 of “Vintage NZ Launches”). In 1922 she was sold to Myrhe of Christchurch and shipped down. Later owners included C G Beaumont, under whose ownership she was in NAPS patrolling out of Lyttelton in WW2 as Z 127. In 1953 she was owned by M Cunningham of Lyttelton. She was alive (but not very well) until quite recently.

Florence

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FLORENCE
Designed & built by H.N. Burgess in 1910, she has survived almost ‘un-touched’ by the wood butchers hands & today is as graceful as the day she was launched at Judges Bay. Florence, 33′ carvel planked kauri, has been lucky with her recent owners, Mike Hunter & now Adam Wild who is undertaking some wonderful work to present her in the condition she deserves. AH
Harold Kidd Update
Additional photo of Florence on her trials in March 1910, no tramtop, no dodger, just a flushdecker with a raised foredeck, terribly advanced and chic for 1910.
29/07 – The tramtop and dodger were put on in August-September 1919 at the Victoria Cruising Club’s haulout yard. F Price, her then owner, was Vice-Commodore of the VCC. The pic of her with two masts is probably taken in early 1920 and she’s flying his VCC V-C flag.

Atatu

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An update on Atatu
words & photo from Frank Stoks
Here are a couple of fresh pictures of Atatu (1919, Bailey and Lowe) mentioned on this site about a month ago.
The new hardwood aerofoil rudder (installed 3 years ago) replaced the flat steel plate in order to eliminate all zincs and stop delignification of hard to repair timbers.
Moreover the rudder still works drifting into the berth at 1 or 2 knots whereas the flat steel rudder didn’t work at low speed.
She was a luxury launch for Holloway, then Nathan family, war service in Wellington, converted to fishing vessel in 1947, has had several wheelhouses the last of which (shown) by us about 15 years old now. Present engine is a Caterpillar D330B installed new in 1968 still going strong [touch kauri].
I have an extremely detailed history of her, concerning owners, incidents, activities, conversions, and engines – with photos starting from before she was launched to the present day. Unfortunately the Atatu embossed Royal Dalton China, cutlery, carpets and etched glass have long disappeared.
And yes the funnel is a folly – but I’m proud of it!

Adelaide

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ADELAIDE

An interesting example of how quickly the classics were ‘modernized’. The photo on the left above was taken in 1914 & the second in 1916. In two years she gained a low tram top & the broom stick mast is now a proper mast.
Harold Kidd Update
Well, not so, actually. There were 5 Adelaides built by Collings & Bell for Charles Palmer between 1912 and 1924. The 26 footer ADELAIDE I was launched on 22 February 1913 and fitted with a 6hp Bridgport two-stroke marine engine. Palmer soon grew out of her and sold her to A Rogers in June 1913 and replaced her with the 26ft ADELAIDE II in September 1913, this time with a Doman engine, for which Collings & Bell were the agents. It is ADELAIDE II in the January 1914 image where the launch carries the number 8 and has foliate engraving at the bow. She was sold to H B Washington in Whangarei and renamed ISABEL ANDREA. 
ADELAIDE III was launched in August 1915 and was a 36 footer. Palmer was heavily involved in the NZPBA and the Motor Boat Patrol so the much bigger launch was built for serious work. This is the launch in the 1916 image, bearing her wartime number 1, (numero uno because Charlie Palmer was Numero Uno in just about everything to do with motorboating in Auckland) without foliate engraving and with a clerestory (tramtop). She had a 30hp (rated) Doman. When Palmer had Collings & Bell build him the 32ft ADELAIDE IV in 1922, he sold ADELAIDE III and she became GEISHA (II)…confused?
ADELAIDE III was clearly a development of ADELAIDE II, lengthened and with a clerestory, much along the lines of Collings’ RONAKI for the Harbour Board, so the two images DO actually show the changing face of Auckland launches in the two years between 1913 and 1915.

Meteor

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METEOR
Another owner looking for more info on their launch.

‘Meteor’ was built in 1912 by David Reid and about 1948 registered as H-1 and renamed Heather C.  Owner at this stage was F C Conway. The current owners don’t even have a photo of her.
The coloured photo above is what she was like when purchased by a previous owner.  She was purchased while lying in mud and was too nice a boat to leave her there.  The owners did some work to her to use over the summer period & now she is back on the hard in Whangarei for major work.

Update from Harold Kidd:
There is considerable puzzlement about the provenance and names of this boat. She is supposed to have been built as a 28ft mullet boat by David Reid along the lines of the other 28 footers he built for fishing, as did Harvey and Lang at the same time. She was probably built for the Ponsonby fisherman George Murphy and called METEOR originally, then went to Hooks of Putiki and had several subsequent names, SCUD, VALKYRIE and HEATHER C. Some of these 28 footers had no centreboard, but this one must have, as she was registered as an H Class in 1948. Several other 28 footers were made into launches as their hulls were eminently suitable once the centreboard slot had been sealed, for example TWILIGHT (now dying on a farm near Kawakawa) and ZITA.

Sierra

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SIERRA

words & photos from Dennis Christopher

‘Sierra’ is a general purpose workboat, designed and built by Joseph Fell of Kohukohu (Hokianga Harbour) & launched 3 May 1917. She is planked with two skins of Kauri over steam bent frames. Powered by a 120hp Ford Lees with a 2:1 twin disc gearbox. L – 42’6”, B – 11’2”, D – 3’6”.

Like most workboats, she has a very interesting history. She was built for Hokianga traders A. S. Andrews & Sons who had six stores dotted around the harbor. She carried passengers, general freight and was the official mail boat. Later on in her life she worked on the Auckland Harbour doing light towing duties and transporting men to and from the Bridge construction project. She also did general work and towing duties on the Manukau at the Glenbrook Steel Mill gas pilings.

“Sierra’s” days of hard work are over and she is now owned and cared for by Dennis Christopher of Panmure. “Sierra” is a regular competitor in the annual Tug boat race and parade on Auckland Anniversary Day and she won the Parry Trophy for the best presented retired vessel in 2009. A fitting tribute of how a piece of maritime history can be preserved and enjoyed.

 

Getting Hooked

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Getting Hooked

WAINUI

Below is a tale by Phil Parks that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to, sounds very familiar. AH

I have been a lover all things to do with the ocean and boats since being pushed off Howick Beach as a 5 year old in my first P class.

As my life has evolved boats have always figured but my love of surfing was foremost until recently.

Living on the west coast is not that conducive to owning boats although I do have a purpose built tinny to go fishing out here when the swell is small enough.

About 15 years ago I bought a place at Ti Point near Leigh and have had a nice fizz boat up there. This has rekindled my love of boating and as age is now making surfing harder all the time I am spending more time boating.

I have dreamed about owning a classic launch for years and always troll the for sale columns looking at everything for sale. Funny how that gives you a good sense of values of various vessels.

The only thing that has stopped me “going for it” has been the lack of some where to keep a launch.

I had applied for a mooring 12 years ago with the Rodney council but it soon became apparent the whole process was an absolute wrought as I never proceeded to get any where near the top the list although new boats seemed to be appearing all the time.

I had always called the mooring administrators annually to whine about the process and to keep my name on the books.

When I did that in 2011 I was now dealing with the new Auckland Council and I was flabbergasted when a very helpful lady heard my cause and replied “well there are a couple of sites available do you want one?”

Did I what!!!! I paid the money and secured a mooring site that could be viewed from my bach lounge. Fan bloody tastic! Now every time I looked at boats a wave of excitement came over me!

Xmas 2011 and looking at trade me I spied a nice looking old launch that seemed to be at a good price. Problem it was at Hohorua. Made a few calls to the owner but never got around to getting up there to have a look.

I could not get her out of my mind and when another boat that was at Kohukohu came on the market I thought I would do a road trip. Arranged to look at 8 boats, jumped in the car and took off.

There were only 2 boats that interested me mainly because I was fussy about the “look”. It just had to look right. Most did not.

Anyway one thing led to another, time passed but I eventually became the owner of the 28′ Wainui.

It was the originally boat that I saw on trade me 5 months before and was smitten with. As it was a deceased estate and the family were finding it a real hassel to keep I ended up getting her for a very good price and the whole deal had a good feeling to it. Very co-operative vendors.

It now meant there was pressure on to get the mooring established and that is another whole story in itself.

My best friend and I sailed her down from Hohorua to Ti Point and that was a fantastic trip and again another good story.

She now sits in Ti Point Harbour with a few other classics. I will soon move her up to the bach for a full restoration.

Probably have to sell the fizzer to afford it but worth it.

Its all about the journey………….Phil Parks

27-02-2017 Photo below by (ex Colin Brown) of Wainui at a Mangawhai property. Most likely the bach mentioned in the story above.

wainui-at-mangawhai-27-2-17-ex-c-b