SCHOOLHOUSE BAY KAWAU ISLAND – XMAS 1959 – BOATS & OWNERS
In todays photo Ken Ricketts has tagged as may launches as he can confidently ID and provided us with details of who owned the boat at the time of the photo + details on each craft. Hopeful Ken’s memory from 64 years ago is better than mine 😉 Photo by Palmer ex Lew Redwood fb. Engines are listed as on that day, a number had had other preceding engines, some mentioned and most have had other engines since.

1. MARGARET S – Owner – Alec Stewart. Builder – Collings, & Bell c1919, Engine – Fay & Bowen 40hp petrol
2. HUKARERE – Owner – Les Ravenhall. Builder– McGeady, ( hull& engine), & L Ravenhall (coamings & interior), 1949,  Engine – Perkins diesel.
3. ROTUI – Owner – Alec & Linda Walker. Builder – Chris Craft, c1938-39. Engine – Ford V8 petrol        
4. VARLENE – Owner – H T Morton. Builder – McGeady. Engine – 4 cyl Ailsa Craig diesel.
5. APACHE – Owner – Harold Parkinson. Builder – home built by original owner in Capt. Springs Rd Te Papapa 1939. Engine – Chrysler Crown petrol.
6. GAY DAWN – Owner – Ralph Ricketts. Builder (&designer), home built by Bill Waters 1953. Engine – twin 6 cyl Leyland diesels.
7. MENAI – Owner – Clive Menzies – Builder – Sam Ford 1936/37. Engine – Ford V8 petrol, or perhaps newly fitted Ford 4 cyl diesel, – (original engine when built, 8 cyl Lycoming petrol repl., 1942 by Ford V8 ).

I think I have ID’ed REHAI , the 1938 Colin Wild built launch on the right, last launch – see below. 

03-12-2023 ADDITIONAL INPUT EX KEN RICKETTS – below is additional data ex KR, the accuracy of which is un proven so view as ‘maybe/could be 🙂

Some engine history & installation details of the above where known.

1. MARGARET S original or early days Twigg petrol engine.

2.HUKARERE original Less ( Ford?) marine petrol engine

3.ROTUI – original 

4. VARLENE –  original

5. APACHE – original

6.GAY DAWN original single flathead Studebaker petrol converted truck engine ex ROYAL FALCON painted bottle green.

7. MENAI – original 8 cyl Lycoming petrol engine

LADY MARGARET – original twin Fairbanks Morse diesels. These were side exhausted, out each side, below the bridgedeck, about 6 inches above the waterline, & were left in place for many years blanked off, after the Fodens were installed. 

Her Fodens to me, had a unique exhaust system, with 2 short stacks, one out each side of the cockpit cabintop, & were identical to those installed in Fred Porter’s MARNINE, during the building of her, for him, by Lane Motor Boat Co. 

Ted C. & Fred P. were very close friends, for much of their lives, & shared the same shed for the 2 boats, in Wakatakataka Bay, for a great many years, & both sets of engines were  purchased & installed at the same time. 

Fred P. was the M.D. of Mason & Porter Ltd, ( Masport), the huge engineering organization, & my father, Ralph Ricketts, was manager of the machine shop for about 30 years, & Fred asked my father to design, & for dad & his staff, to manufacture, the 4 exhaust/muffler units, for the 2 boats, which were a wonderful feat of engineering design, & a great success, as he was able to make the exhausts on both boats, almost completely silent, something that with those engines, was almost impossible, as exhaust back pressure, can be a real issue with all 2 cycle engines, which is what Fodens, GM Detroits, Commer TS3s, & others are also. — 

You never heard either of these 2 boats leave the bay, (Compare with original Police launch DEODAR I, which had 2 similar engines, or the navy HDMLs,  you could hear them coming around North Head, from Mansion House Bay Kawau Island, — well almost anyway!!).    

REHIA – still had her original engine, but the installation had a number of unusual special features about it & its installation. It was a Buda 6 cyl flathead, painted grey, with dual ignition (12 spark plugs), with a single 12 position distributor, with double sided rotor, which to me, seems inappropriate, as one benefit of dual ignition system, is the safety factor of having a separate back up, in event of failure of 1 system. She also had a Bendix reverse control system on the manual gearbox, which was operated by a little 6 inch lever, in a dual reverse lever/throttle control, console mounted unit, with an emergency long lever, for a manual linkage control alternative, poking through the floor, by the helm, that could be quickly connected, in event of failure of the Bendix system. I knew the boat & Ryans so very well, & in all the years I knew them, I never knew the Bendix system to fail. The Buda remained for a great many years, during their very long stewardship & was eventually replaced by a 6 cyl Ford Diesel, as I recall, around 1980ish. — KEN R           

When You Sell On-Line You Have Little Control Over Who Buys Your Gear 🙂