The Best of Colin Wild + Herreshoff Steam Launch The top two photos of the Brooke families 1927 Colin Wild launch – Linda comes to us via Mitchell Hutchings fb ex the Williamson Family Collection. Linda at the time was moored at Herald Island.
The bottom photo I took today of Wirihana tucked up in Chris McMullen’s shed for her winter TLC. Wirihana is another of Wild’s big motorboats, built in 1933.
It was great to see that CMcM’s Herreshoff steam launch (below) is coming along – engine installed 🙂
Yesterday afternoon, Auckland based woodys got to rub shoulders with an impressive collection of classic wooden boats at one of New Zealand’s leading wooden boat yards – the Peter Brookes ‘Brookes Boatbuilders’ complex in rural Waimauku, West Auckland. I have been privileged to visit numerous times but every visit is a treat, where else would you see over eight classic yachts and launches in varying stages of restorations.
I’ll let the photos tell the story, if I have a photo mixed up, let me know 🙂 – enjoy – remember as always if you click on the photos they will enlarge 😉
RHUM LINE According to her tme listing the 30’ Rhum Line was built c. 1930s, building unknown. The hull is kauri, with the current cabin top added within the last 15 years. A Ford 80hp 4 cylinder diesel engine gives her a comfortable 8 knot cruising speed.
She appears to be will appointed and with a low asking price, could be a nice entry level wooden classic launch. Do we know any more about her past and photos from before the addition.
RAUMATI Raumati was built by John Ewen to a Colin Wild design for Alf Walker of Whangarei. The bridge-decker was launched in early December 1938 and measured 42’ in length, with a beam of 11’6”.The only mention I can find of her is a HDK comment about a NZPBA race on 24/11/1934 in which a launch named Raumati was an entrant. The dates do not match so the first question today is – same boat?
The second question – was she a forerunner to Raumati II (re-named Moeraki in c.1957) built by Low Bros. in Whangarei in 1948 for Alf Walker (again) . Thanks HDK for this intel back in a WW story in March 2014.
So if I haven’t confused everyone – what became of the original 1938 Raumati?
Buying or Selling a Classic Boat Without sounding too much like the late Jacinda Ardern (“be kind”) – when people ask me about classic wooden boat ownership, I normally say that owning a woody has a positive effect on your life i.e. you end up forging a life you don’t need to escape from.
So woodys in the interest of your mental well being listed below a sample of some of the boats that are currently berthed at the virtual Wooden Boat Bureau Sales Marina. There are others for sale, some owners request privacy. To read more about the Wooden Boat Bureau – click https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/12/01/wooden-boat-bureau-advice-for-buyers-and-sellers/ The Wooden Boat Bureau is uniquely placed to offer impartial, up-to-date market information and objective advice to both sellers and buyers. So if you are looking for a wooden boat or considering selling – email us at waitematawoodys@gmail.com
LADY GAY – Australian Holiday Postcard Almost a year to the day we reported that the 1935, Colin Wilde designed and built launch – Lady Gay was holidaying in Australia. Recently LG’s current custodian (their words) Graeme Wilson, wrote in and advised that LG was tucked up safely at marina in Sydney. Graeme commented that she has seen a constant stream of onlookers since she arrived in Sydney with many intrigued to hear of her history and how she has come to be in Sydney, and that she is holding her own when alongside woodys in Australia.
Graeme has been cruising her mainly in Port Jackson waters with COVID and politics having thwarted plans to head to Queensland for the foreseeable future. Sadly with the Wooden boat show in Tasmania cancelled for 2021, for the same reasons, he is hopeful of taking LG south for the show in 2023.
Graeme wrote that Lady Gay is particularly well suited to the upper reaches of Port Jackson, Pittwater and the Hawkesbury. Two weeks ago they enjoyed a lovely spring cruise up in the Hawkesbury and Smiths Creek and plan to return in a few weeks to explore further upstream to Wisemans Ferry and Berowra Waters.
THE REBIE Y55 – Sailing Sunday David Campball-Morrsion sent in the above photo of the mullet boat – The Reble, which David’s father in law and a couple of mates owned before the war, his name was Arthur Coughlan (Buster) and they kept her in St Marys Bay in Auckland. The bridge motorway put paid to that area years later.The Reble had the skull and cross bones on the main as in the photo. Buster played for Ponsonby Rugby Club and became a NZ Barbarian just before the war and became a Ponsonby life member and an Auckland rugby selector, also an active member of the Ponsonby Cruising club.
After the war Buster and family moved to Dunedin for ten years which he claimed was his sentence, they then moved back to Auckland to take up the position of personal manager at Pacific Steel when it opened. David would take him out a number of times on the family yacht, then in their launch Arima, but David commented that fishing in his tinny at Coromandel was his love in his later years.
David is keen to learn what became of The Rebie post the Arthur Coughlan (Buster) ownership period.
Big WW milestone yesterday, the odometer clicked past 6,000,000 views – I got so excited when it went into 4 digits, used to check it every 1/2 hr to see how many and who was visiting the site 🙂
Can we put Russell Ward out of his misery? Russell sent in the 2 photos below of a boat named Silver Spray, that dropped anchor on Friday night below him, in Scotts Bay /Landing – from the distance she appeared to be approx. 40’, with a counter stern, slightly Wild Dock looking. Any one know the boat?
Silver Spray when an Island Bay fishing boat launched c. 1938 (photo ex Baden Pascoe)
22-12-20 Input from John Bullivant – Silver Spray at Half Moon Bay Marina. Owner advised she is powered by a GM671
A Woody For The Lake Boys Kiwi woody Mark Erskine gave WW the heads up on Miss Tessa, currently for sale in the USA. This would have to be a great buy for one of the Lake Rotoiti gang, current bidding is sub US$6k.
Miss Tessa is a 1930 Dodge* 16’ runabout with two cockpits separated by an engine compartment. The boat features a planing, seam-and-batten mahogany hull with spruce stringers and oak frames. Power comes from a Lycoming inline-four, and additional features include a forward/reverse transmission, double-planked bottom, two-piece windscreen, and blue vinyl upholstery. The Lycoming marine inline-four engine is mounted amidships and produced approximately 45hp when new.The boat was found hanging in a barn by the previous owner, who commissioned a restoration before donating the vessel in the early 2000s to the seller, the Tahoe Maritime Museum. Comes with a very cool trailer, which I imagine is only for off road use. *Horace E. Dodge Boat Works was started by Horace Dodge Jr., the son of Dodge automobile company co-founder Horace Dodge.
Yesterday I meet briefly with David Campbell-Morrison to receive a collection of boating books and magazines that David saved for the rubbish bin. The original owner of the collection was a Mr Thompson and most date from the early 1930’s to the mid 1940’s. Some of the USA MotorBoating magazines are in very good condition and the covers are almost collectable art. Today cover is from the March 1935 issue.
Amongst the many items was a ‘photo’ (press clipping) album – the photo below is dated Dec 1931 and appeared in the NZ Herald. Can we ID the launch on the left of the photo?The caption reads “Stretching their sails in preparation for the official opening of the Yachting season today. Pleasure craft which made a pretty picture on the Auckland Harbour last week-end. The yachts are Matariki (N10) and Leveret (V5)
Firstly I need to thank Predictwind for Saturdays forecast, 100% on the button, as usual. One woody at the picnic didn’t come by boat based on the forecast published in Saturdays NZ Herald newspaper……………….. I suspect they also believe the horoscopes in the same paper are factual.
The morning started off a tad eerie with a sea mist blanketing a lot of the sea area off the east coast – but this burned off late morning and we then enjoyed perfect weather. The NZH and coastguard weather forecasts saw the numbers of launches attending drop to 12 but great to see so many turning up by car. Also very fine to have 3 past CYA chairman in attendance – Steve Cranch, Rod Marler and Peter Mence. The waterfront based Stillwater Motor Camp is an idyllic setting for a gathering of classic wooden boats – deep water wharf access to raft up to + a tree shaded lawn. After some interesting docking (too many dockside expects) we had the launches tied up and everyone then decamped to the lawn. Special thanks to Mark Edmonds (Monterey) for again coordinating the venue. A lot of the group had not caught up since the CV-19 lock-downs so it was good to swap stories and boating plans for the upcoming summer.
There has always been good camaraderie on the water between boaties and its something that we foster at Woody Classics Weekends – proof of it in practice is seen below in the photo of Rod and Fiona aboard Arohanui taking Murray Deeble’s Waikiore under tow. Towed him all the way back to the entrance to Milford Creek, where another woody – Jason Prew had ventured out in rather unpleasant conditions to get Waikiore back on her Milford berth. Well done to everyone.
Message for Murray – “should have bought a Yamaha” 🙂
Next Woodys on the water event – November 8th – Riverhead Tavern Lunch Cruise
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