Category Archives: 1930’s

French Bay – Sailing Sunday – Revisited

Posted on by
3

So far there have been over 2,000 classic wooden boat stories featured on waitematawoodys & the viewing numbers (3,300,000) have grown from a dozen people to over 80,000. I have had some loyalists from day one but the big numbers have happened in the last 2 years – so not everyone will have been exposed to all the stories. Over the Christmas / NY period I have decided to take a peek back in time & feature some of the gems from the early days. Enjoy.

Have a great holiday & remember to take the camera / phone with you & snap a photo of any woodys you see. Email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

 

French Bay – Sailing Sunday

This photo c.1935 was sent to me by Roger Guthrie. The location is French Bay.
The rather chic young woman in the dinghy is Roger & Graham Guthrie’s mum – Mary, wife of Ivan Guthrie. At the time of the photo Mary (maiden name Marion Alexander) was not married so the ‘older’ women with the parasol could have been her chaperon. The young bloke rowing looks very capable of getting them ashore safely 😉

Now is that an Idle Along in the background & is the boat sailing below, one as well (its from the same day)?

Royal Saxon – Revisited

Posted on by
2

ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.

Royal Saxon

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

Classic vintage 1936 ketch – Leisure Hour

Posted on by
2

Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 4.05.45 pm

Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 4.06.03 pm

Classic vintage 1936 ketch – Leisure Hour

The above 32’ x 9’ beam ketch is named Leisure Hour & was reportedly built by Jimmy Reid in 1936 in his family yard at Sulphur Beach Road Birkenhead, close to the Auckland Harbour Bridge location.

The Reid family being reputable boat builder of vessels in early 1900 in Mechanics Bay area Auckland, had two sons who produced sail and power vessel for notable New Zealanders of that era.

Leisure Hour has been on the harbour for approx. 81 years and is in need of a tender loving owner to take on as a project vessel to keep Auckland boating history alive.

She has had work completed with a tidy up and new paint. Her engine is a two-cylinder Arona diesel, with mechanical transmission and shaft drive.

The current owner on trademe says he has one too many boats and is motivated to sell – so with an asking price of $19,500 Leisure could a perfect entry into the classic wooden boating world J

 

 

Rainbow

Posted on by
9

Screen Shot 2017-12-20 at 7.35.42 am

RAINBOW

Rainbow was built in 1930 by Chas Robinson at Ohiniamutu for the Smiths who owned Rainbow Point on Lake Taupo – hence the name Rainbow.
She is 22.96’ in length & powered by a 15hp diesel.

She looks a very smart classic kauri launch & with a trademe asking price of $20k ono, could be a great buy. While still a lake boat, it would not cost a lot to truck her to the Waitemata 😉

Do any of the lake woodys know more about the boat ?
(thanks to Ian McDonald for the listing heads up)

Input From Paul Drake

RAINBOW was a Taupo boat for more than 70 years, before moving to a nearby hydro lake where I suspect she still is. Someone has done a superb job on her cabin since she left. When built, she had an extensive canvas canopy instead of a cabin, supported by heavy tubular nickeled rods. She was fitted with copper buoyancy tanks, making her unsinkable. She also fitted with a magnificent 6 cylinder twin ignition Gray. Two spark plugs to each cylinder. To change from battery to magneto requires the flick of a switch. Fresh water is very kind to engines and this engine, in very good condition, now resides in brother Michael’s shed, complete with owner’s manual and original instruments. RAINBOW lived in a substantial boatshed at Rainbow Point, and was launched via a similarly substantial slip. She is a most unusual boat, in a good way, being very shapely and very shallow draft (half a metre) with exaggerated flare forard and very flat underwater sections aft. A fabulous looker and the perfect lake boat. In the photos below – the last photo shows how she looked when she left Taupo. The first three are from the 1930’s. 

DSC03684

DSC03685

DSC05549

New Zealand Classic Wooden Boat Register – 200+ Photos

Posted on by
7

image1

New Zealand Classic Wooden Boat Register – 200+ Photos

Stoked to be able to share with you the 2018 edition of the CYA Classic Register. Big ups to the CYA team behind it, pulling everything together is a massive undertaking, I’ve been there & done that, having been involved with the first 4 issues – 2018 is a winner, so make a cup of coffee or pour something a little stronger & sit back & enjoy over 200 photos. Click link below

to view https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/fullscreen/59612422/cya-classic-register-2018-yum

Lucky CYA members will be getting a free hard copy version in the post very soon. Almost worth joining to get a copy 😉 Membership details here  http://classicyacht.org.nz/joinus/

Nukutere – Part 2

Posted on by
5

Construction & Launching

Unknown

Unknown-5

1940’s War Service & Up To About 1950’s

Unknown-23

Unknown-10

1960’s > 1981

Unknown-13

Unknown-15

Unknown-16

Unknown-18

Unknown-22

NUKUTERE – Part 2

Back in September (11th 2017) I wrote a story on WW about the launch Nukutere, as a result of that story Bernie Warmington made the comments below on the WW Comments section

“Hi, the lovely Nukutere was built by Arthur Sang for our grandad Foster Warmington of Wellington, from 1939-41.  She remained in the family until 1981.  Grandad sketched up some design drawings from reading boating magazines and Arthur made up a model.  (Grandad then shaved the model to make the bows finer, Arthur didn’t find out until she was partly built!).  Moored mostly at Port Nicholson and then later at Seaview, and in the Sounds she was moored at Nana and Grandad’s house in Double Cove.  She saw naval service as Frank mentioned, her registration was Z74.  My Dad Gavin and Uncle John went on night patrols when 14 and 15 until the navy banned them due to age.  Not sure what Nana thought of all this… We have a small book based on Dad’s memories of the Nukutere and her adventures, happy to share these, photos etc with the current owners and others interested.”

I asked Bernie to send me the above mentioned photos, which appear above. What a collection – I have broken them into 3 parts.

  1. Construction & Launching (stunning photo of the kauri log)
  2. 1940’s War Service & Up To About 1950’s
  3. 1960’s > 1981

THE NUKUTERE STORY – Below is a link (in blue) to a photo-essay book, titled The Nukutere Story, that Gavin Warmington authored for his family. The story & photos were passed over (told) to his children – Julie, Bernie & Matty in late 2007 > early 2008.

The family edited the story & published it in March 2016. WW is in debt to the Warmington family for sharing the book with all us woodys.

Enjoy the read, it puts all the above photos & more in context.

THENUKUTERESTORY

Screen Shot 2017-12-14 at 7.53.40 am

 

Link to the WW post #1 showing Nukutere today.  https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/09/11/nukutere/

 

 

 

 

Waiata H15

Posted on by
2

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 1.53.30 pm

2017

WAIATA H15

 A gent by the name of Billy Bott called me last week with a wee problem, with a such a cool name, I couldn’t not help him out

Billy has a 26ft Mullet boat (now in motor launch mode) with a very colourful history. Built by Dick Lang, one of the leading mullet boat builders at the time and launched in 1936. One of the last boats launched before the man power project in 1938. Her first owner, Hec Moylan, won 1st prize in the ‘NZ Art Union’ lottery & commissioned Lang to build the yacht.

Waiata was transported to Japan in 1946 aboard the English aircraft carrier “Gloria” to be used for Rest and Recreation duties by members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Waiata was also used for recreational sailing at the RNZAF Sunderland base at Lauthala Bay, Fiji.

In 1984 as the result of a rather big storm, she had a wee altercation with the Westhaven sea wall, at the bottom of Curran Street, Herne Bay (refer press clipping below) & more details on her past.

Today Waiata resides in the Milford Creek. Powered by a 25hp Volvo diesel motor and gearbox. The motor has only done a few hundred hours since being reconditioned. She is very roomy for a 26’ boat, with full head room throughout.

Billy’s problem ? – Waiata needs a new owner, sadly she has not been used lately & someone could acquire her for not a lot of money, in Billy’s words “I’m open to all offers”

For more information call Billy on 0274956561

ERNIE SEAGAR RIP – Saddened to learn of the passing last week of Ernie Seagar, one of the giants of our wooden boating community. 

Harold Kidd Input

Sad indeed to hear about Ernie Seagar’s death. He was already a legend as a boy. He was Head Prefect and Captain of the First XV at Takapuna Grammar in the 5th Form and a very useful cricketer, track and field athlete and yachtsman. In his later years he became a truly admirable hard man from his experiences at sea and in life. A true two-fisted tough-minded Seagar of the great New Zealand engineering family. His great-grandfather worked under Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the construction of the GWR Saltash Bridge and the SS GREAT EASTERN at Milwall.
My sincere condolences to his family.
WAIATA was launched by Dick Lang on October 5 1934, not 1936. My father and mother lived in London Street, just up from St.Mary’s Beach. Dad knew Dick Lang well (as well as Lloyd George).
Boylan raced her infrequently with Ponsonby Cruising Club and Richmond but she was well-known on the waterfront.
This “manpower” comment is way off beam. Between 1934 and 1940 (not 1938….WHY 1938, the war was a year in the future?) when tradesman began to be “manpowered”, many hundreds of yachts and launches were built in Auckland, a large number by Dick Lang.

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 1.55.05 pm

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 1.56.18 pm

 

CYA Patio Bay Weekend – 2017 – 50+ Photos

Posted on by
7

P1250526

P1250630

P1250596

P1250681 (1)

 

 

 

P1250732

P1250733

P1250725

CYA Patio Bay Weekend – 2017

The photos show that 2017 was another cracker Patio Bay year, but what photos don’t get across is what a great group of woodys were there. The numbers were down a little on previous years but those that made the trip will remember it as one of the best. Plenty of room to walk around & mingle without standing on someones dinner plate.

Several Riviera owners, did they bit to re-confirm that they all have big egos & small brains – motoring thru the race finish line at 25+ knots & creating wakes you could surf on. A little exciting if you are sitting in an 8’ dinghy taking photos & wondering if the Riviera is on autopilot & the skippers playing with his small willy 😦

One of the Patio Bay race traditions is the winning skipper of the A Division has to fill the trophy barrel with rum for the following years party. Last year Prize was the winner & based on dock chatter, a sample was drawn off for analyse at the Mount Gay distillery –  purity & alcohol content results to follow 😉

(remember to click on photos to enlarge)

P1250726

Judges Bay Haul Out + Name the Boats & Win

Posted on by
6

Screen Shot 2017-11-21 at 10.12.36 PM

Judges Bay Haul Out + Name the Boats & Win

The above photo shows the shoreline at Judges Bay, Auckland. c1930’s.
The photographer is unknown, but the photo is ex the New Zealand Herald via the Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.

Nathan Herbert has commented that the photo was taken between December 1934 and 1938, as a boat in the photo was launched in December, and modified from that style in 1938.

The woody that can correctly name the most boats, starting from the bottom of the photo, wins a 2018 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat calendar. Lets try doing the entry thing via the WW Comments section, the email entry seems to confuse a few of you 🙂
Promo closes 6.00pm 22-11-2017.

If you don’t win the calendar, copies are available for $15, a steal – click this link for details on ordering.

Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association 2018 Calendars

 

Three Taupo Boats

Posted on by
14
Unknown-3

PIRI PONO on her slip at Two Mile Bay, Taupo, in the 1960’s

Unknown-4

PIRI PONO’s Gray’s
Unknown

PIRI PONO at her final resting place (Maritime Museum)

Unknown-8

LUYVON awaiting restoration at Taupo Oct 2017

Unknown-9

TUI at the Clinker Boat Exhibition

THREE TAUPO BOATS

Post a visit by Paul Drake & his brothers to the 2017 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition & a side trip to the Auckland Maritime Museum, Paul sent me the above photos & the story below – which I have re-produced unedited as its perfect as is. Read & enjoy J

 In the mid  1920’s, two gents and their families fell in love with Taupo. Both of them commissioned boats from Auckland builders. Hawke Bay’s Guy Rochfort had TUI (16 feet and clinker) built by Percy Vos. TUI was on display at the recent Classic Clinker Exhibition at the Viaduct in Auckland.  Auckland’s Robert Laidlaw had the 17 foot speedboat  SEAHORSE built by an unspecified builder. After a weather related fright on the lake in 1929, Robert approached Collings and Bell, and the 28 foot PIRI PONO (faithful friend) was the result. Honduras mahogany and bright finished, no expense was spared. PIRI PONO is on display at the Maritime Museum in Auckland.  With her 150 HP straight eight Niagara, she weighed just over a ton and could do about 30 knots. Housed in her boatshed at Two Mile Bay, alongside Laidlaw’s house ‘Monte Vista’, access to the water was via a slipway. A private jetty and offshore mooring completed the picture. 

PIRI PONO was the fastest boat on the lake.  But by 1935, she had a rival in the form of local man Stan Gillies’s  LUYVON, locally designed and built by Jack Taylor and measuring 22 feet. She was light (about half the weight of PIRI PONO) and powered with a Dodge, driving through an outboard drive.  Informal drag races indicated that the boats were very similar in speed.  A more formal test was required. Regatta Day 1936 (probably) was the day. PIRI PONO had her bottom waxed, new spark plugs fitted, all surplus gear removed, and half her fuel pumped out.  The day dawned fine and calm, to PIRI PONO’s disadvantage. LUYVON and PIRI PONO lined up for the 20 lap race. LUYVON had the edge because she cornered faster – PIRI PONO would catch her on the straights.  Robert Laidlaw ordered his crew (son Lincoln) to the aft cockpit to get the bow up a bit. Stan Gillies was still ahead. Back came Lincoln, returning aft with the anchor. This was enough. PIRI PONO won and Robert retained his title as fastest man on the lake.

PIRI PONO was commandeered by the Air Force during WW2 and was the Commodore’s launch at Hobsonville. They replaced the Niagara with a Chrysler (Crown?) and built a cabin over the forward cockpits. Having won the war, the Air Force returned PIRI PONO to Taupo.  She was re-engined with twin Gray’s which are in her to this day. There are conflicting stories as to how this came about. One source has it that she was returned by the Air Force without an engine. Another has it that Laidlaw was disappointed with the speed produced by the Chrysler. Yet another has it that the Air Force wrote off the Chrysler while trying to reverse PIRI PONO off her transporter and into the lake (overheating due to lack of cooling water).

Laidlaw was an enthusiast. He was the founder of Farmers Trading Company. He was a very active Christian, and his name lives on in Laidlaw College, formerly the Bible College of New Zealand, which trains people for Christian ministry. He also has a rock named after him, informally at least. During an early evening spin in PIRI PONO, with 23 POB (so it is said), PIRI PONO struck, at speed, the large flat rock in Mine Bay between the islets and the shore at the eastern end of the bay. The damage must have been enormous and she quickly sank in a few metres of water. Passengers, some of them not-so-young ladies in fur coats, were rescued by nearby launches.  Jack Taylor’s PONUI and VICTORY salvaged PIRI PONO the next day and she was repaired in time for the following summer. 

Meanwhile, TUI led an uneventful life, and lived afloat in a Taupo Boat Harbour boatshed. LUYVON lived in a boatshed nearby, but was kept dry (and light) by being lifted clear of the water on a cradle once in the shed. LUYVON also survives, still owned by the Gillies family, and has been awaiting restoration for some 30 years now. 

The book by Ian Hunter, ‘Robert Laidlaw – Man for our Time’ makes a very interesting read.

UPDATE 01-11-2017 Photo below showing TAMATI in the Lake Taupo Boat Harbour, with the fishing lodge (ex TONGARIRO) in the background, and the Collings and Bell PIRI PONO in the fore ground.   

Screen Shot 2017-11-01 at 12.38.57 pm