Category Archives: 1930’s

Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade 2017 – 160+ photos

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Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade 2017 – 160+ photos

Another stunning long weekend weather wise & also on the woody front – this weekend I was down at Lake Rotoiti (Nth Island) for the annual classic & wooden boat parade. Holding hands again on the trip with Chris Miller. For the last few years we have positioned our selves in one shore based spot & snapped the boats as they have passed, this year we were very kindly offered the use of a RHIB to get out on the water & get amongst the fleet. The RHIB was provided by LRC&WB Association Rear Commodore Fraser Wilson, Fraser deserves a lot of credit for the above photos 🙂 . Given that CM is a professional photographer we decided that I would be the boat boy & helm the boat & CM would snap the photos, that was a good call because he is rather good 🙂
Being afloat meant that we could get a lot closer to the boats & the crews. So woodys the photos above are CM’s & below are a few of mine + a collection that I took while ashore for the post parade picnic.
I was asked to judge the awards for 7 categories, these awards are highly contested as they are only handed out every 5 years. The winners are featured at the end of todays story.
I would also like to like thank LRC&WB Commodore Grant Cossey for his help & support & as always the LRC&WB Secretary & event registrar – Rachel Jamieson, who is the real hero of this event & the association.
You can also view more on the event at CM’s blog – http://www.buggeritweareoff.com
Remember to click on photos to enlarge. Enjoy – we did 😉
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20th Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade 2017 Winners
BEST ORIGINAL WOODEN BOOT – CARVEL
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BEST ORIGINAL CLASSIC BOAT – WILD HORSES
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BEST CONVERSION – PIKO
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BEST DECORATED BOAT – HAUMOANA
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BEST DRESS CREW – ALBERTO
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BEST REPRODUCTION – SUZY Q
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MOST QUIRKY – MAGGIE
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Nana – Rescued & Restored

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NANA -Rescued & Resored
Over the weekend while at the Mahurangi Regatta, I spied Nana sliding by on numerous occasions, which made me smile – it is always good to see a woody that has been rescued from the chainsaw / backhoe.
Firstly a history lesson – Nana was designed by C. Bailey Jun. &  built by C. Bailey & Sons for Mr F Alison of Matiatia, Waiheke Island in1934 & launched in late November / December. She is 35′ with a 8′ beam & a 3′ draft. A day cruiser, all her controls were in the raised top amidships. When launched she was fitted with a 100hp Redwing engine & expected to reach a rather speedy 17 knots. You can view a photo of her taken during her early December, 1934 sea trails at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/05/nana-2/
Alison had her built for trips to town (Auckland City) & for taking friends out to the fishing grounds in the gulf.

Back in 2014 Nana was hit, whilst moored, in a storm. She suffered reasonably extensive structural damage around the deck line, stern and aft cabin top & was leaking badly, resulting in a flooded > seized Ford diesel 125hp engine, refer hauled out photo below. She was bought off the insurers as a wreck.

Enter the very talented, woody restorer John Wright who has worked his magic on her. The above marina photos were taken by John Wicks while Nana was recently at West Harbour (Hobsonville) marina. The under way photos are from your truly at the Mahurangi 2017 Regatta weekend. Would like to see some photos of the restoration process – John ??

YESTERDAYS WOODY WEEKEND STORY ON WW BROKE ALL THE RECORDS IN TERMS OF VIEWING NUMBERS & VISITORS TO THE SITE.
THE STORY WAS VIEWED OVER 16,000 TIMES IN THE FIRST 24HRS.

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Mystery Launch 26-01

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Mystery Launch

This one could be a little harder than some of the recent mystery boats I have posted on ww 🙂 The photo was sent in by Nathan Herbert & all we know is the location is Mechanics Bay in the late 1930’s. Nathan’s only comment was that the hull has a Coulthard look.

So woodys anyone able to ID the launch closest the camera?

UPDATE 13-01-2019 Nathan Herbert believes he has tracked this launch down, see photo below from Motuoapa Marina, name on side is possibly ‘Lady Val’?

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Mandalay

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MANDALAY UPDATE

Back in late 2015 I posted some photos of the 1932, 23′ launch Mandalay that was built in 1932 by Ralph Shephard. Those photos showed her on the Clevedon River & she had been / was for sale on trademe. We enquired if anyone knew her where abouts. Well woodys I can happily report she was purchased by Mark Jack & has the custodian services of Mike Hughes, a traditional boatbuilder, based in Whangarei, who looks after her in Mark’s absence.

The above photos show her just re-launched after a refit that included the hull stripped back to bare timber, new stem, new paint job.
The photos are taken just off Parua Bay Tavern, Whangarei & also shown her tied to the stern of Omicron, a 20’ Harrison Butler yacht, build by P. Voss in 1945 that Mark Jack also owns.

You can view / read more on her here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/13/mandalay-2/

27-03-2018 Update ex Mike Hughes (Boatbuilder/Custodian)

Mike sent me the photo below from Dec2017 of Mandalay being used to ferry a wedding party from Motukiori Island, Parua Bay, Whanagarei.

Mandalay is owned by Mark Jack & is 23’ in length, kauri carvel & zoom zoom comes from a 3 cylinder yanmar.

Mike has promised me photos of the refit / upgrade she has had, so fingers crossed.

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Taupo Eye Candy

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TAUPO EYE CANDY

Morning woodys – over the Xmas / NY break Paul Drake sent me the above photo that shows Romance (Bailey and Lowe 1914 – 26 feet and 6 inches LOA, 1947 Chrysler Ace powered) launch alongside the Acacia Bay wharf at Lake Taupo.
Alongside Romance is Dragon Hunter (Knaggs Brothers – she has a builder’s plate (photo blow) – 12 feet, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland, about 1930).

Both are rather fine classic’s – you can read / view more on Romance here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/09/22/8829/
and here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/21/romance-2/

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Mystery Launch At Whangaroa

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Mystery Launch At Whangaroa

Three days ago I was sitting in the exact spot where this 1938 photo was taken. I however didn’t have a rod in my hand, more like a pint of beer 😉
Can anyone ID the large launch to the right of the wharf?

Another great photo from the past ex the Auckland Museum Tudor Collins collection , emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.

Gold Bell

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GOLD BELL  Mystery Launch Quiz

The above 1936 photo from the Tudor Collins (Auckland Museum) collection shows a dark hulled launch in the foreground, the first woody that can correctly name her, wins a copy of the 2017 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Calendar (still available to purchase via Rachel at  zea.rachel@gmail.com ). Entries via the ww comments section. Also keen to ID the other vessels in the bay. photo emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.

Harold Kidd Input

GOLD BELL. She was built by Alf Bell (ex Collings & Bell) at St. Mary’s Bay in September 1929. She had a hard chine and was painted gold.
Funny story about that; Dick Coughlan and I helped clear out Alf’s basement in St. Mary’s Bay after his widow (Dick’s great aunt) died. It was a treasure trove of automotive parts going back the early 1900s including an incredibly early single cylinder Cadillac engine which we gave to John Stewart of St. Heliers, a bandsaw using two 1905ish De Dion Bouton car wheels, the major components of a 1914 Wolseley and yards of launch gear patterns, mostly borer ridden.
On Alf’s workbench was a very large wax vesta tin which was extraordinarily heavy, weighing at least 25lbs (11kg). I opened it and found it full of glittering metal grains.We knew Alf had done some panning at Coromandel (as did most early yachtsmen). The Estate Duty had been paid on the estate, so there was an ethical problem.
Anyway, eventually it was analysed and found to be just bronze filings that Alf had used to mix into the paint for the hull of GOLD BELL!

Lady Karita

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LADY KARTIA

I very happy to be able to advise that the 1938,43′ Sam Ford designed bridge decker Lady Karita is now in the hands of a new woodys friendly owner, Murray Shaw. Murray also owns the Collings & Bell bridge decker Kawhiti so the man has been bitten by the bug 🙂 . Work is already underway to return her to her former glory, see photo above, ex Steve Thomas, of ‘work-in-progress’ restoring her brightwork. The immediate plans are for her to remain in the Nelson region, but hopefully one day we will see her back on the Waitemata.

Lady Karita was built in Kauri for a flag officer of the Ponsonby Cruisng Club, Mr Victor Salek. Powered by Ford 130hp diesel, shaft drive, sees her cruising economically at 8.5 Knots. For many years she has been based in the Pelorus Sounds.

Back in June, CYA member Mark McLaughlin (Mapuna) alerted me to the fact that LK was on the market, Marks father has been Lady Karita’s caretaker/skipper for the last 15 years in Havelock & supplied the 2 press clippings below.

 

04-04-2018 Photo below ex owner Murray Shaw of Lady Karita hauled out in Nelson. In the background is Lady Ellison – nice to see the two Sam Ford built launches together 🙂

LADY KARITA + LADY ELLISON

 

Kia Ora

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Kia Ora
A 43 foot wooden boat powered by a Gardner 6LH through a Gardner gearbox.  Kia Ora is an ex fishing vessel converted to a pleasure boat for her well deserved retirement.
Built in 1939 at Kaikoura by local fishing legend Syd Cormack & launched on the foreshore at Kaikoura.
She is very well known along the South Island east coast, not many places you won’t bump into a fisherman thats worked on her.
With her Gardner ticking over her cruise speed is 7 to 8Knts and fuel usage is around 5 to 6 liters per hour.

Any of the woodys able to tell us more about Kia Ora, Ian McDonald alerted me to the trademe listing, hopefully she survived the earthquake & tidal activity that it the area this week.

Harold Kidd Input

KIA ORA was built by Syd Cormack in Kaikoura and launched in 1940. Her first engine was a 50hp Bolinder. Her dimensions are (official reg) 41.2′ loa x 12.7′ beam x 5.6′ draught, 13.03 tons gross and 3.88 tons net. Cormack was her first owner. She was registered as LN 93.
When Ainsley Sinclair of Akaroa owned her in 1950 he steamed her up to Auckland for the Sanders Cup contest. During her life she has been sunk and salvaged three times.

Sheds at Clyde Quay Wellington
The capital has also been suffering the effects of the earthquake, Gavin Pascoe sent me the photo below. This is the result of earthquake surge + king tide + torrential rain. Hopefully the water did not do much damage to the sheds contents – click this link to view the sheds on a good day 😉 https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/12/31/ever-wondered-whats-inside-those-sheds/

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WAIRIKI – A Peek Down Below

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WAIRIKI – A Peek Down Below

Wairiki, the 1934 Colin Wild built launch has appeared on ww before – link below, & created a lot of ‘chat’ in the comments section. If you read Nathan Herbert & Harold Kidd’s comments you will discover her true provenience 😉
Having just popped up on trademe, we have the chance to have a peek down below. Enjoy

Wairiki – Yes, No, Maybe?