Category Archives: 1930’s

Royal Saxon

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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

Little Jim – Price Reduced

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LITTLE JIM – Price Reduced

Little Jim is a rather special boat, bermudan rigged she was designed & built in 1934 by Arch Logan & Bill Couldrey.
LOA: 42’10”, LWL: 28′, BEAM: 9’1″, DRAFT: 6′

A gentlemans racer cruiser & arguably the NZ’s best classic yacht in terms of pedigree, condition &  sail-ability.
Fresh from a Peter Brooke repaint in 2014 & a full Brookes restoration 2007-2009.

Folks – not wanting to sound like a real estate sales rep but opportunities like this do not happen often, this is your chance to own a piece of NZ maritime history, presented in better-than-new condition for less than the price of a tried old Beneteau 9.85m or an old Wright 35. For around $120k LJ will be yours.
Buy it or one day you will kick your self for not leaping at this opportunity.
Link below – you can also view more photos by searching Little Jim on ww

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-942245200.htm

Contact owner on 027 561 4257 or rm@drivenevents.co.nz

Mandalay

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MANDALAY
photos ex Russell Ward

I last saw this little cutie 4sale on trademe back in Oct 2007. Back then it stated she was built in Auckland in 1932 but went into dry storage during WWII until 1986. Around then she was purchased by Dave Jackson of Northcote & recommissioned by ex Navy dockyard shipwright Jeff Cook. During the recommissioning she was re-powered with a 23hp Yanmar 3 cyl. inboard diesel, which pushed her along at 6 knots. Built with full length planks, edge fitted & riveted to ribs without caulking, decks are glass over ply. When advertised in 2007 she was moored in the Clevedon River & came with a road trailer.
The other day Russell sent in the above photos that were from a friend who owned her, possibly the trademe seller, during their ownership they kept her at Coromandel & the Waikato River. Russell commented that the friend believed that just prior to the WWII storage she had sunk at her moorings.

Its believed Mandalay is now in the Bay of Islands. Can any woodys report on where she is now & any more details?

Harold Kidd Input

She was built by Ralph Shepherd of Kowhai Rd Birkdale for himself in 1932 when he was 24. He and his brother Harry were in business as motor body builders. Their main customer was the Birkenhead Bus Co. Ralph went overseas during WW2.
My friend Wallace McNair, (and Russell’s too), the amazing vintage car restorer of Hamilton, had her on the Waikato at Hamilton for several years. His son Robert later had her on the Clevedon River. I’ll ask Wallace for some pics.

The Sail ‘v’ Power Relationship

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The Sail ‘v’ Power Relationship

In a ww post back in August 2013, I (tongue in cheek) stated that I had found photographic evidence of the exact day & event when the relationship between power & sail soured– 29 January 1953, Auckland Anniversary Regatta. View photo & story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/08/01/yachts-versus-motor-boats/

Well folks I got it wrong, it was much earlier than that – it was early December 1930. In the above photo ex Peter Loughlin’s (current owner) facebook page, we see Lady Margaret (1928 Colin Wild), described in the NZ Herald, 11th Dec 1930, article as a fast cruising launch ‘passing’ some of the M-Class sailing fleet. Passing was a rather polite term for ‘going thru at full chat’ 🙂

For the train spotters Maratea is in the lead (& won) followed by Mercer?? & Manu

Thankfully most classic motorboat owners are a wee bit more considerate these days, can not say the say about the average Riviera owner & a remarkable number are flying a RNZYS burgee 😦

Tides Out At Collings & Bell

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#3
#4
#2
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Tides Out At Collings & Bell
photos & details ex Harold Kidd

When the Collings & Bell boat yard / shed in St Mary’s Bay was vacated due to the Harbour Bridge construction project, a lot of cool items were just left lying around, on a sneaky visit Barry Davis discovered a selection of Chas Collings’ glass photography quarter plates showing St Mary’s Bay during an ultra low tide in the 1930s. The photos show that in the days before dredging most of the launches and yachts are aground.
Even though the plates were cracked & damaged the detail is amazing & they could be blown up to view the boats in detail. To secure these negatives was a great find as most of the plates were tossed into the bay by the apprentices.

In photo #4 Harold’s father’s schooner TAHITIENNE is at right background out in the stream in RottenRow.

Miss Picton > Mitre Peak

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Miss Picton > Mitre Peak
photos ex Charles Collings / Bill Wilson Collection via Ron Wattam

The above photo was sent to me by Ron Wattam whose wife’s grandfather was Charles Collings. Given this we can assume that the launch above is most likely a Collings & Bell, so the question is, can anyone name her & the year of build / launch. And if that happens, where is she today?

Harold Kidd Update

MISS PICTON launched 7/12/1933 for Captain M Steele of Picton. Later MITRE PEAK.
She was very similar to DONALD SUTHERLAND launched in January 1936. MISS PICTON was built to replace TINOPAI which C&B built for Steele in November 1932 but which was destroyed by fire when only a moth old. They were identical but TINOPAI was painted a dark colour, not white like MISS PICTON.

Update 31-09-2019 photo below ex Len Redwood’s fb

Screen Shot 2019-07-29 at 2.16.11 PM

Norma

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1928
1929
1939

NORMA
photos via Nathan Herbert ex Manukau Yacht & Launch Club collection

Three photos today of the 40′ launch Norma. The top one is dated 14-01-1915. The middle one records her in 1929 winning a MY&LC race for launches helmed by ladies. Also featured are the yachts ‘Sea Gnome’ & ‘Sylvis’.
The bottom photo is from 1939 & shows Norma & the 26′ launch ‘Marina’ being off loaded (lorry?) & re-launched into the Waitemata Harbour. I’m sure Harold can enlighten ww followers the reason these launches made the trip from the Manukau.

Can we expand some more on Norma – designer/builder etc?

Harold Kidd Input

There were several NORMAs. This Coulthard NORMA was built at Onehunga for the Jeffs brothers and launched in November 1913. She was a 32ft flushdecker with an anonymous 10hp engine but had a 30hp 4 cylinder Wolseley installed in the winter of 1919. The Jeffs sold her to C. “Shorty” Schnauer in January 1921. In the 1930s she was sold to Whitianga for game fishing. She was owned there by Bill Clark and was in Whitianga until at least 1980.
I don’t know this MARINA under that name. There were many MARINAS, another one game fishing out of Mangawai in the early thirties owned by Franich but it can’t be this one.

SEA GNOME was one of the square bilge 14 footers built by George Honour that formed the basis of the so-called “Sea Class”, 14ft “flatties” most with names starting with “Sea” that latter morphed into the Auckland Y Class. Honour built her in 1921 and she was an immediate champion. Chuck Auger owned her for 14l years and took her to the Manukau in 1927. She raced on both harbours. The Y14 on her sail was her Manukau number.
SYLVIA was a 22ft mullet boat designed by Dick Lang and built by Harvey & Lang in October 1912. She was on the Manukau from 1924 to 1930, mostly owned by C. Paul.

Maewa > Islay II

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MAEWA > ISLAY II

b/w photos & details ex Geoff Cooper

Recently Geoff spotted the launch Islay II on ww & contacted me to advise that approx. eight years ago while dinghy sailing around Bon Accord Harbour he identified the Isla II as the launch, Maewa,  his father, Ted Cooper (E.R. Cooper), built in the years 1936, 37, 38. Geoff was invited aboard & the interior inspection positively confirmed the history of the launch. The then owner told Geoff that when he bought her he was told she was built by Billy Rogers in 1953.  Somewhere along the way her cabin has been rebuilt and she has been extended as she is longer now.

Geoff’s father had the use of Billy Rogers shed at the bottom of Curren Street, Herne Bay on the beach to build her. The photos above, during construction, confirm to Geoff that Islay II is the Maewa.

Can any woodys input more on her past? She ‘resided’ in Milford Marina (creek) for a period in recent years. Her present owner has had her for approx 2 years.
On the original Islay II ww post Harold Kidd commented that he had Billy Rogers 1956?, alongside her name in his files, could this have been when the rebuilt cabin & water line extension was done? In my eye, as launched, she was a very smart launch 🙂

The photo below of Islay II was taken by Dean Wright in Te Uenga Bay (part of Parekura Bay), Northland.

The Meteor

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THE METEOR
photo ex Mac Taylor collection

Until seeing the above photo I was not aware that we built anything like this sedan runabout in NZ. The Meteor was owned by Mr. W. Goodfellow & cost approx. £1,600 to build. She was 30′ long & capable of a speed of 30 mph. The forward closed cockpit had seating for 8 persons & was upholstered in grey leather.

So woodys – who built her, when, what powered her & what became of her?

Harold Kidd Update

METEOR was built for William Goodfellow in May 1931 by Sam Ford. She was 30ft x 7ft and constructed of Honduras mahogany with a double-skinned bottom. Her original power was a 225hp Kermath. She was capable of 30mph. He kept her in one of the sheds in Ngapipi Road where her nameplate is still on the wall.
Goodfellow sold her to the NZ Coastguard Service just before WW2 when she was taken over by the military. The Government disposed of her by tender in May 1945. Lanes remodelled her for Beamish-White for use on Lake Okataina where she was kept as a tourist attraction for many years. I have a nice pic of her there which I’ll send to Alan.
She’s still around; no doubt other WW followers can bring her up to date.

I took the photo below, of her old name board – while visiting one of the Ngapipi Rd boat sheds to view Matareka II, back on March 2014.

P1160971

Lake Okataina photo below ex Harold Kidd

29-05-2016 photo below ex Nathan Herbert

Meteor ex NH

 

Robyn Gae

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ROBYN GAE
video ex Martin Turnwald, details ex Martin T & Harold Kidd, photo ex PapersPast ex Nathan Herbert

The video clip above is a little scratchy but features some good footage of the classic woody, Robyn-Gae, owned by Martin’s father, John Turnwald. There is even a cameo apperance of the 1919 Joe Slattery launch Raiona (at 1:30).

Robyn Gae started life as Water Gipsy & was launched in October 1934 for C. Miller by Cox & Filmer (Speedcraft Boat Co) with dimensions 32ft x 8ft 6in. She was a slightly extended version of a 30 footer built by Cox & Filmer for a Mr. Martin. Miller used Water Gipsy for a while and then she “disappears for a while. Ted Valintine bought her in 1937, renamed her Connie V after Mrs. V, had her lengthened to her final dimension of 38ft, with the provision of a cockpit, coaming and dodger over. The work was undoubtedly done by Lanes who also fitted her with a 6 cyl Chrysler Crown petrol engine in September 1939. That was after the Kawau petrol fire in January 1939 when Valintine scuttled her by chopping a hole in her hull, saving the boat (photos below). Valentine sold her to E.M. Henry & the Lambourne family bought her from Henry in 1939. She remained in the Lambourne family until 1956 or so but Lambourne obligingly changed her name to Robyn Gae on 14/11/49 at the time Lanes launched the second Connie V for Valintine.
She is registered as a “Her Majesty’s Ship” in London.
The Chrysler Crown engine was replaced later by a Commer TS3 two-stroke diesel . The bridge roof was raised about 20 centimeters way back in about 1979 Martin thinks, because a stroll on the bridge always ended with  a ding in one’s head . The beams were just that little bit too low and the bridge deck floor had to be raised a bit to accommodate the new engine.
The Commer has since been replaced by a Perkins & with this engine Robyn Gae is able to achieve a true 9.6 knots running a 5 blade prop.

Robyn Gae is for sale – for details contact Martin Turnwald at  mturnwald@bluewin.ch