CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH SERENE – Way Back 

The 36’ classic wooden launch – SERENE, probably built by Roy Paris, has made a couple of appearances on WW, the last on back in May 2022 when we were given a review of the work that owner Tom Lindesay had undertaken during the cv-19 lockdown period -link below to that story and others

WW MAY 2022 https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/05/05/serene-2/
Fast forward to last week a gent named Kevin Baker contacted WW to share some of the SERENE’s history – I’ll hand over to Kevin to tell the story (edited)

“When I was approximately 6 years old I remember helping my grandfather John Leslie Hume shape a model of the Serenes hull out of timber and what looked like some sort of builders bog, it was a half hull down to the keel line and not very big.

I also helped grandfather make plugs of the fittings like the port and starboard rear cleats also the winged port holes. All this was done in my grandparents home at Matahui Road KatiKati Bay of Plenty. I never saw the Serene while she was being built and I am not sure of the builder but my mother who is now 95 is sure she was built in the Coromandel.

I spent time on the boat with my grandfather, a few trips in the KatiKati Harbour. Serene’s main mooring was at Omokoroa but a small wharf was built behind the Matahui farm on the Aongatete River and she spent time there, later she would also spend time at Whangamata.

As time past and my brother Ron and I grew up we took Serene on a few adventures, on one we went to the Mayor Island and were anchored in South East bay for the night when a weather change bought a swell straight into the bay, with the anchor rope pinging the decision was made to move around to the north side of the island , we did this in a pitch black night, I remember it was a long night rolling in the swell with minimal shelter against the cliffs.

Serene had sails stored up the front hatch for her auxiliary motor, I remember one night with the wind in the right direction we set one of the small sails as a stabiliser  . My brother was the skipper and we took Serene as far north as the Cavalli islands stopping at Great Barrier and travelling on the outside of Little Barrier. The Perkins motor in Serene is not original as she was built with a Fordson and it remained in service during our time, the gear box had a manual linkage with a shifting level at the helm.

The photos above of Serene with the Aldermen Islands in the back ground also in Whangamata Harbour. You can see she was built with no fly bridge which must have been added by someone.”

While there appears to be some confusion re the design / builder, I’m sure  it was Roy Paris.

Bay of Islands photo below ex Dean Wright dated Jan 2021