Category Archives: 1960’s

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – VIOLETTA – A Peek Down Below

Posted on by
Reply

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – VIOLETTA – A Peek Down Below

Back in December 2023 WW ran a story on the 36’ Swanson designed and built wooden launch – VIOLETTA. At the time we learnt a lot about her but did not get to see down below. Dec story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/12/18/violetta/

Now thanks to a recent tme appearance we get a peek down below + some recent photos.

In summary – Built in 1965, with a diagonal Kauri hull. initially for use in the Cook Strait, she has subsequently made 100’s of trips across to Durville Island, Steven’s Island and Pelorous Sounds.
Powered by a 150hp Ford turbo engine, she cruises comfortably at 10>11 knots and at fully chat will do 15 knots. As expected with a Swanson and her playground , VIOLETTA is very well appointed.

KAWAU SPRING SPLASH CLASSIC PARADE – 25 WOODYS + A BAY FULL OF BOATS

Posted on by
Reply
Screenshot

KAWAU SPRING SPLASH CLASSIC PARADE – 25 WOODYS + A BAY FULL OF BOATS

If you were thinking about buying a classic wooden boat but weren’t quite sure which style floated your boat, a visit to the 2026 Kawau Boating Club Spring Splash over Labour Weekend would have gone a long way towards answering that question!

Over the last two days, I’ve shared a series of semi-random Waitemata Woodys posts to give you a taste of the action, both ashore at the KBC and out on the water.

Aside from New Year’s Eve, I can’t recall seeing so many boats anchored in Bon Accord Harbour. Now, I know that’s not everyone’s scene – some skippers will do a U-turn if they’re not the only boat in the bay! But for most, the fleet, the atmosphere and the chance to catch up with fellow boating enthusiasts are all part of the magic.

There were a few new systems to navigate and the inevitable operational speed bumps, but none of that stopped the good times rolling. Each evening, the dining and partying got underway, with music perfectly matched to the crowd. The food gets an 8/10 from me, which is high praise indeed!

So, a big tick to the team behind the weekend. If you enjoyed this year’s gathering, do yourself a favour and circle Labour Weekend 2027 in your diary now.

Today, I’m sharing a photo gallery focusing on Sunday’s WaitemataWoodys Classic Wooden Boat Parade. We had a fantastic turnout, with 25 classic craft joining the parade. I have include a few photos that show the ambience of the KBC (thanks to Beth Houlbrook from KBC for her photos). When I cover these big events, my objective is to try and give the WW readers a taste / feel for what it was like, so enjoy the gallery and remember if you click on a photo it enlarges.

And it wasn’t just the parade. I’ve never seen so many classic wooden motorboats out on the water at one time, the bay was absolutely teeming with woodys, my count was 41 classic craft.

Enjoy the gallery, and remember, clicking on any photo will enlarge it. Scroll down to view the two previous weekend posts.

P.S. If you were there and we missed your boat, apologies. With so many classics on the water, keeping track of everyone was always going to be a challenge.

CLASSIC CABIN JET BOAT – TARANUI

Posted on by
Reply

CLASSIC CABIN JET BOAT – TARANUI

If you typed the words jet boat into the WW search box, pretty sure the answer would be ’Nothing Found’, until today.

I stumbled across this wee beauty 4 sale in Nelson – what a treasure.

Some details – TARANUI is 19’ in length and was built in 1967 by Mr Macpherson of Mapua. She spent the most of her life in a shed at Duncan Bay, Tennyson Inlet. Powered by a Crusader Marine 327 Chevy, connected to a Hamilton Jet unit which was purchased from Wilkins & Field in the mid to late 60’s. The gate steering has been modified to make her more agile.

She won ‘Best Jet Boat’ at the 2016 Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti and from the photos looks like she could win again.

STUNNING SUNSET AT KBC LAST NIGHT

CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

Posted on by
1

CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

Over the last week I have been following the update on the ‘Famous Meteor 3 Queenstown NZ’ fb page that has been documenting the start of a refit on the iconic Queenstown classic tourist boat – METEOR III.

METEOR III was once one of the star attractions on Lake Wakatipu. Fingers crossed that post the refit she will take her place as one of Queenstown’s leading water based tourist attractions along side the TS Earnslaw . Yes – its not wood and not made in NZ but its a kiwi classic.

I’ll hand over to the crew overseeing the work for an overview of the vessel

SOME BACKGROUND

In 2021 the Society purchased the Meteor III, a 10m fast hydrofoil assisted tourist viewing vessel constructed of aluminum (rivetted) on steel frames.

Vessel History

The Meteor III was constructed by Porthleven Shipyard in Porthleven, Cornwall, UK in approximately 1964. The vessels design was by Supramar AG of Lucerne, Switzerland. Once completed, it was shipped to New Zealand for its original owner Frank Howarth of Lake Wakatipu. The vessel was put into passenger survey. It is well known that Meteor III attracted plenty of business both because of its space age looks and its high speeds.

The vessel was then held by various people, retired and fell to dereliction. It was then purchased by an owner who undertook and completed a full restoration of the vessel so once again she appears intact, bright and sparkling with a quality paint job, fresh carpeting and refurbished seating.

Design & Layout

The Meteor III is designed as a fast hydrofoil monohull constructed of aluminium. The engine compartment is at the bow and the drive shaft extends almost the full length of the vessel. There are hydrofoils both forward, below the engine, and aft. The passenger cabin is somewhat reminiscent of an aircraft with 15 seats that take up most of the interior with just a small area aft for storage of safety equipment and providing an emergency exit. There are plenty of viewing windows for the passengers with extra windows built into the cabin ceiling to allow passengers a full view of the scenery.  Cabin head height varies from 5ft 10′ to 6ft 2’.

The Engine

The Meteor III is powered by a Chrysler 440 petrol engine rated at 300HP V8 coupled to Chrysler gearbox.  This engine is not original to the boat. Fuel tank capacity is 200L. Cruising speed is around 31mph and top speed is 45mph. To get vessel up on the plane it needs to achieve approximately 4,000RPM following which it can drop back to 3,100 RPM. There are two hydrofoils on the vessel, one forward and one aft. The forward foil is adjustable using a hydraulic pump and the aft foil follows suit automatically. The drive shaft is stainless steel and the prop measures 420 x 560.

LADY ARGYLE — CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LATEST ADVENTURES

Posted on by
Reply

LADY ARGYLE — CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LATEST ADVENTURES

Tom Wieringa the owner of LADY ARGYLE the 52′ 1965 classic wooden launch built by John Lidgard, made contact with WW earlier in the week with an update on her travels and some recent photos.

LADY ARGYLE has appeared before on WW – links to those stories below. Lots of details on her past there, make sure you read the comments sections. When launched she was named Santa Rosa, then Argyle, then went all fancy and became a lady.

WW 2015 https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/05/29/lady-argyle/

WW 2025 https://waitematawoodys.com/2026/05/30/classic-wooden-launch-lady-argyle/

 I’ll hand over to Tom (edited)

“We have had the pleasure of owning Lady Argyle for six years. Five of those years we have lived aboard, from Tauranga to the Hauraki Gulf/Coromandel to Whangarei to the BOI’s, Whangaroa and back again.

She has looked after us through almost every weather and sea condition you can think of, delivering us on our adventures every time.

She is beautifully crafted in 3 skin kauri; two diagonal layers and a top longitudinal layer totalling 55mm thick; riveted together over massive stringers you have to see to believe; approx. 140mm x 70mm. The interior timbers are kauri beams and stairs and teak everywhere.

I have just moved her to Pine Harbour Marina for a few months, hoping to get out and about a little more often.

The trip from Whangamata, after waiting for the south westerlies to settle down, was a lovely 15hr adventure, averaging an easy 7.3 kn at 1300rpm using 8L/hr  total both engines.

I parked up the first night at Port Charles, having never stopped there before, it was very pleasant.“

Tom commented that he was looking to rent a marina or mooring suitable for Lady Argyle (16m+) (LOCATION: Pine Harbour, Gulf Harbour, Whangarei, Coromandel)

THE RESTORATION OF 46’ WOODEN LAUNCH – LIBERTY

Posted on by
2

THE RESTORATION OF 46’ WOODEN LAUNCH – LIBERTY

Back in 2014 WW ran a story on the classic wooden 46′ launch LIBERTY, at the time a recent import from the USA and for sale.

Unsure to whom and when she sold but she has popped up over the years in yards and bays.

Fast forward to mid 2026 and Trudy and Paul Thorowgood acquired LIBERY after several years of admiring her from afar.Trudy contacted WW advising they had just commenced an extensive restoration on LIBERTY – I’ll let Trudy tell the story (edited)WW will follow this project with regular updates.

“We love Waitemata Woodys and the wonderful collection of wooden boats and stories you’ve documented over the years, so we thought you might be interested in what we’ve just taken on – the restoration of a 1969 Stephens Bros boat named Liberty.

You’ve actually featured Liberty on Waitemata Woodys before, back in 2014, so you may remember her: https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/10/liberty/

We first fell in love with Liberty when we saw her down at the Viaduct back in 2018. There was just something about her – the lines, the character and that unmistakable Stephens look. So when the opportunity eventually came up to buy her, we knew we probably couldn’t let it pass.

The only problem was that, by the time we bought her in May this year, Liberty was in pretty poor shape. In fact, we were advised to walk away from the purchase unless we had very deep pockets. We definitely don’t have deep pockets, but we decided to take the risk anyway!

My husband is a carpenter and builder by trade and has built smaller boats from scratch before, so we knew we had some of the skills and experience needed to take on a project of this size. We’re also very fortunate to have some great local contacts through Milford Marina – people with years of experience working on and around wooden boats – who have been generous with their advice, knowledge and help along the way. It’s quickly becoming a bit of a team effort, which is exactly what we hoped for with a project like this.

More than anything, though, we couldn’t bear the thought of such a beautiful old Stephens being allowed to deteriorate beyond saving.

Our plan is to restore her properly and make Liberty our forever boat. We see ourselves less as her owners and more as custodians of this classic beauty – with the responsibility of bringing her back to life and preserving her for the next generation.

She is a 1969 Stephens Bros Sports Cruiser/Fisher, built in Stockton, California, and is hull number M-156. Stephens Bros were building some of America’s most beautiful wooden boats from the early 1900s through to the late 20th century, and Liberty is a wonderful example of that heritage.

We’ve also discovered that the original Stephens plans and correspondence relating to Liberty are now held by the Haggin Museum in Stockton, which makes the boat’s history even more special to us. We’re hoping to dig further into her story as the restoration progresses.

For now, however, we have a rather large job on our hands.

We had Liberty transported from Gulf Harbour to our property, where she is now sitting on the driveway under a purpose-built shrink-wrap shelter. We built a timber frame around her and have started stripping her back to see exactly what we have.

She is carvel-built, and we have now taken the hull back to the bare planks so that the timber can dry out properly. We’ve also removed several hundred kilos of old equipment from inside her – water tanks, fuel tanks, generator and other machinery – much of which was in very poor and corroded condition. The plan is to spline and glass the hull once the timber has dried sufficiently.

The existing Detroit diesels – the famous “Screaming Jimmys” – will also be coming out, and we’re planning to re-power her with a new pair of FPT 280hp engines (these motors also meet the new IMO Tier 2 Regs).

There will be plenty of other work along the way. We’re planning some changes to the interior layout while retaining as much of Liberty’s original character and heritage as possible. We’ll share more of that as we get further into the project.

For now, she is staying under wraps while she dries out, which we expect will take the next few months. Hopefully, in the new year, we’ll be able to start the major hull work.

It is definitely a labour of love – and probably a little bit crazy. But there is something pretty special about taking an old wooden boat that has reached this point and giving her another chance.“

MYSTERY WOODEN MOTOR SAILER #2 – WHANGAREI TOWN BASIN – WAIMARIE

Posted on by
1

MYSTERY WOODEN MOTOR SAILER #2 – WHANGAREI TOWN BASIN – WAIMARIE

Today we have another pilothouse classic woody berthed in the Whangarei Town Basin.

Again as per yesterdays vessel she looks very salty and could be from foreign shores. 

Can any of the northern woodys help us out regarding the vessel.

INPUT ex PETER STRINGER– she is name WAIMARIE, and was launched in 1963 – 47′ in length- more details in the article

IMPORTANT EVENT DATE ADVICE – THE OVER NIGHT BBQ CRUISE TO THE CLEVEDON CRUISING CLUB IS NOW NOVEMBER 14

THE MIGHTY KAURI — A WOODEN BOATBUILDER’S BEST FRIEND

Posted on by
Reply

THE MIGHTY KAURI — A WOODEN BOATBUILDER’S BEST FRIEND

Todays woody photos were sent in by Andrew Molloy and give us peek back in time when there was more of the magnificent kauri than the boatbuilders of the day needed. Hell we were exported it to Australia and I’m told 1/2 of San Franciso, USA, was rebuilt with NZ Kauri after the 1906 earthquakes there.

In the top photo, dated 1963, we see a halved Kauri log at the Helensville rail siding, it was used for building a fishing boat and a keeler and then some left over. Of note – we have 2nd from left Percy Vos and Sam Mason 3rd from left left. The log was 43 ‘and had a girth of 21’. From the log they milled 14,800 superficial feet of lumber.

Second photo is of the Goldie’s Timber Mill, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland. There is an impressive block – stack weathering there. Keen to learn the indignity of the launch seen in the bottom right hand corner – refer close up below.

In the 3rd photo we see a clinker dinghy taking shape at one of Auckland’s boat yards c.1910 . Has the look of the Percy Vos yard about it.

CLASSIC CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK 

Posted on by
4

CLASSIC CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK 

Todays classic woody photo was sent in by John Dawson, and was a flash back for me. My father built me a P-Class but as was typical , built it x4 the weight (1”+ marine ply) of the plans and it took 3 of us to launch it. Sailed like a pig and it was painted yellow. It didn’t get a lot of use and sold as a duck shooter punt. I was told I was a ungrateful child (they were right, I was). Not sure of the date of the photo but the bike, attire, and car would suggest late 1950’s > early 1960’s.

How cool would have this young guy been, owned a bike and a yacht ✔️

I DISCOVERED WHERE AMERICA’s CUP BOATS GO TO DIE

On last weeks travels to Whangarei I called into Port Nikau and there looking very lonely were 3 of New Zealand’s Americas Cup yachts – NZL60, NZL84, NZL92 (lost the cup to Alinghi) – anywhere else in the world  NZL60 would be on permeant display somewhere a little more fitting. She successfully defended the Americas Cup back in 2000. The first boat to defend and retain the Cup outside of the USA.

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH VALMARIE – HOW DID IT COME TO THIS

Posted on by
1
2013

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH VALMARIE – HOW DID IT COME TO THIS

I was mooching around the Whangarei waterfront during the week and spotted the launch VALMARIE hauled out at Dock5.                                                                 I did not recognise her until up close and spotted her name board. Even then I had to do a count / location of port holes and cabin widows to confirm she was the same vessel that last featured on WW back in April 2014  https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/10/valmarie/

Back in 2014 VALMARIE was for sale on tme and looking very smart. Another example of how quickly these woodys can go downhill if they do not get any TLC The last photo above was from 2013.

And on the subject of classics going down hill – I am very happy to report that the classic wooden launch – TRINIDAD has a new owner and been moved closer to Auckland. Her days of neglect in the far north are over. I hear her new owner is already planning to restore the bright work ✔️