Category Archives: 1960’s

WHERE ARE THEY NOW -THE FATE OF THESE CLASSIC CRAFT

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW -THE FATE OF THESE CLASSIC CRAFT

Todays classic wooden launch photos once more come to us from Robyn Kellian via Tobias Forsyth so we can safely assume the location is the Leigh region.  The question today is what’s the background to this series of photos – we have a work (fishing) boat donating her wheelhouse to another classic woody that appears to be a recent pleasure boat refit.

So can any of the Leigh based readers enlighten us on what became of both vessels and put an approx. date to the photos. 

INPUT ex GRAHAM ROWE – The first boat featured (fishing boat 3621) is La Vega. She was built by Millar and Tunnage using Totora planks on Pohutukawa ribs, launched 1965, and fished from Leigh until 25 November 2009 – the last entry in her Log. I know little about her ownership but on her last commercial fishing trip she was crewed by Nick and Jarrod, and hearsay suggests that her owners were two brothers nicknamed ‘Swampy’ and ‘The Animal’ Walker?

Sometime later she was bought to Helensville by Dave Cook and I purchased her from Dave after she had been sitting from 2016 with a non-functioning Mitsubishi 6D-14 engine in 2020. Since then, I have been restoring her. La Vega is 11m LOA, 3.9m beam and draws about 1.2m. She displaces about 11 Tonnes.

The doghouse being removed is possibly to enable an engine replacement. The doghouse shown is the one that was on her when I purchased her, but alas is no more, due to extensive rot. The sliding door however was salvageable and will go back on her in due course.

RESTORATION UPDATE – CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – MANAPOURI 

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RESTORATION UPDATE – CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – MANAPOURI 

Our last major update on the restoration of the 43’ 1960 built classic wooden bridge decker was in November 2022 – link here https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/11/28/manapouri-refit/

Then in December 2023 we had a note from Mark with some photos of a rather smart helm chat he was building and advice that the project was still underway but any boating in the summer of 2023/24 was not a happening thing.

Back in June 2025 after chatting with Mark he sent in todays photos with the promise of some ‘almost finished’ ones, so I held off. Sadly the promised photos never arrived so after a year I post the above and fingers crossed this bumps Mark into an update 🙂

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT – WELLINGTON’S CLASSIC WOODEN CRAFT

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HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT – WELLINGTON’S CLASSIC WOODEN CRAFT

I’m guilty of a lapse that a lot of us northern woodys fall into – that being, we forget about NZ’s capital city Wellington as a home to some of our best classic wooden craft. 

Auckland, the Bay of Islands and the top of the South Island tend to dominate WW content. So it was so good to receive a trip report from Auckland based woody Geoff Fiebig (SV CAPLIN) from Chaffers marina in Wellington.

Extra special to see that the 49’ woody VANESSA was now in her new home and looking very salty. VANESSA was Geoff’s reason for the trip, hopefully we can get an insight into the project he has been commissioned to undertake. If you missed her story on WW when she was 4sale with the Wooden Boat Bureau, check out this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/10/23/ready-to-unwind-this-summer-classic-motorboat-vanessa-ticks-all-the-boxes/

The next woody is the 26’ 1925 Colin Wild built launch – LITTLE TASMAN, another woody that slipped thru our hands and headed south. Not before an amazing restoration at the hands of Colin Brown and Josh Hawkw at their Omaha yard. Check out this WW link and view the video of the project. https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/06/17/little-tasman-restoration/

Lastly we have the 1964 Ben Hipkins built  50’ bridge decker – RANGIORA looking the best she has in a long time – well done to her owners.

RANGIORA has had an interesting life , check out this 2022 WW story that backgrounds her partial sinking in1973 after hitting rocks off the northern coast of Waiheke Island, Auckland. https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/01/04/rangiora-sinks-off-waiheke-21-09-1973/

CLASSIC LAUNCHES AT GREAT BARRIER ISLAND

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CLASSIC LAUNCHES AT GREAT BARRIER ISLAND

Todays woody photo comes to us from Gt Barrier Island fb via Ian McDonald. Ian commented that the photo was captioned ‘ Nagle Cove, Great Barrier, 1960’s’.

Obviously the uber cool game boat LADY DOREEN is front and centre, can we ID the launch behind her, very distinctive windows / ports configuration.

The photo looks slightly familiar but I can not find it on WW, the presence of the ‘NZ Tourist Air Travel’ flying boat is probably playing games with my memory. 

WOODEN LAUNCH – KARA HAKA – A Peek Down Below

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WOODEN LAUNCH – KARA HAKA – A Peek Down Below

Todays launch is a recent arrival on tme (thanks Ian McDonald), before I comment I reproduce the sellers comments “Shes a bit rough around the edges but got solid bones. A lot of boat for the money.”

It states she is a Sam Ford design but I struggle with that and at some stage an owner must have had access to sheets of plywood at a good price and didn’t own a protractor i.e. not a lot of curves to be seen.

All that to one side asking price is only 12k, so a low cost entry level 36’ launch. What we know – 1964 build, triple skin kauri, powered by a 120hp Ford, home port Tauranga.

Do we know if the name KARA HAKA is original.

CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – KANONA

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CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – KANONA

Back in January  2023 Shamus Fairhead sent in some photos from a visit to the Nelson Marina, included were the two colour photos of the launch KANONA, as above.

At the time Mark McLaughlin commented that KANONA was built in Havelock by Sonny Johnson in the early 1960’s and was used until the early 1970’s by the Johnson family for the mail run there.                       She was then used as a commercial passenger boat out of Havelock under different owners (Eric Huddleston was one, there may have been more) until the mid 1990’s when she was sold to Nelson. 

The flying bridge and cockpit dodger roof and covers are additions since her time in Nelson. I travelled on her once on the way home from a high school camp in the Sounds and she is quite fast.

Today thanks to a post by Glenn Howard via Lew Redwood we get to see KANONA on her launch day. Mark’s comment re the launch being quite fast is backed up this photo, her hull has a lot of similarities to the old whale chasers – refer photo below.

A CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH IS HIDING HERE – CAN YOU FIND IT

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A CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH IS HIDING HERE – CAN YOU FIND IT

There is a lot of craft named RESOLUTE, todays one was designed by Sonny Levi & built by Shipbuilders for Stan Waters in the later 1950s or earlyish 1960s.The photos were sent in by Ken Ricketts who was friends with a later owner – Ray Bailey (1970’s).

Waters replaced RESOLUTE with another slightly larger but similar boat to some degree to another Sonny Levi design, which he called the ILIKAI. 

She was originally powered by 2 x 4/53 GM Detroits & were replaced post  2000 with 2 larger engines (Yanmar 6 cyl. I think). She was lengthened & the original coamings seem to have been replaced. 

Apologise for the bottom two photos, sourced from KR 8mm movie footage back when Ray Bailey owned her.The top photo was taken on the hardstand at Gulf Harbour while having her new engines fitted. This photo gets auto entry into the ‘Boat That Most Resembles A Block Of Flats Award’ and is currently in the lead by a long margin …………..

SOUTHERN SEAS – A Peek Down Below    

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SOUTHERN SEAS – A Peek Down Below    

The 34’ classic wooden launch SOUTHERN SEAS was launched c.1966, most likely built to a Shipbuilders ‘kit boat’ design. Her hull is triple planked kauri (f/glassed over).

She last appeared on WW back in April 2014 – link here –  https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/04/6728/ at the time we only saw her hauled out at Gulf Harbour Marina.

Back in Sept 2025 she came on the market, and thanks to Ian McDonald we get to have a peak down below. The photos are a good example of a seller not maximising the vessels features eg most photos are very cluttered with items that should be removed, but its their boat, their money.

Back in 2014 she was powered by a Lees Ford 6cyl. engine, but was re-powered in 2018 with a Ford D Series (2nd hand).

Do we know what became of SOUTHERN SEAS. 

CLASSIC LAUNCH – FREYA – A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC LAUNCH – FREYA – A Peek Down Below

Launch FREYA was built in 1963 is sits on the fence between a classic and spirit of tradition.

It has been commented that she is a ‘Banshee’ design (but shortened to 30’) from the yard of Alan Williams in Milford, Auckland.

30’ in length and powered by a 60hp Ford Parsons engine ( I suspect the word Parsons refers to the gearbox). Home is Nelson, South Island.

CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – OCEAN SPRAY – BEACHED IN 1967

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CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – OCEAN SPRAY – BEACHED IN 1967

Todays classic wooden workboat is seen aground at Santoft on the west coast of the north island (Manawatu – Wanganui region). The photo comes to us from Chriss Taylor, via Maurice Sharp fb.

Thanks to a comment from John Hair we learnt that at the time of the mishap the vessel was named OCEAN SPRAY, later named  KERIMOANA. John also commented that these days her home is Tonga.

Any input on design / builder.

19-06-2026 – UPDATE ex HAROLD KIDD- built 1942 by Jack Guard