Category Archives: 1960’s

Mystery Launches 21-07-2015

Posted on by
7

MYSTERY LAUNCHES 21-07-2015
photo ex Harold Kidd

During the recent post on the launch Manana (Raehutia) Harold Kidd sent me several photos of Manana while she was owned by the Seagar family.
Thats her on the left in the photo above – today’s question for woodys is what are the two launches to the right of the wharf ? & while we are at it – the location?

To view / read more about Manana – click link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/07/17/manana/

And to brighten up the day – some stunning yachting photos from the first 2 days of the British Classic Week -click the link below

A spectacular 2 days of Panerai’s British Classic Week in images.

Update from Hylton Edmonds

From Left to Right – Manana (pre Leon / Chris Brown), Albacora (Pat Edmonds) and Lady Doreen (“Snooks” Fuller / AE Fuller & Sons), – and yes, taken at Otehei Bay, hmmm… guessing around late 50’s?. Due to the fact that Otehei Bay had the Lodge and was an official BOISFC Weigh Station Site, a lot of the Big Game boats  would operate out of there,  (as well as their home bases Russell / Paihia ) over a season. A few of them had permanent moorings down there too. Great Photo of a wonderful era.

Flyer

Posted on by
3

FLYER

photos & details ex Darrin Kennedy

Flyer is a 1966 Shipbuilders 26′ launch. Darrin has owned her for approx. 2 years. Previously she was based in Tauranga, owned by Tommy Verran. Rumour has it Verran used to take her  out to White Island in some pretty challenging seas so she must be a good sea boat. Powered by 110 h.p. Ford with a dry stack. At 26′ with a 110 h.p. motor she must have a good turn of speed. Flyer is currently hauled out undergoing a makeover to bring her back to as launched condition. Can anyone provide more details on Flyer & her past?

Waitematawoodys Trip Report From Overseas

Posted on by
4
SOUTHERN BAY 1994 Replica of a 1904 Truscott Mfg. Co Steam Launch. Compromise hull and 33 sq ft. Propane fired vertical tube boiler.

WAITEMATAWOODYS TRIP REPORT FROM OVERSEAS

Today’s photos & story came in from James Dreyer, who along with the extended family currently have Laughing Lady at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard. Jame’s work / travel take him off-shore a lot & in late May he was in the USA & put together a little story on the Southern California wooden boating scene. I’ll let James tell it. Enjoy 🙂

Remember if you click on a photo it will enlarge & you can read the captions. Scrolling over also reveals the captions.

“Back in late May, my father Barry & I headed to San Diego to spend a few weeks working on my Rhodes 33 “Therapy” and to visit the some of the 160 odd small breweries in the County, just to ensure their IPA’s were up to scratch.  San Diego is known as the home of craft brewing, with each brewery having a tasting room and kitchen, or if not, bringing in a different gourmet food truck each night.  Needless to say the hard work sanding and laying Uroxsys/Awlwood in the Southern Californian heat was well balanced with hydrating activities.  And yes, the beer is so good, it was mind bottling (to coin a phrase).

While we were there I got in touch with Ralph Rodheim, the owner of another Rhodes 33 “Madness”.  

I was hoping to head north to his place on Balboa Island / Newport Beach, to take some measurements and hopefully go for a sail.  As luck would have it, the Balboa Yacht Club’s second inaugural Wooden Boat Festival was on during the final weekend of our visit, and Ralph was both an organising Chairman, entrant, and judge.  This was a perfect opportunity to give the worn down finger tips, and high calorie intake a rest, while seeing how economical our rental Prius Hybrid could be heading North on the Pacific Highway to Newport.  We left early, and stopped at a diner on the way for some bad coffee and an overcooked bacon muffin.  This was California after all.

The show was just brilliant. A very Interesting variety of boats, interesting characters and live music.

I bumped into a number of “Rhodes people” and we swapped stories and info about the history of the class and how our restorations were coming along.

Above are some photos of the various boats, some I am lacking much info on, so my apologies in advance.  If anyone wants more info on a certain boat, I am more than happy to respond with what I have, or get some more info from friends.  

I thoroughly recommend viewing the following collection of photos from the event:  http://bycwoodenboatfestival.com/schedule-of-events/  They are beautifully shot and feature a whole lot of boats I didnt photograph, and many of their interiors.”

REVELRY 1951 Stephens Bros. Cruiser 42’
REVELRY
HUMBLE 1902 Thames River Launch 52′
HUMBLE 1902 Thames River Launch 52′
GRACIE 1950 Ed Monk Bridge Deck Cruiser 36’ Monk was a master of streamlining and this little cruiser was just gorgeous, especially with its two wooden kayaks and dinghy. Built for exploring the Pacific Northwest.
GRACIE
MADNESS 1948 Rhodes 33 One Design Philip Rhodes / South Coast Boat Building Co.
MADNESS 1948 Rhodes 33 One Design Philip Rhodes / South Coast Boat Building Co.
LAST CALL 1948 Chris Craft Holiday 24′
CHIEF 1947 Chris Craft “Red & White” Express Cruiser 25′
CHIEF 1947 Chris Craft “Red & White” Express Cruiser 25′
FIRECRACKER 38’ Grand Craft 2003 Replica of a 1928 Chris Craft
SPARKLE A super cute Philip Rhodes designed 17’ Electric Skiff Originally tender to the 77’ Rhodes Motor Sailer SEA DIAMOND Built at Abeking & Rasmussen in 1956.
SPARKLE
HUNGRY BLONDE 1949 20’ Chris Craft Owned by the owner of Hungry Blonde winery. This was my pick of the show.
HUNGRY BLONDE
S WONDERFUL 1939 Chris Craft 19’
FOUR BELLS 1955 36’ Rybovich Sportfish #16 Rybovich boats are the Rolls royce of sport fishers. The first being built for Earnest Hemingway and featuring the first fly bridge and outriggers.
Four Bells
FOUR BELLS aft cockpit steering station. Whoar…
BLAIR BARRY 1926 Fay & Bowen Saint Lawrence River Launch 26′
BLAIR BARRY
JOYFUL Bill Dunlaps beautifully home build, yet to see the water. 16ft Whitehall
A lovely clinker / lapstrake dinghy
AWESOME. Oldsmobile V8, turning an original, custom built 1 into 2 Vee drive gearbox and twin screws.
Awesome
Barry Dreyer posing on the aft deck of the Schooner America Replica.
SOUTHERN BAY 1994 Replica of a 1904 Truscott Mfg. Co Steam Launch.
ONO Dawn Boat Co. 1929 New York Commuter Yacht & Florida Sport fisher Twin Detroit 6/71s
ROSE WILDER 1968 Sparman & Stephens / Canteri Sangermani Sloop Carvel construction, fin keel, skeg hung rudder
A little taste of Southern California: Big trucks offset by Hybrids and Solar panels.
A sweet old So Cal Kustom:

Rukahia & Erewhon

Posted on by
2

Rukahia & Erewhon
photos & details ex Clive & Judy Barnes

Todays post is a a 2 -4 -1 , two boats one owner. The above is Rukahia, the Barnes first launch & they were told she was built in 1964 at Waiheke Island. She is 30′ long & powered by a 130hp TS3 Commer. The photo of her exiting the breakwater at Westhaven was taken by me (AH) earlier this year during the CYA Classic Yacht Regatta.

The launch below is Erewhon the Barnes current launch & is an example of how its sometimes a wee bit hard to keep track of a boat given multi able name changes. Erewhon she was built (tbc) by Allan Williams at Milford & launched in 1977 and named Edelweiss, which then became Falcon, then Vera & finally (for now) Erewhon.
She is 28′ long & powered by a 80hp Ford. She is moored these days at Whangamata.

Anyone able to expand on the history of these two boats?

Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #21 – Xmas 1969/70 Cruise On Kiariki

Posted on by
2

Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #21 – Xmas 1969/70 Cruise On Kiariki

Another Jack Brooke drawing, published on ww thanks to son Robert for making them available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise. Today’s post is the 21st featured – this one shows the Xmas 1969/670 cruise aboard Kiariki. Not sure of the actual length of the cruise as Jack has only plotted on the ‘chart’ to Kawau Island & back. But other entries indicate a longer cruise. The fishing must have been good, the size of the snapper illustrated normally indicates the catch. I’m not sure the message in the line “The curse of the Manaia got us again” – upset stomach (under cooked food) or something else, I’m sure Harold Kidd can answer this.

The crew celebrated New Year with the yacht Prize & enjoyed 11’ses aboard on New Years day.
Crew On board : John Brooke, Elsie Brooke, Howard Wallace, Monty Wallace, Neil Wing, Bob & Dave Thornley.

Salacia and Salacia Too (Le Anne)

Posted on by
6

SALACIA & SALACIA TOO (Le Anne)

photos ex Mike Blank, Brian Worthington, Ken Rickets
info ex Mike Blank & KR – edited by Alan H

Today’s post features the boats of Roy & Helen Blank (Mikes parents) – being Salacia & Salacia Too. Both were moored at Sandspit just off the main wharf, during their stewardship. The Blanks were staunch long standing members of Coastguard & effected many rescues with Salacia Too.

SALACIA TOO (Le Anne)

Salacia Too was originally named Le Anne & featured in a small article in Sea Spray of June 1965. She was designed and built by John Lidgard for Bill Roberts of Te Atatu. She was 34ft x 11ft x 3ft 6in & powered by 6cyl. 100hp Fordson diesel, triple skin 3/8 Kauri, covered with Dynel.
The photo of her in white, with bow rail and no hard top is as Helen and Roy purchased her, in 1983, probably early 83 as the 2 photos with the brown cabin sides are also from 1983. The finish was artificial wood grain, brushed on, the mix came from Willie Oliver.
The portofino stern was added in October 1993 & the hardtop to the fly bridge at a later date.
Sometime in the early 1990’s Mike thinks the engine was upgraded to a 120hp Fordson. The main cabin side door was another modification that Mike suspects happened somewhere late 1990’s. Roy sold Salacia Too in 2002
The last photo of her above, in white again, with a name change to Emmzee (?) and no bow rail is in Bostaquet Bay. Mike last saw her about a year ago berthed at West Park Marina, Hobsonville, Auckland.

SALACIA

Mike knows little about Salacai other than that Helen and Roy owned her in c.1982/1983 (Greg Lee & Ken Ricketts believe the Blanks may have owned her from late 1970 > c.1983). Mike thinks that she was purchased from a Bell family who may have been chartering her out of Tutukaka. Mike is not sure he ever went on board Salacia. She was powered by a 6V71 GM Detroit diesel.

Does anyone know of the whereabouts of these boats?

Santa Rosa – Argyll – Lady Argyle

Posted on by
12
2013
2015
2015
c.2007
c.2007

Santa Rosa > Argyll > Lady Argyle
Updated details from Harold Kidd, Don Galbraith, Lynton Bates, the Lidgard family & Ken Ricketts. photos ex Don Galbraith& KR

Lady Argyle was built in 1965 by John Lidgard at his Glen Eden factory, for Mac Stewart & one other partner (a taxi driver), when launched she was named Santa Rosa. She was built based on drawings done for the original owner by “Hoki” Williams, a retired staff member of Shipbuilders Ltd., with modifications by John Lidgard.

She is a  big volume, massively strong traditional bridge-decker measuring 52′ with about 15′ beam & an impressive flared bow. She is still powered by what is believed to be her original engines, 2 x 6 cyl. 130hp Ford Dover diesels, with 2 enormous props, which John & Graeme Lidgard both think are original.

Mac Stewart & partner retained her until c.1975. Norm Galbraith was the next owner & changed her name to Argyll after the part of Scotland from which the Galbraiths originated. The Galbraiths sold her to Maurice Mahaffe (a Salvation Army officer) who  changed her name to Lady Argyle. Mahaffe most likely sold her to a John Taylor (who previously owned Marine), Taylor still owned her in 2002. Another owner was “Spick Spicer (date unknown). Someone (??) sold her to a Steve Lay, who sold her to a Dr. Eric Horne, a Scottish GP, Horne sold her to Graeme Lidgard, a cousin of John Lidgard,  who has owned her for approx. 2 1/2 years.

Check out the comments section for more chat on her

Lady Beryl

Posted on by
4

LADY BERYL

photo & details ex Harold Kidd

The photo above of Lady Beryl appeared 2 weeks ago as a side post on another post, when I saw this John Salthouse designed and built the 34 footer, I filed the photo away as a boat this pretty deserves a post of its own. Each to their own, but in my eyes, John nailed it. She was built for L M Lincoln of Glen Eden in 1961, but to quote Harold “there were further clones because it was such a damn nice boat”.

Anyone able to expand on her past & whereabouts today ?

Alan H Update

I should have made the link between Lady Beryl & Kailua, must be suffering from a mild case of Rickettitis (failure to use the ww search box)

As stated above she was built by Bob Salthouse in approx. 1960. Double skin Kauri, with teak/mahogany combings.

Engine: Hino 160hp by Moon Engines, uses 11ltrs per hr at 2000rpm, giving cruising speed 9-10 kts. Winner CYA Rudder Cup in 2009/10.

Her owner is a good classic owner – the s/s davit set-up is removable 🙂 And if she looks a little bow down in a couple of the photos, its all relative to the state of the wine cellar 😉

Venture – Sailing Sunday

Posted on by
32
Venture slipping
Wreck of Rewa, Moturekareka Is.
On beach at Okahu Bay
Off Tiri
Don Ross (L) Graham Gordon (R) at Okahu Bay
Diving for bottles off Kohimarama

Bucklands Beach – c.1968

Bucklands Beach c.1968
Bucklands Beach c.1968

VENTURE – Sailing Sunday photos & detail ex Don Ross ex Merv Stockley. With lots of input from Harold Kidd The history of Venture (E38) goes something like this – she started life as a carvel lifeboat built on the Northern Wairoa by Barbour then was converted to a keel yacht by Bob Shakespear. Alan Coates (later a Magistrate) owned her about 1931 and sold her to Dick Bakewell in 1936. Harold imagines Dick sold her on when he bought JEANETTE from Ted Le Huquet in 1948. Don Ross purchased her from Dick Bakewell about 1939-40 (dates a bit out, but you get that), Don thinks she was built of island kauri and thought she had been built in the islands and sailed to NZ, this contradicts Harold’s records but Don’s version is only ‘dock chat’. She was only 18ft and a carvel double-ender. Don later swapped Venture’ for the launch Ngaroma from Snow Harris who Don believes was a well known yachtie in Mullety circles from Auckland. At the time Snow lived at Hansen’s Island (after Charlie Hansen had passed on) and wanted a yacht instead of a launch. Don lived for most of his younger years in Auckland and sailed all round the Gulf. One of his favourite trips was to sail up to Hansen’s Island for the weekend. He has a number of letters from Charlie Hansen. In 1949 Don,his wife and daughter Lyn headed off to Whitianga in Ngaroma where he used her for game fishing until 1962. Merv Stockley believes they saw Venture up on Bucklands Beach in Auckland around 1968 and took the above photos. Some of her original keel had been removed then. Merv has commented that of all Don’s boats Venture was closest to his heart as he & his late wife, Joan,  did a lot of sailing in Venture & he would love to know if she is still around. Harold Kidd Input Merv is undoubtedly right that Don bought her from Dick Bakewell c1939. My date of 1948 was the most recent limit date, logically. The first mention of her I can find (amongst a scrum of other VENTUREs) is in 1933 when she took part in an Otahuhu Sailing Club race to Bucklands Beach, so she was obviously up the Tamaki at that time. Dick Bakewell told me she was built by Barbour as a lifeboat for ARATAPU which he built in 1878, a sister-ship to HUIA. ARATAPU was sold overseas in 1932, so that kind of works. Did I say Alan Coates owned her in 1931? All I know about his ownership is that he sold her to Dick Bakewell in 1936. Alan was a keen yachtsman in his earlier days and was associated with the Richmond, Otahuhu and Manukau clubs.Lovely bloke. It’s possible that he bought her when ARATAPU was sold, and had Bob Shakespear convert her to a deadwood keeler, but that’s conjecture. She was registered as E38 when it became necessary to wear sail numbers during WW2. Update from Russell Ward – 12-05-2015 1987 photo below of Venture moored at Okahu Bay, off the slipway over towards Pooh Pt. Russell had just launched SL Gypsy and admired Venture’s style. In typical Mr Ward style he warns us to not get sidetracked by the elegant steamer centre frame 🙂

Tiromoana, Orinda II & Omana

Posted on by
10
Tiromoana (L) – Orinda II (R) c.1965/6
Tiromoana (L) – Omana (C)- Orinda II (R) late 1960’s

Tiromoana, Orinda II & Omana
photos ex Helen Andrew ex the Coggan Collection

Several nice early photos of Tiromoana, Orinda II & Omana from the Coggan Collection. Ken Ricketts commented that the one  below of Tiromoana with PT105 on her stern was when his father Ralph & Roley Gillett (Orinda II) played a practical joke on Tiromoana one night after an evening of celebration & put a new name on her stern, without Joe Coggan’s knowledge of course.

Tiromoana (PT105)