Category Archives: 1960’s

Kereru

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KERERU

Info & photos ex Sea Spray magazine ex Neil Chalmers

Following on from yesterdays post on the mystery Brin Wilson’s motorsailer – today we have Kereru (maori for pidgeon) another Brin Wilson designed & built 30′ motor-sailer. Originally built for Frank Pidgeon (……..Kereru).
She was the cover / lead story on the June 1960 edition of Sea Spray.
With a 86hp Ford diesel engine she would have had a good turn of speed when the wind dropped. These boats were very practical & attractive solutions to the power/sail dilemma , the only other that has come close is the fiberglass replica Logan 33’s, which unfortunately are no longer in production.

Anyone know where Kereru is today?

Update from Mark McLaughlin (article from NZ Herald 29 Jan 2011)
Kereru is now on Lake Rotoiti & since arriving she has had her saloon windows enlarged but is otherwise fairly original, and kept in great condition. There are also some photos of her on WW under the 2014 Wooden Boat Parade post.

Sea Rover

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Sea Rover

SEA ROVER

Photos & detail ex trademe

Was built by the Lane Motor Boat Company (Panmure) in 1960. Kauri carvel planked, 44’6” in length with a beam of 10’5” & drawing 4’3”. She is powered by a 120 hp Lees Marine Ford. The addition of the fly bridge / 2nd helm has been done by someone with a good eye & does not clash with the original Lane lines, the same can not be said for the bimini. I’m sure its very practical but does it need to be so tall.

Anyone able to supply more on her past.

UPDATE from Brian Worthington

In the ‘old’ photo above she was then owned by Maurie Condor  of Tauranga. Previous owner was Maurice Deadman  an Apiarist from Okoroire.

How did that get there?

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1958

Is this the biggest woody to beach at Tram Car Bay?

Pam at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard sent ww this very cool photo. I could be a prat & ask you all to guess how it got there, but not today and I promise no more things with wings for a while 🙂

Seems Claude Greenwood, father of Howard, in 1958 towed the Catalina from the Waitemata Harbour, up the coast and into the Whangateau Harbour and beached it in Tram Car Bay just meters away from Claudes boat shed. Here the wings were removed and then it was taken by road to Wellsford to be parked on Jack Sellar’s, the owner, property. Jack a local garage proprietor paid 250 pounds for the flying boat and intended to convert it to a 20 berth houseboat. This did not proceed and the Catalina sat alongside his house (see photo below) for some years until scraped in the mid 1960’s.

If anyone is able to supply more details or photos of the Catalina being towed from the Waitemata Harbour up the coast email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com as Pam would like to update her records.

You can read more (+photos) about the Catalina & what became of her at the link below to a great blog.
http://yardyyardyyardy.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/our-last-catalina.html

Mid 1960’s

Adi Kuila (Ma Cherie)

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ADI KUILA (Ma Cherie)

For the last 6 years Adi Kuila has been undergoing a rolling restoration by her owner, Markham Thomson . The information he has on her says she was built by Lanes in 1965 & is 53′ LOA, 15′ beam, 4’3″ draft. Twin engined.
She spent time in Fiji in the 1980’s > 1990’s. There is a suspicion she has had a name change along the way. Correct

Owner is keen to get more info on her past & confirmation builder / year.

UPDATE

Lots of chat in the comments section but sometimes ww just rocks.

Scott Taylor has sent me the images below of when she was named Ma Cherie & owned in 1971 by W. J. Clark @ the Koroleuv Beach Hotel, Fiji.

And more from the current owner (click blue txt to view letter)

Letter to Bob Hawke from Graham Wallace regarding Fijian fishing trip

Update 26-07-2019 – photo below ex Peter Rinaldi

Adi Kuila

KOTARE – Builder Interview

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Kotare Page 1
Kotare Page 2
Kotare Page 3
Kotare Page 4
Kotare Page 5

KOTARE  – Builder Interview

Sent in by CYA Nelson member Richard Farrar ex Eddy Marten (current owner)

Designed by Bill Couldrey & built by Frank Wilkins in 1961. She has featured on ww before but recently I received a copy of an interview with Frank Wilkins (dated 8 Oct. 1996). The story makes reference to some of the legends of our boating past.
I think most of us would love to have as much info on our boats as this. Its a great read. Sorry about the faded type but thats how it came to me.
Enjoy 🙂

Romany II

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ROMANY II

photos & details ex trademe & Ken Ricketts

Romany II, a double skin kauri bridgedecker, designed by Roy Steadman &  built in 1964 by Shipbuilders.  A distinguishing feature of Steadman’s designs was the half circle foredeck, which resulted in a very pronounced flare (refer birds-eye photo below). Steadman’s own bridgedecker, the 28′ Nauty Girl (thats nauty as in nautical) , that he built for himself in the early1950s also had this feature & may well have been the first of this concept. Does anyone have any photos of Nauty Girl?

Romany II is 44’x14’6″x3′ & powered by twin Ford 150hp engines.

A WEE TIP
Keep an eye out on Saturday, I have a promotion with a very cool prize. Details on Friday 😉
ps anyone can enter but if you are a ww ‘Follower’, entry will be faster & for this promo – the first correct answer wins 🙂 so sign up now.
Screen Shot 2014-07-20 at 8.18.28 AM

Siren

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SIREN
photos & details ex Scott Taylor
In the early 1960’s Mac Taylor of HM Taylor Shipbrokers drew up the lines for Siren & had Snow Waters build her c.1962. The Taylor family used her to cruise the gulf & sold her c.1966.
In the launch day photos above, the tractor driver is Flap Martiningo, Tony Mason provided the trailer and Snow Waters is encouraging Scott’s mother to smash the bottle on the anchor, Scott recalls it took six attempts 🙂 Mac Taylor is on the foredeck.

Scott is curious to find out where she may be now and what state she would be in.

click photos to enlarge

Update from Dave Jackson 13/07/2014

She is now renamed “Nancy Belle” and lives on moorings behind the Whangaparapara wharf, Great Barrier Island. Owned by Max Howard. Topsides have been painted white. He uses her as a cray boat.

 

Freelance

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FREELANCE
Photos & details from Nigel Drake (owner)
Freelance was designed and built in 1964 by Owen Woolley for Ken Williams, an Auckland builder (Nigel thinks from Papakura).
She lived on a mooring in the Clevedon river but spent the summers in Tutukaka where she was well known with the game fishing fraternity. In 1978 Ken built Freelance II, a 45 foot Salthouse design (now also in Tauranga) and sold Freelance to Richie Hoban of Tauranga. Richie owned her for 32 years until his death in 2010. During the 32 years the family owned her they spent nearly every summer on the boat in the Mercury Islands and Great Barrier.
In 2010 she was put up for sale and Nigel purchased her in 2011. After a major refit she now continues to live in the Tauranga Marina at Sulphur Point and cruises the northern coast during the summer.

as always click photos to enlarge

Rorqual 4-Sale

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RORQUAL 4-Sale

Rorqual was built c.1960 in Picton by Jack Morgan for the Perano family as a 39’3″ (12m) Tory Channel whaler chaser.  Completely rebuilt / converted in 1988 by then owner Tom Birsdall and boat builder Geoff Bagnall. She was also fitted with a completely rebuilt aluminum 380 HP 671 Detroit engine, that is fitted with a German turbocharger + the standard GM supercharger, all this pushes Rorqual along at a comfortable cruising speed of 14-16 knts. Top speed ? lets just say few CYA launches would beat her in a straight line.

Double diagonal kauri hull and sapele mahogany topsides with glass over ply decks and cabin tops, all recently painted. Hull and decks painted in 2013, cabin tops 2012.
Sleeps 7 but better with 4 🙂
Extensive upgrades & enhancements – check trademe listing for full details. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-706043302.htm

The seller has had another mid-life crisis 🙂 e.g. the toy chain looks like this –   Jetski>Launch>Caravan > Campervan, so now the launch has to go – thence the owner is VERY open to discussions around how you could own a piece of NZ’s maritime history.

email chrism@pix.co.nz
ph 021 961 936

Kotare

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KOTARE

Designed by Bill Couldrey and built by Frank Wilkins, launched in 1961, Kotare is a ,28′ kauri planked launch, currently based in Kerikeri.
A CYA member is looking for more information on her past & present.