Yesterday I meet briefly with David Campbell-Morrison to receive a collection of boating books and magazines that David saved for the rubbish bin. The original owner of the collection was a Mr Thompson and most date from the early 1930’s to the mid 1940’s. Some of the USA MotorBoating magazines are in very good condition and the covers are almost collectable art. Today cover is from the March 1935 issue.
Amongst the many items was a ‘photo’ (press clipping) album – the photo below is dated Dec 1931 and appeared in the NZ Herald. Can we ID the launch on the left of the photo?The caption reads “Stretching their sails in preparation for the official opening of the Yachting season today. Pleasure craft which made a pretty picture on the Auckland Harbour last week-end. The yachts are Matariki (N10) and Leveret (V5)
Firstly I need to thank Predictwind for Saturdays forecast, 100% on the button, as usual. One woody at the picnic didn’t come by boat based on the forecast published in Saturdays NZ Herald newspaper……………….. I suspect they also believe the horoscopes in the same paper are factual.
The morning started off a tad eerie with a sea mist blanketing a lot of the sea area off the east coast – but this burned off late morning and we then enjoyed perfect weather. The NZH and coastguard weather forecasts saw the numbers of launches attending drop to 12 but great to see so many turning up by car. Also very fine to have 3 past CYA chairman in attendance – Steve Cranch, Rod Marler and Peter Mence. The waterfront based Stillwater Motor Camp is an idyllic setting for a gathering of classic wooden boats – deep water wharf access to raft up to + a tree shaded lawn. After some interesting docking (too many dockside expects) we had the launches tied up and everyone then decamped to the lawn. Special thanks to Mark Edmonds (Monterey) for again coordinating the venue. A lot of the group had not caught up since the CV-19 lock-downs so it was good to swap stories and boating plans for the upcoming summer.
There has always been good camaraderie on the water between boaties and its something that we foster at Woody Classics Weekends – proof of it in practice is seen below in the photo of Rod and Fiona aboard Arohanui taking Murray Deeble’s Waikiore under tow. Towed him all the way back to the entrance to Milford Creek, where another woody – Jason Prew had ventured out in rather unpleasant conditions to get Waikiore back on her Milford berth. Well done to everyone.
Message for Murray – “should have bought a Yamaha” 🙂
Next Woodys on the water event – November 8th – Riverhead Tavern Lunch Cruise
I was passing thru Milford last week, so took the opportunity to drop in on the team at The Slipway (Geoff Bagnall’s yard in a previous life).I can report that I was pleasantly pleased to see so many woodys hauled out and in various stages of repair – from the annual bum clean right thru to major refits.The one that caught my eye the most was the 35’ Leone Warne built launch – Marline, more on her on Monday, I now have so many cool photos from her past. The woodys below are at the yard, where possible I have included a WW link to see / read more on each one.
The Slipway yard is one of Auckland’s very few ‘railway’ hail out facilities and both deserves and needs the support of the wooden boating community. If we lose yards like this we will be forced to use yards that tend to have equipment designed for big while plastic boats and that are not wooden boat friendly in terms of planked boats. So woodys support the guys that support us. Contact Jason Prew for details on haul out rates and on-site services. jason@slipway.co.nz
WAIMEA The launch Waimea popped up recently on trademe (thanks Ian McDonald). Very light of details around her designer / build / past but hopefully we can update this.What we do know is – she is 29’ , built from kauri (twin skin planking) and powered by a 65hp Perkins diesel engine. Current home is Waiheke Island.So woodys – anyone able to expand on her details.
Harold Kidd Input – It’s an early hull with rather large raised foredeck added. If I said “preposterous”, there would be an outcry on WW, so I won’t say it. There are several WAIMEAs, but this one is likely the WAIMEA owned in Howick by Withers pre-1914 and later was on the Manukau for many years. But there are so many WAIMEAs and with the probability of random name changes it is impossible to be certain of her provenance.
YesterdaysWW T-Shirt Winner = Jason Davies (MV Lucinda) . The correct names were left > right on the wharf – Leilani / Mairie / St Clair.
RIVERHEAD TAVERN WOODYS LUNCH CRUISE – PUT A CIRCLE IN THE DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 8TH. NO NEED TO RSVP FOR NOW – I’LL SEND A FLYER OUT AFTER THE STILLWATER EVENT
GEORGIA On August 21 we had a brief (one photo) look at a launch named Georgia that Dean Wright had photographed in the B.O.I.’s 5 years ago, that WW cameo appearance, prompted the owner / builder of Georgia, David George to sent in the photos above.
Georgia is a modified and lengthened (31’) version of a Trawler 28. Her hull is strip planked Malaysian kauri (Agathis flavescens) with bi axial glass both sides. Power is via a Beta 43 (a Kubota in drag) diesel. Georgia was launched in 2014. She is a very salty looking launch, would be nice to see more like her being built. Dean’s photo below.
Update 01-09-2020 Photo below ex Dean Wright – on the way to Whangaroa, Stevensons Island in the background… Dec 2016.
AOTEA – Sailing Sunday The owner of the H28 Aotea, Peter Sporle, contacted WW recently seeking help uncovering information on her early history.What we know is that Aotea was built in 1954 in Mangonui Harbour, Northland, from kauri carvel planks. She has an iron keel and was originally ketch rigged.
In 1958 Aotea won the Balokovic Cup for her owner Brian O’Donaghue. Below is an article that BO’D wrote on H28’s and Aotea for the August 1962 issue of Sea Spray magazine.She was owned by Sir Keith Park. And a gentleman named Ian Miller owned for 7 years from approx. 1973>1980. Peter S bought her in Sept 1980 and still owns her – since 1990, she has been based at Tryphena, Great Barrier Island. Aotea was relaunched in October 2018 after a refit on the island. Above also is a short video of Aotea afloat, post re-launching, looking very smart.
02-09-2020 Input From Robin Elliott –
Aotea has had the following Registered owners – as far as i know: As D-11, ketch rigged. B.C. Watson (Mangonui) 1953+?; B. O’Donohue (Whangarei) 1954?/61; Sir Keith Park 1961+?; T. O’Brien 1967+? The date for B.C. Watson is the date he registered her, not necessarily the date she was launched.
In 1967 she appears to have been converted to single mast as she is re-registered in the E-Class as E-263. T. O’Brien 1967/69+?; P.J. Cole (Matakana) 1970+? A. Wood 1971+? (Still Registered as Owner NZYF 1978); I.H. Miller 1976+? You will note the overlap there. The registration lists are notorious for duff information and should always be viewed with caution; e.g. A. Wood appearing in 1971 and still shows as the registered owner in 1977/78 at the same time that Aotea is registered to I H. Miller with RAYC 1976/77 season where we know she did a lot of J.O.G. racing
In 1969 she took NZYF number 663
Trophies are: RAYC: Balokovic Cup 1958 Onerahi YC: 100 miler 1960 Whangarei CC: Harbour Regatta Assn Auxilliary Cup 1960
UPDATE 03-10-2022 ex Tony Blake – “I am sure we raced (My brother Peter, friend Crawford Duncan and myself in the yacht “Bandit” that Peter built in my parents backyard) against her in the 1967 season of the Junior Offshore Group ( Royal Akarana YC). We won the 1967 season’s racing. We always had great tussles with ‘Aotea’. “
18-03-2024INPUT EX PETER SPORLE –
My research indicates “Aotea” was built by Bernard Christian Watson then of Kohumaru road Mangonui on his farm and in the red woolshed that is still beside the road as of 2021. I spoke with a local Mangonui woman who as a young child was friends with Watsons daughters and would stay at the farm. She recalled Watson building “a boat” in the woolshed. Aotea was launched around 1953. The timber was reportedly sourced from the Totara North Mill. She was built as per Herreschoff’s specifications but with the added doghouse, an alteration that Herreschoff reportedly approved of. After launching she was hauled out and a second set of ribs added giving 6 inch centres. On official documents I’ve seen, Watson listed his occupation as farmer and then later as carpenter. It was suggested to me that Bernard Watson would have been related to the Whangarei boat building family of Watsons but I do not know if that is the case.
In 2020 I corresponded with and later also met Terry O’Brien who converted Aotea from ketch to sloop rig. In correspondence he offered.
“J.O.G. Racing was just starting in 1967 and we ended up second overall the first year of racing, beaten by Peter Blake in a boat called “Bandit”.
SLOW LOADING OF WW SITE – IF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING VERY SLOW LOADING OF THE WW HOME PAGE – I APOLOGISE – ISSUE NOW FIXED. Thank you to Geoff Bagnall for alerting me to the issue 🙂
28’ Coastal Cruiser Recently American boat designer, Tad Roberts, posted the above design sketch on fb, Tad commented that she was a coastal cruiser in classic British Colombia style. In my eyes, just about perfect – a Gardner 3lx tucked under the pilot house sole and I’d be disappearing over the horizon 🙂 I had better keep buying Lotto.
I shared the sketch with Dean Wright, who shares my passion for converted workboats and Dean sent me the photo below that he took of the launch – Georgia, that has been in the Bay of Islands approx 5 years ago. A pretty boat.
I was contacted yesterday by David Grogan whose grandfather, Ted (Edward Alfred) Grogan, who’s family lived in Ngunguru up near Whangarei, in 1919 Ted owned the motor launch, Electra in partnership with a Mr. P Wellington.
David had uncovered a Northern Advocate report about the arrival in Ngunguru of the vessel, in October 1919, She was described as having, “just arrived from Auckland…about 28 feet overall with a good beam and mast and sails. She is fitted throughout with every modern convenience”. From this brief description David commented that Electra does not sound like she was a working boat. She may have been converted into a pleasure craft, at that point however. David had done a WW search and found a suggestion from Harold Kidd that Electra may have been designed by C. Harrison Smith and built by Bailey & Tyre, at Hall’s Beach, Northcote.
Ted Grogan married in 1922 and its likely he sold his share in Electra, to help finance the family home back in Auckland.
I contacted Harold Kidd and he was able to confirm that Electra was designed by C. Harrison Smith and built by Bailey & Tyer at Hall’s Beach Northcote in December 1912 for G. Thorne George and D.M. Davis of Parnell. She was 30’ x 8’ and had a 10hp Djinn kerosene engine. Harold also supplied the above photos.
She was sold after a couple of years to a Mr Hogan who sold her to Whangarei ‘for fishing purposes’ in 1919, so it would appear that David’s grandfather took her north for fishing.
She disappears from the record in 1922, probably with a name change.
Is anyone able to enlighten us on what became of Electra post 1922? Harold commented that she looked almost square bilged, but she wasn’t. Hopefully her distinctive lines may have made her memorable.
The above photo comes to us via NZ Vintage Postcard fb and is captioned – The Landing, Taupo and is possibly from the 1930>1940’s period.
A question for Paul Drake – is the boat ‘closest to the channel‘ your 1914 Bailey and Lowe launch – Romance ? If so, that would date the photo post 1931.
Can we ID any of the other boats?
Input from Paul Drake – Yes the launch nearest the channel is ROMANCE, still at Taupo and owned by the Drake Brothers. She arrived ex Napier post 1931 earthquake as a flush decker, and had her cabin raised when acquired by Jack Taylor and put to work as a commercial boat, probably in 1932. The counter stern boat is KINGFISHER. Thomas Ryan ran the 60 foot steamer RMS TONGARIRO ( Bailey and Lowe 1899 and built at Taupo) until 1925. She eventually rotted away on the foreshore between the Boat Harbour and Acacia Bay – photo below at the Taupo Wharf, before the 2 storied cargo shed was built , so quite early on in the 1900’s.
Input from Nigel Drake – The boat between Romance and Kingfisher looks to be Waihora, about 23 feet in length and probably a Couthard built boat, (not to be confused with the Brin Wilson built Waihora). She was on the lake for a long period of time and ran for hire under local identity “Tabby” Tabernacle.
POHUTUKAWA
Lock-down = less going out = more fires, so collected a load of firewood today, life is easy when there is an arborist in the family 🙂
While at his yard, I spotted this magnificent pile of Pohutukawa logs, the coffee cup is there to give you an indication of the size of the 12 logs . A huge tree came down in a recent storm, blocking a road so out with the big chainsaws. Not destined for firewood, I’m told a few coffee tables and bar tops.
Bonny M was designed / built by Morgan’s in 1964. Her specs are 29’6” x 9’6” x 3’.
The forward motion comes via a 2008 190hp Lombardini diesel engine that sees her cruise at a comfortable 10 knots.
Being a Marlborough Sounds vessel she is very well spec’ed in terms of fit out – her owner is obviously not a fan of varnish, thank god for that fuse box 🙂
Deep down she is a woody e.g. 20mm carvel planked kauri but there is a layer of that ‘modern’ wood and ’thick’ varnish (f/glass) 😉
4sale on tme. Nice lines, somewhat hidden under all that white paint, some styling she would look even smarter.
