Category Archives: 32′>34′

A Peek Into The New England Marine Scene

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A Peek Into The New England Marine Scene
 
If you are a follower / reader of Wooden Boat magazine, you will be familiar with the work of photographer – Tyler Fields, again thanks to the world-wide lock-down, life has been given to another previously ‘stalled’ project, which we now get to enjoy 🙂
I’ll let Tyler tell the story – 
“More than a year ago, Woody Metzger of First Light Boatworks and I started a video project introducing some of the people behind New England’s marine industry. The small network of boat builders, sailmakers and artists that make up what we do are the best in the world. Woody and I wanted to provide an quick introduction to the people behind these brands with the hope that getting to know us might encourage boaters to support the locals when buying new, restoring old or just keeping our lives on the water going. Our idea was simple; ask our friends four questions. 1 -Why has your business survived and where do you see it going? 2- What would you do if you weren’t doing this? 3- Would you like to see your kids do this? 4- Do you love your job? The responses we filmed were a mix of the expected, unexpected, humorous and a little sobering. After a handful of interviews, life caught up and we set our big idea on the back burner. Woody and his crew started building and launching boats one after another, after another and my schedule of chasing boats around New England ate up any free time we had. Well, the world has a habit of keeping us on our toes. At the moment, we all have found some extra time. So, last week I started digging through the footage and decided to start putting the interviews together. Oddly enough, the questions seem more fitting now than they did when we first asked them. We want to send out a huge thank you to each of the people and businesses who gave the time and let Woody and I into your shops. For the rest of us, it’s more important now than ever to support these small business. They are not just logos, they’re friends and family right here in our local communities.”
 
TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE
Popped down to Waiheke Island yesterday to show a potential buyer over Kailua, stunning day, stunning boat. More details at the link below:

Joel > Lady J

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JOEL > Lady J
Another request from Brian Hewitt – this time regarding the 34’ launch – Joel, that in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s he was part owner of.
Joel was built by Shipbuilders and powered by a Ford 80hp diesel with marine conversion. The launch had full 2M headroom through the interior, a full sized household sized ‘head’, a galley which adequately catered for up to 12 and a table that sat them all.
Brian recalls that one of her few weak points was she was hard to manoeuvre in a brisk breeze so berthing took speed and courage but Joel gave the owners much enjoyment.
When sold the new owner built an open bridge and renamed her, but Brian can’t remember the new name.
He has a suspicion she went to Pine Harbour marina. When Brian & co. bought her, she came with a pile mooring at Westhaven, they later progressed to a marina.
Brian would love to know where she is now. Can anyone help out?
Update from Gordon Cooper – I owned JOEL since about 1995 to 2004. She was a beautiful launch, the owner prior to the one I bought her off had rebuilt her interior, raised the floor so the motor was just under and put a fly bridge on her. She was at Gulf Harbour when I bought her, I kept her at West Harbour. 

The boat was a hunny to back into a berth. When I sold her, she went to Sand Spit where she had her hull re-fastened. I do not think she is there now.
In the 2nd photo below, you see her as I bought her.
I changed her name to Lady J
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Milford Creek 1940/50’s – My Girl’s Old Home

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My Girl was moored opposite white on road (top right of photo), Walter had a shed there

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Trevor Bowman steering with Walter on anchor – Waitangi
Days fishing – Gordon and Syd Brown
My Girl leaving Milford

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Elva and Trevor Bowman

Milford Cruising Club Yard

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MY GIRL’S OLD HOME – MILFORD CREEK IN THE LATE 1940’s> EARLY 1950’s

As I touched on the other day in relation to my own woody – RainDance, its very special when out of the blue you are contacted by someone with details and photos on your boat. It was woody Jason Prew’s turn recently to get the call regarding his 1925, Dick Lang built launch – My Girl.

As I’m sure you are aware WW has rather extensively followed the restoration > launch > cruising log of My Girl so all the exposure has rattled a few memories – this time from Greg Bowman whose grandfather, Walter Brunton used to own My Girl at end of the 1940’s to 1960.
Walter Brunton lived in Castor Bay, Auckland and moved to Russell, in the Bay of Islands in 1950, after Greg’s mother, Elva, married his Dad Trevor Bowman. Like all good relationships in those days – they meet on the water.

When Walter moved north he turned My Girl into a fishing boat (now I know where that smell is from – just kidding Jason). Walter sold fish to the open market and to feed guests in his guesthouse in Russell, named – Arcade Lodge.
Back in those days My Girl had a Gray marine engine, and most years she won the New Year launch race out of Russell.

Greg sent Jason the collection of b/w photos above of My Girl and the Milford Creek, where she was kept in the late 1940’s. The top photo gives you an idea of the amount of dredging required to accommodate the marina that exists today.

It’s a bit cheeky (excuse the pun) but the photo below shows the on-board sanitation methods on My Girl, before inbuilt heads. I know the bucket and chuck it was around but the old rope did the trick – off course helped by the lack of duckboards back then 🙂

WW link below to show the journey My Girl has been on in terms of apperance and the extent of Jason’s restoration. And a photo of her post re-launch heading into Milford Creek or as some of the MCC woodys call it – Wairau Cove 😉

https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/08/08/the-restoration-of-my-girl/

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Woodys On Tour – Halls Boat Yard, New York

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Woodys On Tour – Halls Boat Yard, New York

A few years ago, woodys Jim and Karin Lott were ‘parked up’ with the masts on deck in their kauri ketch – Victoria, on the Hudson River. More specifically in the middle of New York State in a city called Albany. The Lott’s waited there for three weeks for the Erie Canal to open. Jim commented that Albany definitely does not feature on anyone’s ‘place to go’ list. They were not alone as Wellington old salt Richard Watt and his wife Enid anchored alongside them in their launch (photo below of both boats), as well as dozens of other impatient US and Canadian sailors.

To while away the time they hired a car and headed to Lake George to look at woodies at Halls Boatyard, one of the many inland homes of wooden boats in New York. Jim commented  that floating boat garages are common in North America and they spent several hours admiring a sea of varnished ash, cedar, spruce and mahogany. There was a slipway and boatyard all under cover inside the shed complex. The yard specialises in rebuilding and restoring classic motor-launches but a few yachts were getting the same TLC.

After the long wait, the canal stayed closed so they had to forgo the Great Lakes and continued up the Hudson. Eventually they locked into Lake Champlain and down the Richelieu River to the St Lawrence near Montreal in Canada.

01 Kiwis up the creek

Antique & Wooden Boat Festival – Contact Less Home Delivery of 70 photos

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Antique & Wooden Boat Festival – Contact Less Home Delivery of 70 photos 🙂
 
Today woodys you get to go to a antique & wooden boat festival without leaving your couch.
In 2019 Alan Sexton visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St Michaels, Maryland and has shared his photo collection from the trip.
Enjoy.
 
You can see / read more on the museum here.  http://cbmm.org

 
Interesting input below from a woody in regard to the BOI woody that was intercepted by the boys in blue rowing the 100 yards to check on his boat.
 
“Security is listed as an essential service. There seems to be no restrictions on who can undertake the service, and the ‘premises’ being provided with security services do not have to be part of an essential activity.

Question is – can a boat be considered to be a premise?

Checking the mooring strop, flapping halyards, bilge pumps etc is part of normal boat security, particularly when grumpy weather is forecast or has just been.”

Wooden Boats @ Whangarei Town Basin

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Wooden Boats @ Whangarei Town Basin

Two weeks ago David Cooke and myself pointed the car north and did a day trip to Whangarei to view a few candidates for listing with the Wooden Boat Bureau. We were blessed with a stunning day, which made the quay side area at the Town Basin very pleasing to the eye. As we mooched around I snapped the above photos. With the boats shed owners taste in decorating you cant miss them 😉
A nice mix of sail and power, with a lot of live aboards.
I was pleased to see James Mobberley’s old classic – Falcon on a pile mooring, one day she will come back to her home – the Waitemata 🙂
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Welcome To The Waitemata – Cindy Jane

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Welcome To The Waitemata Cindy Jane
These days we seem to lose more woodys to other parts of Auckland than gain them on the Waitemata. So its very cool when we get one back.
I was recently contacted by Steve Taylor to let me know that he had just bought the 34’ Pelin Empress – Cindy Jane. Launched in 1975 she slots into the ’spirit of tradition’ category, built from kahikatea she has been glassed.
I’m always impressed with the amount of space on these woodys.
Cindy Jane is now calling Bayswater home but previously was a Taupo girl.
Steve bought Cindy Lane along to the Woody Classics BBQ at Little Oneroa last month.
Anyone able to tell us more about Cindy Jane’s past?