Todays woody – LANAI was built in 1949 by Lanes. Carvel kauri construction.
She has made several appearances on WW, links below. Its nice to see that her current owner has given her a hair cut and the fly bridge has gone.
There is lots of chat and intel in the past posts but a quick overview below.
32’ x 10’6” x 2’9”, powered by twin Thornycroft 54hp engines, that sees her cruise at a comfortable 7.5 knots, max 10 knots. WW July 2014https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/04/lanai/
The 32’ classic wooden launch – CYGNET recently popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald). A Sam Ford design built in 1931, but not sure is also built be Sam Ford. As per most Marlborough Sounds craft she is very well spec’ed and was re-powered in 2006 with a new 53hp Yammer 4JH5E engine that gives her an 8 knot cruising speed.
Can we learn more about CYGNET (if thats her correct name) and where she has been most of her life.
LAKE ROTOITI 2025 CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE – PART #2 THE PICNIC
Today again thanks to Scott Johnson we experience the post Parade picnic at Wairau Bay. Where after the formalities of the Parade, the skippers and crew get to relaxed and have a waterside party.
The venue being a lake (no tide) means that the craft can all nudge into the bank and everyone gets to meet, chat and swap boating stories.
LAKE ROTOITI 2025 CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE – PART #1 THE PARADE
Today thanks to Scott Johnson we get a look at the 2025 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade — stunning, weather and photos that matched the wooden craft.
The day began with the traditional three cannon blasts, signaling the start of a flotilla of 80 classic and wooden boats gliding across the lake – lead out by Teheka Whaka.
Spectators gathered along the Okere arm shore, enjoying a live commentary from the commodore, who shared insights into the history and craftsmanship of these beautiful vessels. The weather was perfect, making for a truly memorable day on the water.
The parade concluded with a picnic and games at Wairau Bay, where the skippers and crew relaxed and celebrated another fantastic year of this cherished tradition.
Enjoy the gallery of photos & remember – click on photos to enlarge ;-)- On Wednesday we will have part two – the lake side picnic.
Stories like todays make me very happy – its no surprise to regular readers that I’m not a fan of fly-bridges on classic wooden craft, particularly ones that have been added post the original launch date.
Last year when the Wooden Boat Bureau sold the 1967 Owen Wooley designed and built 32’ launch – AWARIKI there was a discussion with the new owners re the fly-bridge and I gave my standard line – “take it off now, otherwise you will get used to it and it will stay” 🙂
Fast forward to Monday night when I get an email asking about my thoughts on removing it. The launch was hauled out at the Slipway Milford and the crew there had been not so subtly suggesting to the owners to give the green light on removing it. The hardest working crew member at the yard – Maddie Malcom did some photo-shopping to a photo I took of AWARIKI in Chamberlain Bay (2nd one above) and the owners were sold 🙂
So flybridge gone, bow rail removed, coamings to be returned to vanish, new upholstery and some differed maintenance righted and she will be a ’new’ boat.
The photos above show Jason Prew in his happy place – top-chop is his middle name.
More to come as work continues ……. 🙂
INPUT ex KERRY LILLEY – previous owner and also worked on the build of the launch whilst doing his apprenticeship at Owen Wooley’s yard. The photos below were given to Kerry by previous owners.. She originally had a mast (mast step still there). Kerry commented ‘Nothing stays the same I built and installed that flybridge 30 plus years ago’
PARADE OF SAIL – 2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL
One of the big events during the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, Tasmania is the ‘Parade of Sail’ – the offical opening event. Conditions allowing they get 11 Tall Sailing Ships and over 200 craft sailing up the Derwent River and into Sullivan Cove to mark the start of the festival.
Today you get to experience the spectacle from about the media boat – a rather large twin hulled motorboat that was perfect for the task. Conditions were a tad challenging for the smaller craft but everyone was well behaved and followed the marshals instructions.
Enjoy the gallery – only a selection – could only capture what the skipper deemed of most interest 🙂
CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH –BON VOYAGE – A Peek Down Below
The 34’ 4” classic launch – BON VOYAGE was built in 1962 by Dave Jackson. Her beam is 9’8” and she draws 2’6”. The go forward is from a 6 cyl. 120 hp Iveco diesel engine that sees her topping out at 9 knots. Her current owner has had her for 10 years and during this period undertaken a significant amount of maintenance and system upgrades.In the 2023>24 period the Brin Wilson yard were commissioned to strip the hull, garboard planks re-caulked, transom boarding platform completely rebuilt, part of cabin top replaced and glassed, complete hull repaint + new stainless steel hand rails.
Given the provenance of the builder and the owners preparedness to commit to regular maintenance , BON VOYAGE appears to be a very good woody, with the bonus of fitting into a 10.5m berth. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the tme heads up.
ONLY TWO THROTTLE SETTING ON MY GIRL – IDLE AND FULL CHAT
Some woodys are pure speed demons eg MY GIRL (#51) below and others with the help of a heart transplant can still lift up their skirts and show a good turn of speed – NGAIO (blue boat) and PACIFIC (white) two good example below.
TUGBOAT RACE START
2025 ANNIVERSARY DAY INNER HARBOUR MOTORBOAT RACING
Due to the weather on the weekend I was able to attend the anniversary day regatta motor boat events on board Jason Prew’s launch – MY GIRL.
The two gigs are the Tug & Workboat Race and the Classic Launch Race – known around the waterfront as as the Tug Off and the Drag Race.
The commercial boats were first away and are always a sight to behold – so much horse power – and great to a mix of very old – WILLIAM C DALBY and current working waterfront tugs.
The main event for me is the launch race, pulled together each year by Jason Prew – it is a handicap race but the adrenalin kicks in and the launch skippers are going at full throttle most of the race. Race results below.
I wouldn’t be true to my DNA if I didn’t comment about the continuing demise of the regatta – each year less and less vessels turning out – aside from small beach launched yachts, the motor boats would have to be the two biggest categories in the regatta. And a very concerning sign – no Navy ship in the harbour as the VIP grandstand………. just saying.
Enjoy the photo / video gallery.
NOTE – AFTER A TECH ISSUE UPLOADING VIDEOS YESTERDAY – WE HAVE RESOLVED THE FAULT AND HAVE ADDED SOME GREAT SAILING FOOTAGE TO YESTERDAYS MAHURANGI REGATTA STORY – SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW.
