Category Archives: 32′>34′

Zircon

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ZIRCON
photos & details ex Kevin Peet

Kevin sent in the above photos yesterday of Zircon & it got bumped to the top of the ww posting list for the simple fact that he has done a top chop & lost the flybridge 🙂
When purchased, a few months ago, she very run down & Kevin has wasted no time in giving her a make over.
Not a lot is known about Zircon & her name is probably not her as launched name.
She is 34′, powered by a 6 cyl. Perkins & built with glue edged carvel planks. Her previous owner understands that she was built in Whangarei in 1959 as a commercial fishing boat & based in Coromandel.
Prior to Kevin’s purchase, home was W Pier at Westhaven.

Todays challenge woodys is can we shed some light on Zircon’s past? – design, builder, previous owners / names etc

Photos below are as purchased

20-04-2016 – Roger Turnbull sent in the  three photos of Zircon below. One of them shows the coamings and flying bridge as it was when Roger purchased her.

19-01-2018 Update

Ewan Kerr emailed in the 2 photos below of Zircon, taken when his family owned her.  They bought Zircon in February 1986 from a gentleman by the name of Athol Myers who at the time would have been in his 70’s or 80’s. They used the boat as a family cruiser and sold Zircon in March 1988.

Unknown-1

Unknown

Ratanui

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RATANUI

Last year there was a lot of ww chat on Ratanui & her provenance. You can view that here & also more photos of her as she is today. https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/08/06/ratanui/

We are told she is 31′ kauri carvel planked, but as to her designer / builder & build date that is a little ‘soft’ – a plate on board indicates a build date of 1928 but Harold Kidd feels a more likely build date is 1910-1914 & possibly by Bailey and Lowe in Auckland. She most likely has had a name change. She is powered by a Ford D-Series, model 2722E giving 7-8 knots cruising speed. Currently based at Lake Rotoiti & used for cruises on the lake, both pleasure & commercially.

Just recently I found in the ww files the above photo of Ratanui before the make-over. Maybe this photo might spark a woodys memory & we can uncover more about her.

Photo below as she is today.

Waihaha (Lena >Avalon)

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WAIHAHA
photos & details from Alan Craig

When talking with Alan Craig the Lake Rotoiti boat builder a few weeks ago re the restoration of  Manowai (ww 14-09-2015), he casually mentioned that he had just ‘put another boat in the water’. The other is Waihaha, previously named Avalon when she was on Lake Taupo. Alan’s yard, Craig Marine, installed a new Volvo D2 engine & raised and extended the wheel house as the old one was rotten. You will see from the above photos that they have done a great job, it so easy to get the proportions all wrong.

So woodys, what do we know about Waihaha>Avalon>Waihaha ? ex Lake Taupo now residing on Lake Rotoiti?

UPDATE from Paul Drake

The photo shows her at Taupo in the 1950’s, before she was renamed WAIHAHA, when she was LENA. She ran commercially in those days.
She went from Taupo to Tauranga (Omokoroa) when she was renamed AVALON, because someone told the then owner that she was in fact Zane Grey’s AVALON.
This is clearly not the case. It is good to hear that she has reverted to WAIHAHA. At Taupo she had a Morris Commodore engine. I think she is 32 feet.
I believe that she is Bailey and Lowe, although I cannot remember why I believe that! Perhaps she had a builders plate?

Also in the photo is LAMORNA (Colin Wild 1936) – on her mooring – and LADY PAT at a finger berth. Both well covered in WW.

 

Wynyards (Lushington’s) Bay + Wirihana 1

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Wynyards (Lushington’s) Bay
photo ex Mac Taylor Collection

Now I’m sure to some / most of you the bay in the above photo will be very familiar but not to me. I have a good hunch but I’ll let you all chip in. Remember you can click on the image to enlarge & if you click again on the enlarged photo it will zoom in even more.

Wirihana 1
The 2nd part of today’s post is a great photo, below, I found in Mac Taylor’s album, the launch is the first Wirihana (1) – there is a great story found at the link below concerning Wirihana (1), which most likely became Lady Gay (1) + how Wirihana (2) & Lady Gay (2) fitted into the scene. Great reading & a fine example of the ww blog really working.

Wirihana Who ‘Built’ Her?

Update

Seems everyone is right on the button with ID’ing the location – Harold Kidd sent me a link to the Henry Winkelmann photos (post card) ex the Auckland Museum collection below, taken in 1899. It is ‘Rodmershaw’ the residence of Mr Lushington.

I’m very familiar with the location as early one morning during a Mahurangi Regatta weekend, I had to retrieve my #1 kauri clinker dinghy from the beach after it went walkies in the night & washed up there, undamaged. The gods were smiling on me that weekend 🙂

Update from Harold Kidd
The photo below, ex Auckland Museum collection,  shows Mrs Lushington sitting on the ballast of her husband’s Robert Logan-built yacht MURITAI in 1899 at the property.
The 22ft mullet boat on the beach behind MURITAI is the 22 footer BELLE built by Hewson & Melville in 1883 also owned by Lushington. BELLE was converted to a deadwood keel yacht & later renamed LOTUS.

Muritai & Belle (Lotus) c1899

Pam Cundy Input

Pam sent me the photo below of of her partner, George Emtage, grandfather Captain George Samuel Emtage. They lived in a bay just around the corner from the bay shown above and worked for the Lushingtons and the Chandlers on Motuora. The excerpt from the book Jade River tells the story of how George’s family inherited Motuora island.

Lady Sam

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LADY SAM

Collings & Bell built Lady Sam in 1925. Approx. 32’ long & constructed of kauri planks. She is powered by a 80hp 6 cyl. BMC diesel.

She underwent a major refit & near complete rebuild in 2002. Home is the Coromandel Harbour. Recently for sale on trademe.

Can we confirm & expand on her history?

Selma

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SELMA
photos & details ex Dick Fisher

Today’s post features the Collings & Bell launch Selma which Dick’s grandfather, (H.B.Fisher), had built c1913. Interesting that the ‘photograph’ has had the same enhancement that we saw on the 1911 C & B launch – Dorothy. Refer ww post dated 01-05-2015. C&B must have had the services of a photo re-toucher. All in the days before photoshop 🙂
Dick viewed Selma at Gulf Harbour a while back & reports that she was still in good order.

Now a lot of you will know Dick & his wonderful restored ex Auckland Harbour Board pilot boat – Akarana (photos below ex Dean Wright & yours truly)). Dick is a very clever & talented man & one of his many passions is Gardner engines, he has a collection of 15 Gardner engines ranging in age from 1894 to mid 1980’s. Pictured below is a photo of a Gardner heavy oil marine engine complete with marine gearbox, that Dick is presently restoring. This engine was built by Gardners circa 1913. It is a hot bulb air start 2 stroke developing 24HP at 450 RPM .
FYI – the restoration of Akarana with be featured on ww shortly.

Harold Kidd Input

Sadly, SELMA came ashore at Stanmore Bay on 24th January 2006 and was a total loss. She was 32ft x 8ft and originally had a 3 cylinder 15hp H C Doman marine engine when launched in late 1912 for H.B. Fisher. She was in Mahurangi for several years in the 90’s and early 2000’s with an owner who maintained she was a “Logan”.
Weren’t the WW1 British pocket submarines equipped with Gardners like this?
My Barton rellies in Nottingham had a lot to do with the fortunes of Gardners by fitting the new “high speed” Gardner diesels to their red Bartons’ buses in the Midlands during the Depression. And of course the North Shore Transport Co (owned by the North Shore Ferry Co) fitted 5LX Gardners to their fleet soon afterwards.

Manowai

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MANOWAI
photos & details from Alan Craig ex Ken Ricketts, rewritten by Alan H

Well folks I now know the first boat I will be checking out at the 2016 Lake Rotoiti Classic Wooden Boat Parade 🙂

Manowai has spent the the last year tucked away in boat builder, Alan Craig’s boat shed, Alan has recently taken over the former shed of Tony Mitchell at Lake Rotoiti.

Ken has known the boat for over 70 years, first going aboard when he was around 8 years old.

Alan Craig advises that Manowai  is 32′ with an 8′ beam & now owned by Lake Rotoiti local Dennis Walsh, Dennis intends to keep the launch on the lake where she will be a stunning additional to the classic fleet.. Dennis bought her off a Mr Andy Culpin of Hampton Downs. It is understood he had kept her in a shed  for approx. 2 years & had started the restoration work & Alan has spent the last 12 months working on her. The target for relaunching is prior to Christmas 2015.
Alan commented that when purchased by Dennis Walsh she was powered by a BMC Commander, 4 cyl diesel, this is being replaced with a much lighter, brand new,  4 cyl. 40 hp Lombardini diesel, similar to what powers the launch Marjorie Rosa (ex Juliana) which also resides on Lake Rotoiti.

From the photos, the finish looks outstanding & given its been achieved just with elbow grease, lots of sandpaper & putty is a credit to Alan the boat builder.

Alan Craig has asked for help in sourcing  early photos of her & any info from previous owners.  The original builder & launch date are own known.

MANOWAI update ex Colin Brown via Ken Ricketts.edited by Alan H

Until today, I did not know that Colin B had significant roll in the refurbishment programme on MANOWAI.

He first became involved with her about 2003, when she was owned by Ralph Power & worked on her for an 8 year period in total, with around 3 years in his shed at Kumeu & also in the shed in McLeod Rd, Te Atatu South. During this period she changed hands from Ralph P., to Andy Culpin who sold her to Dennis Walsh.

The work included replacing the planking “hood ends” where the planking is fixed to the stem, with a new apron & new big pohutukawa stem knee. He also replaced most of the interior, except the middle section, where the engine was fitted over about a 3 year period

Colin told Ken he believes she was built by Bailey & Lowe in 1921

 

Yvonne

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At Mahurangi 2006
At Mahurangi 2006
Viaduct Harbour 2013

YVONNE
Where Is She Now?

Photo 2006 Mahurangi Regatta ex Jason Prew

All I know is that I saw her a couple of years ago hauled out at the Te Atatu Boat Club & last year I snapped a photo of her leaving the Viaduct Basin one afternoon.
Its claimed that she is possibly built by Lanes c.1924 – and I can hear Harold Kidd going “and weren’t  they all” when he reads this 🙂

She may have been a CYA boat in the mid / late 2000’s.

Harold Kidd Input

I can’t find the exact provenance for YVONNE but she was in existence in January 1924. Her long term owner (and possibly her first owner) was Andrew Ernest Graham of Browns Bay, later Takapuna. He was a painter and decorator by trade and kept YVONNE in Milford Creek. Later he moved to Te Aroha and sold YVONNE to H. Henderson in 1930. Henderson sold to B.G. Gribbon in 1936. In 2001 she was pretty derelict at Te Atatu but was nicely overhauled by Tony Broughton to her present state.
The story is that she was built by Lanes and that is entirely likely, but she could just as well have been built by any number of Auckland builders from, say, 1912 to to 1924 and may even have started life as a flushdecker under a different name.

PS However, I think she was brand new in January 1924 when she was scratch boat in the Anniversary Regatta launch race for launches under 7 knots, indicating probably that she had not raced before. The following year she was in the race for 7 to 9 knots but broke down..