Category Archives: 36′>38′

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – TAINUI – On The Move Again

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – TAINUI – On The Move Again

Back in early Feb 2016 we reported that John Sloane had recently purchased the 1967 38’ ex workboat – TAINUI and had transported her to the Whangateau traditional boat yard for a major refit – well woodys fast forward 8 years and the decision has obviously been made to relocate TAINUI to another yard. 

My spies tell me that Blair Boats in Kerikeri will be taking over the project, so we look forward to regular updates and photos.

At one stage there was a mint Gardner engine (see below) waiting to go in, keen to learn what became of that engine – hopefully still in storage.

In a previous WW story we learnt from Phil Saunders that TAINUI was the (then) Marine Department fisheries protection launch based at Russell during the 1950s and 1960s and was skippered by Jake Saunders and Inspector Anderson. She is a great sea boat and when in service she was kept in immaculate order. She sailed weekly to provision Cape Brett Lighthouse, often in inclement weather and also oversaw the harvesting of rock oysters up Kerikeri inlet.

UPDATE ex JOHN SLOANE – The 3LW was traded and we upgraded to 5LW . Which is sitting in her . Dave Shaw the grandmaster has done all the work as I wanted the engine to be a show piece with open engine room,  including move hydraulic gear box . Will keep you posted as things progress . 

Screenshot

DIOMEDEA – CLASSIC WOODEN GAME FISHING BOAT

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DIOMEDEA – CLASSIC WOODEN GAME FISHING BOAT

Woody Angus Rogers recently came across a copy of Sea Spray magazine from October 1965 which had the 36’ Andrew Donovan designed wooden launch – DIOMEDEA on the cover.  DIOMEDEA was built by the Lane Motor Boat Co.

The first thing that Angus noticed was how similar she was to her bigger sister the 50’ AROHANUI, also built by the LMB Co. and launched in early 1965. Which also graced the cover of Sea Spray in April 1966 (photo below).

DIOMEDEA was a magnificent build and spec’ed to the max – the article is an insightful read. Sea Spray magazine described her design / style as a ‘sport fisherman’, she had a beam of 11’11” and draft of 2’10.5”. 

When launched she was powered by a Caterpillar turbo D330 4 cyl. 180hp diesel that gave her a top speed of 14 knots.

On one of my trips (Oct 2022) to Whangaroa I spotted DIOMEDEA docked at the Whangaroa Game Fishing Club marina. In the photo, below, she appears to have lost the hothouse that was up top when Dean Wright photographed her in May 2016, also at WGFC. 

Oct 2022
May 2016
AROHANUI

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – OKAREKA – A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – OKAREKA – A Peek Down Below

The classic wooden launch OKAREKA popped up recently on tme (thanks Ian McDonald for the heads up) The listing states she was built in 1952 by Colin Wild, is 36’ in length and powered by twin 75hp Ford 2704 diesels.Being sold as-is-where- is.
Can we learn more about her past.

Morning woodys – there was a typo in the spelling of the boats name it wasn’t Orareka its OKAREKA, previously named FERG AND FERGY. Sorry for the confusion – you can view and read more about her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/17/okareka-2/

30-01-2025 INPUT ex BARRIE ABEL – photo below of OKAREKA moored off Brooklands Boating Club on the Clevedon River.

THE REAL REASON FOR TODAYS STORY –   Sadly plans are a foot to close the winter haul out area at Little Shoal Bay, Northcote.  Yeap another one under the axe of Auckland Council. So woodys have your say, click the link below to sign the petition.  https://www.change.org/p/save-little-shoal-bay-boatyard

CLASSIC LAUNCH ARIZONA 

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Arizona moored between Mushroom Rocks, Whna
Arab (L) and Arizona at Awanui, 1914
Arab (L) and Arizona at Haruru Falls, Waitangi, 1914

CLASSIC LAUNCH ARIZONA 

The classic launch – ARIZONA as made a couple of brief appearances on WW – back in Dec  2022 we were trying to track her down – link below to that story and then in May 2023 we learnt that there was a rolling restoration underway on her- that story also linked below.

Fast forward to last week and ARIZONA popped up in a link ex Nathan Herbert to the McLeod collection at the Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection – there we saw her on what appears to be a 1914 (ish) Northland Cruise. Given she was launched c.1914 could have been a shake down cruise. 

In the photos above according to the captions we see her with the launch – ARAB, not 100% sure the captions are correct at times, I have tagged the photos so the woodys brains trust can review and comment.

WW Dec 2022 https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/12/08/arizona-where-is-she-cya-heritage-basin/

WW May 2023 https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/05/05/arizona-gets-a-happy-ending/

RSVP – waitematawoodys@gmail.com

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH SERENE – Way Back

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH SERENE – Way Back 

The 36’ classic wooden launch – SERENE, probably built by Roy Paris, has made a couple of appearances on WW, the last on back in May 2022 when we were given a review of the work that owner Tom Lindesay had undertaken during the cv-19 lockdown period -link below to that story and others

WW MAY 2022 https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/05/05/serene-2/
Fast forward to last week a gent named Kevin Baker contacted WW to share some of the SERENE’s history – I’ll hand over to Kevin to tell the story (edited)

“When I was approximately 6 years old I remember helping my grandfather John Leslie Hume shape a model of the Serenes hull out of timber and what looked like some sort of builders bog, it was a half hull down to the keel line and not very big.

I also helped grandfather make plugs of the fittings like the port and starboard rear cleats also the winged port holes. All this was done in my grandparents home at Matahui Road KatiKati Bay of Plenty. I never saw the Serene while she was being built and I am not sure of the builder but my mother who is now 95 is sure she was built in the Coromandel.

I spent time on the boat with my grandfather, a few trips in the KatiKati Harbour. Serene’s main mooring was at Omokoroa but a small wharf was built behind the Matahui farm on the Aongatete River and she spent time there, later she would also spend time at Whangamata.

As time past and my brother Ron and I grew up we took Serene on a few adventures, on one we went to the Mayor Island and were anchored in South East bay for the night when a weather change bought a swell straight into the bay, with the anchor rope pinging the decision was made to move around to the north side of the island , we did this in a pitch black night, I remember it was a long night rolling in the swell with minimal shelter against the cliffs.

Serene had sails stored up the front hatch for her auxiliary motor, I remember one night with the wind in the right direction we set one of the small sails as a stabiliser  . My brother was the skipper and we took Serene as far north as the Cavalli islands stopping at Great Barrier and travelling on the outside of Little Barrier. The Perkins motor in Serene is not original as she was built with a Fordson and it remained in service during our time, the gear box had a manual linkage with a shifting level at the helm.

The photos above of Serene with the Aldermen Islands in the back ground also in Whangamata Harbour. You can see she was built with no fly bridge which must have been added by someone.”

While there appears to be some confusion re the design / builder, I’m sure  it was Roy Paris.

Bay of Islands photo below ex Dean Wright dated Jan 2021

WOODY ON TOUR – VENICE

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WOODY ON TOUR – VENICE

The owner of the 36′ classic launch IONA II currently midway thru a total refit at the Slipway Milford is currently mooching around in Venice and sent in the above photo gallery of the hard working Venetian woody water taxis. Nice to have window into the other side of the world and to see the sun 🙂

The scope of the work on IONA II is next level and includes conversion to electric powered – there will be no combustion engine or generator i.e. not a hybrid. Really looking forward to following the project. IONA II was designed by Bruce Askew , and built in 1994 from strip planked wood + some f/glass, all good on a 1994 craft. Link below from when the work first commenced. I’ll get down there later in the week for an update, or maybe Jason Prew could put the tools down for a minute and send in some iPhone photos 😉 https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/05/28/iona-ii-gets-a-birthday/

OM0KOROA (PHENELLA > WANGANELLA > KOTUKU > OMOKOROA)

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c.1950
2024

OM0KOROA (PHENELLA > WANGANELLA > KOTUKU > OMOKOROA)

The 36′ launch OMOKOROA has made several appearances on WW. Each story (links below) has told us more about her and her colourful past. The most recent story was in April where we saw she was nearing the end of another restoration. The name Lyndon Chambers is a common element in most of the stories and today Lyndon has shared with us a gem of a photo from the Western Bay of Plenty District Libraries collection dated c.1950’s. This b/w photo was supplied by Claudia Hume.

In the corresponding text we learnt so much more about her provenance and the many names that have graced her transom. Reproduced below”

“The Kotuku was originally the Phenella, built by Sam Middlebrook as a houseboat in around 1920 on the banks of the Uretara, helped by William Mulgrew and Noble Johnston. Sam lived in her until 1938, when he moved to Waihī. It was sold to Norm Blomquist who renamed her the Wanganella. Claude Hume bought a share in her, and took her over when Norm died in 1949. He engaged a boat bulder to rebuild her superstructure, then renmed her Kotuku. He kept her for 20 years until 1971 when H. G. Lomas of Waihī Beach bought her. She is said to have been taken to Tauranga in the late 1980s for repairs, and there has been no further record of her. The story of the Phenella/Kotuku is on pp 220 & 221 of Max Avery’s book “Maritime Tauranga”.

JULY 2021 https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/07/10/omokaroa-omokoroa-saved/
APRIL 2024 https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/04/24/omokoroa-in-former-times/
April 2024 https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/04/25/omokoroa-april-2024-update/

THE REVAMP OF REHIA

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THE REVAMP OF REHIA

Early last month we ran two stories on the 1938 Colin Wild built launch – REHIA and her upcoming refit at {the} Slipway Milford yard. Links to those stories below. 1st Report  https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/05/03/classic-launch-rehia-gets-a-birthday/

2nd Report https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/05/10/rehia-2024-refit-report-2/

Jump forward to last Saturday morning and she is sliding down the rails looking rather grand. It is always a big ask ($$) to bring these craft back to better than as launch presentation. But the feel good factor when you walk down the dock or row away from her in a bay is priceless.

There is a saying that I believe originated from Frances Herreshoff that goes like this “if as you walk away or row away from your boat, you do not look back at her, you own the wrong boat”

Over the last 2 years her owners have had one major focus – to retaining/ restore all her classic characteristics and charm. Well done to the Telford family and the team at the yard.

A few minutes before REHIA was launched my RAINDANCE also splashed after a brief haul-out for a face wash and bottom shave. Sitting for 2 months on her marina and with the engine not working, RD had a very impressive beard + a plastic bag around the prop 😦

(photos ex Jason Prew, Joe Telford, Alan H)

UPDATE 20-06-2024 LOTS OF WORKSHOP / HANDS ON PHOTOS HERE https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MtAdzgzeQt1oSUgG/

LYNMAR

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Roger Miles
Mahurandi Regatta 2024
Mahurangi Regatta 2024

LYNMAR

The launch – LYNMAR has made several appearance on WW over the years. I first happened on her when I shared a few weeks in Geoff Bagnall’s boasted at Milford Creek. At the time LYNMAR was owned by Brian Burrell who resided at Tryphena, Great Barrier Island. Whenever LYNMAR was due some TLC Brian would come over to Geoff’s and haul out and live aboard while undertaking the work. 

We soon became friends when I started bring ‘leftover’ meals along for him 🙂 At the time I learnt that the launch was built by John Lidgard in the late 1960’s.

Back 2015 LYNMAR was out on the slip at Milford for some work – the link below has a lot of photos and details – make sure you read the comments section.  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/06/27/lynmar/

I once called on Brian at his quirky property close to the Tryphena wharf – Brian being a collector of marine jetsam and floatsam I was hooked by an amazing display of boat stuff.

Some years later LYNMAR started making cameo appearances at the Mahurangi Regatta, so I assumed she had changed hands. Number 2 & 3 photos above are from the 2024 regatta.

The lead photo taken by Rogers Miles popped up last week on fb.

IONA – TAUPO

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IONA – TAUPO

Now do not be confused  with todays woody – it is IONA as spotted in the weekend by Jason Prew at the Motuoapa Marina in Taupo. Jason commented that she is a sster-ship to IONA II that currently sits on the hard at {the} Slipway Milford.

Photos below of the work happening on IONA II.
In the last photo below we she IONA II’s room mate – REHIA which has a fast approaching re-launch date. More on her later in the week.