Category Archives: 40′>42′

AOTEA – A Peek Down Below

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AOTEA – A Peek Down Below
 
Back in March 2014 Aotea appeared on WW when an ex owner, Paul Newell, was trying to track her down (WW link below)
Now thanks to trademe & Ian McDonald we get to have a peek-down-below.
 
Aotea was built in 1950, supposedly in the South Island to a ‘Alexander’ design, she is carvel planked & powered by a 120hp Ford 6cyl. diesel.
Her specs are 40’x 11’5”x 2’11”
Rumour has it that she was built for the N.Z. Government and taken to Lake Taupo for the Queens Coronation NZ tour 1953-54. Paul Drake has confirmed that she spent time on the lake in the 1950’s, as a Govt. vessel.
 
What more do we know about Aotea?

Waitemata Woodys hits 4,000,000 views and celebrates with a gallery of over 100 classic wooden boat photos

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If you think being passionate about wooden boats is niche – think again, there are a lot of us out there. Waitemata Woodys has just passed 4 MILLION views and we celebrate with over 100 classic wooden boating photos

Never in a blue moon when I started this site could I have seen it becoming as popular as it has. Along the way the site has morphed to also become an awesome information source for just about anything connected to wooden boating. Some facts:
4,000,000 views
370,000 people have visited the site, most of them come back – some daily, some weekly, some just when they need to know something
2,469 stories
20,000+ photos published
A 50,000+ photo library
It wouldn’t have happened without in the early days a few fireside chats from people way more worldly in the wooden boating community than myself. The list of people that have shared their family photo albums, stories and knowledge with us is huge and  the site just wouldn’t be what it is today without these people.
I’ve made so many friends, and been fortunate to rub shoulders with a lot of you in person.
So where to from here?, I would be a lier if I said I had not considered pulling the pin a few times, its a big ask publishing a wooden boating story 365 days of the year, but for every one dark day when I’m questioning why I do it – I have 100 days where someone tells me that the first thing they do every every morning is check out Waitemata Woodys, or that they print the stories and once a week when they visit grandad they read them to him, because he is nearly blind, or when we uncover the provenance of someones boat, or when we find someones long lost family boat etc etc
Aside from thanking you all for your support and asking you to keep following Waitemata Woodys – I only have one request – please keep sending us your stories & photos – you may be thinking they won’t mean much to us, but at some stage, someone will send in something and SNAP, they match & we have the makings of a great story. Email them to   waitematawoodys@gmail.com
The following link takes you to a Waitemata Woodys story that epitomises all that’s good about the site – you wouldn’t find content like this anywhere else – it’s gold
And in answer to all the emails re when I will be doing another Waitemata Woodys t-shirt run – the answer is before Christmas, so start saving your pennies. I’ll do another post soon re taking orders 🙂
Again many thanks to everyone. I hope you all still enjoy the site as much as I do pulling it all together. Shortly I will be sharing with you some exciting news on how WW will become even more relevant to wooden boat owners, but for now I have pulled together a random selection of 101 woody photos that have appeared on the site – enjoy 🙂
Alan Houghton – founder
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Beverlene

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BEVERLENE

Beverlene was built in 1968 by Owen Wolley & measures 39’, has a 11’9” beam & draws 3’3”,  & has a kauri planked hull.

Zoom zoom is from a 120*hp Commer diesel engine that sees her cruising at a comfortable 8 knots.

* trademe listing (thanx Ian McDonald) also states 140hp

Home is Tauranga so she is off the WW radar – can anyone tell us more about here?

 

22-06-23 UPDATE – photo below ex tme listing June 2023

Katie Didit

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KATIE DIDIT

I was mooching around the Milford Cruising Club yard yesterday afternoon checking out the process of Pacific & My Girl.
The answer is Pacific should splash in 2 weeks & My Girl, in early November.
While there I spotted the Grand Banks woody – Katie Didit, from the presentation of her bottom I would say that the x-foul-e-8 team have done the business to below the waterline. An amazing process, smooth as the proverbial ‘babies b_m’
Her teak / mahogany? planking can’t be faulted.
Interesting that she is single screw, I thought most of them were twin screw.
Her stern says Gulf Harbour, what more do me know about her & when she arrived in NZ? There must be an interesting tale behind her name?
19-10-2018 – Input from Brett , the owner.

The came from the American wife of a past owner. The husband was away in the Navy & each week/month when his pay cheque was sent to her she squirrelled some away into a secret bank account.
When hubby came home he told her he wanted to buy a ‘yacht’ & pointed out his dream being a 36’ Grand Banks. While Katie dipped into the fund & bought it for him. Hence the name.
Brett advised that Katie is still alive, in her mid 90’s in San Diego & he has meet her – its a small world 🙂
A couple of Pacific / My Girl photos below – in one we see what really happens down there, Mr Herbert, Prew & Deeble in a deep philosophical chat about what colour anti-fouling 🙂
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Estrela

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ESTRELA
Estrela a double-ender, triple skinned kauri launch was built be Joe Fell in 1920. Her zoom zoom comes from a Hino H07C- 158 hp diesel. 
She  measures 43’in length & from her trademe listing (thanks Ian McDonald) she appears to be very well kitted out. 
At 42′ with her hull & the Hino engine, she must have a healthy turn of speed.
 
Being a double-ender makes her very distinctive so hopefully we can un-cover more on her.
Update – Woody Chris Leech has asked if the above launch is previously named Dawn Star, once owned by ex DYC member John Mitchell – see photo below. Sure looks like it to me (AH).
Dawn Star
Input from Harold Kidd – I didn’t know that Joe Fell built double-enders. The rest of his launches were mainly cream launches for the Hokianga Dairy Company and clones of SIERRA with a tuck stern for carrying capacity. I wonder which one she was originally? Can’t place her.
Dave Jackson will probably know.

Naomi III

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Naomi

NAOMI III
Todays photo of the motor-sailer – Naomi came from a postcard that appeared on Mitchell Hutchings fb page.
Previously on WW we had a story on Naomi III, which is the same vessel as above.
Harold Kidd noted on that story that Naomi III was the third Naomi owned by M.A. Jenny of Nelson, Auckland and Wanganui. She was 39’x10’x2’6″ and had a 20hp Gardner 2 cylinder petrol engine. Jenny was a most controversial figure during the years leading up to WW1. Nominally he was Swiss but there were suspicions he was an Austrian and a spy! He was quite a dashing wealthy figure and briefly was Commodore of the North Shore Yacht Club until he resigned in February 1903. He took this launch to Nelson but sold her in 1911 to Downes brothers of Wellington. From there she did the rounds, spending a lot of time in Tauranga game-fishing in the 1930s. When I last heard of her, she was in Lyttelton owned by John Sole in 2007.
Chas. Bailey Jr also built Naomi I (March 1902) and Naomi II (November 1902) for Jenny. The latter was last seen on the hard at Panmure Yacht Club. Harold noted the interesting cabin top, Bailey retained the dee-front separate cabin top but put his toe in the water with a raised foredeck as well. Truly a “transitional” style.
You can view the earlier photo here
Harold Kidd Input – Great pic of NAOMI III in Nelson.
Just to muddy the waters a bit, the NAOMI at Panmure owned by Tim Hanna turns out to be the Logan Bros-built Huria, later owned by Jenny and renamed VANORA. See the discussion on VANORA recently on WW.
Britannia 18′ Gets Some TLC In Australia 
Robin Elliott sent in the link below to Ian Smith undertaking some repairs to the 18 footer, Britannia.

Lady Mavis

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Lady Mavis

Ray Sutcliffe

LADY MAVIS
WW was recently contacted by Kathy Makan asking for help in her quest to track down the launch – ‘Lady Mavis’ for which she has been searching for some years now.
Lady Mavis was built by her grandfather Ray Sutcliffe and Kathy spent every moment of her childhood from the day she was born into her 20’s on her.
Lady Mavis started out at 32′ built in Ray’s back yard and was launched in 1954 at Browns Bay (North Shore, Auckland). In 1958 she was lengthened to 42′ at her grandfather’s factory at Barrys Point Road, Takapuna where he built flat bottom boats for flounder fishing and dingys for HC Kitchen Ltd.
Her radio number for calling Music Point was Z.M. 2117.  Kathy believes she was built of kauri with two six cylinder engines.  Ray was appointed an ‘Honorary Launch Warden’ in 1963 under the Harbours Act 1950 by the Minister of Marine.
During summer months she was moored at Waiake Beach in Torbay where they lived and would then be shifted to the Milford Marina during winter. The family cruised extensively to Rangitoto, Tiri, Rakino, Motutapu, Wade River, Kawau Island, Mahurangi River to Warkworth, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel and their favourite the Bay of Islands.
In the photos above we see Lady Mavis & Ray Sutcliffe. Ray’s family were friends with the Fullers from the Bay of Islands and used to go fishing with Mr Fuller on his first launch ‘Udine’.  From his late teens into his twenties Ray used to catch the steamer ‘Clansman’ from Auckland up to the Bay of Islands where he spent his holidays  out on the Fuller’s launch ‘Knoxie’ and going out on the ‘Cream Trip’ as well as other special trips.  He used to stay with the Bullen family who was Mrs Fuller’s sister. Below is a photo of Ray with a kingfish caught on Mr Fuller’s launch ‘Udine’, as well as photos of ‘Knoxie and the ‘Clansman’.
Greatgrandfather Sutchliffe

Wooden Boating VIP On The Waitemata

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Wooden Boating VIP On The Waitemata

Today I hosted Ben Mendlowitz on Raindance, Ben is the number one wooden boat photographer in the world & shoots for just about every boating magazine there is & produces the world famous “Calendar of WoodenBoats’ + has authored dozens of books on the subject.
While in New Zealand Ben was keen to photograph some of our classic fleet, so we headed out yesterday to catch the classic division of the RNZYS Winter Series race.
Ben will have some stunning photos, I was just the driver today so only took a few, very average photos – I did however capture 2 rare events:
1. Thelma going a ground off Stanley Point – some very red faces
2. Jason Prew venturing forward of the mast on Rawene – he didn’t look comfortable 🙂
Photos below – enjoy
THE NEW ZEALAND SAILING DINGHY EXHIBITION
In case you missed it – in 2 weeks (Oct 5>7th) is the annual Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition at the Viaduct – this year the theme is ‘The New Zealand Sailing Dinghy’ – I’ll post more on the event during the week – but right now Tony Stevenson is doing a call out to anybody interested in displaying their classic NZ designed and built sailing dinghy, yacht class information or memorabilia.
Please contact Tony Stevenson tonys@nwv.co.nz  or 021 977 456
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Kaiurunga

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KAIURUNGA – Workboat Wednesday

Kaiurunga is a double ender solid kauri planked launch at 41′ long & built in 1935 by Ernie Lane.

She is an ex-Westport Harbour Board pilot boat. The name Kaiurunga means ‘highest cloud’.  

Rumour has it she has done a lap of New Zealand and often crossed the Cook Straight.  

Zoom zoom is via a 95hp Perkin diesel motor that has her cruising at around 7 knots.  

Her trademe listing (thanks Ian McDonald) tells us her current owner has had her for a year and is unable to finish the project.  While looking a little ‘work-in-progress’ there has been a lot of time & money spent on her & she would make a good low cost live aboard / tiny house-boat.
Home port is Mana, Wellington.

Miss Brett Needs A New Woody Owner

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Miss Brett

 

Miss Brett Needs A New Woody Owner

I have been contacted by Donna Lewis, the owner of Miss Brett, who needs to offer the launch up for sale. Donna lives in Australia. Miss Brett was launched in 1927 & built by Dick Lang at Russell  for the Bay of Islands famous Fullers Cream Trip. She measures 40’ x 10’9” x 2’11” draft. Zoom zoom is via a 100hp 6 cyl. Ford Trader Lees Marine diesel. Renamed Knoxie II c.1928, the name coming from her 4 cya Knox engine, when launched.
Below is her edited call for help

“Regrettably I realistically need  to put MV Miss Brett up for sale. I am very aware of her historical significance and have been her owner … caretaker really since September 2015. I would hope in an ideal world that someone capable of enjoying her as we have and enjoys the maintenance  (as I do) might be interested in her.

The top photo above is a recent photo taken last month & shows Miss Brett moored on her own mooring in Kororareka Bay (Russell) Bay of Islands.”

Interested parties can contact Donna for more details, she has had an impressive amount of work done in the last few years – via email at              lewisdn@hotmail.com

Miss Brett features in the video ‘ NZ Marlin’ – at the 1′ 48″ stage & again at 7’24” – link below:
You can view more photos of Miss Brett here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/08/08/miss-brett/
Details ex Harold Kidd
Photos below of Miss Brett – Russell c.1960