Category Archives: 44′>50′

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

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Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

One of the interesting things reviewing all the photos that have been sent in from the festival is that each person ’sees’ the festival through different eyes – so what they end up photographing is very different from someone else.
Todays collection from Fiona Driver and Rod Marler is a perfect example, it is a very different view from yesterdays and also shows the scale of the event. Worthy of its own WW story.
I could have edited the collection down, but the photographer/s are very passionate woodys so if the image appealed to them, I’m confident it will to you. Enjoy 🙂
Scroll down after todays photo gallery to view more of the festival in Part 1 of the coverage.
And remember , click on photos to enlarge.

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – 200 Classic Wooden Boat Photos – Part 1

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AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL 2019 – HOBART, TASMANIA – PHOTO PARADE 200 CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT PHOTOS

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Well woodys while I was gutted that I had to cancel my trip to the festival, I honestly believe that we have ended up with a better view of the festival. I have been inundated with photos from woodys from both sides of the Tasman. The coolest thing is that the show is so big and the exhibitions so broad, that there have hardly been any duplications – my new best Aussie woody friend – Andrew Christie has excelled with photos from the air (drone) and on the water (he borrowed a clinker dinghy from the ‘Living Boat Trust’ and rowed around the docks). My kiwi woody friends –  Colin and Sheryl Pawson + Fiona Driver and Rod Marler + James Mortimer  have supplemented Andrew’s photos with more stunning photos from their camera’s. As an aside Andrew won the AWBF 2019 short film festival, with his entry ‘Wooden Boat Lunacy’ featuring a Billy Holmes built motorboat – Folly III. This short film has been featured on WW – link here    https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/11/08/folly-iii/
Rather than mix them all up – I thought it would cool to group them by photographer. There will be more to share with you over the next few days, seems like everyone has maxed out the mobile data packages 🙂
Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them – Enjoy
Andrew Christie

 

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James Mortimer
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Colin Pawson
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Manapouri – The Early Days

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MANAPOURI – The Early Days

I have been contacted by Manapouri’s owner Mark Sorrenson who has uncovered wonderful documentation on the design & built of her, along with some great photos from this period. This essay on the 1960, 43’ classic launch has been brought together by Noel Fyfe (Parks) to whom we are indebted.
I’ll let Mark & Noel tell the story below 🙂
A QUICK HEADS UP – YESTERDAYS STORY ON THE MAHURANGI REGATTA, GENERATED A LOT OF INPUT / CONTENT FROM THE WOODYS – SO IF YOU ONLY VIEWED THE STORY OUT IN THE MORNING, SCROLL DOWN & CHECK OUT ALL THE NEW PHOTOS & VIDEOS
“Manapouri, is a 43ft Motor Launch built for Hector Alexander Parks.
She is a scaled down version of a 53ft “Thorneycroft Gentleman’s Cruiser.” A launch that featured in the Sea Spray magazine. The upper structure was changed by Frank Ewen to cover their backsides, and it did make a better-looking craft. 
Noel’s Uncle, Frank Ewen designed and built Manapouri, drew the plans and built a scale model before construction started in Hectors converted brooding shed on his Poultry farm at 66 Anzac Rd, Whangarei. (This now called Hilltop Road. The original house is still there, it has since been sheathed with narrow corrugated iron). Frank Ewen was one of the Ewen brothers. Frank, (he married Hazel who was Noel Fyfe’s mother’s sister) Ernie and John Ewen, also built the 24ft Gaff Cutter ‘Dolphin’, now owned by The Tino Rawa Trust and the 6 mtr C-class ‘Scout’whose story is recounted in the book by Sandra Gorters, “100 Years Astern”.
The Kauri for Manapouri was selected from two trees and milled by Lanes Saw Mills in Totara North. The Kauri was seasoned for twelve months before construction commenced. The Pohutakawa for the bow, stern and other smaller knees were sawn from over hanging trees at Manganese Point, Parua Bay in daring dawn raids. These raids were carried out in a dinghy built by Frank and powered by a 6hp Johnson, she never let a drop of water penetrate through her planks. A great stable dinghy. This dinghy slipped away from Manapouri in a storm and 3 weeks later Frank got a call from the Coromandel Police to say she had been found upside down. Her anchor had caught in the kelp, which had saved her from the rocks. All the boats Frank built had his name and address carved under a seat. The Pohutakawa and Puriri knees were stored for two years under sacks that were kept damp to stop them from splitting. Frank adzed and laid the keel, finishing it with a draw knife until it had the perfect finish. Hector’s stepson (Noel, who is now a sprightly 88, and without whom I could not have put together this early history), recalls that Frank was a perfectionist. All the planks were fitted with feeler gauges and no putty used other than to cover the silicon bronze nails used to fix the planks at the bow and stern or screws as were required. The planks were cut out of wider boards, with the curve required so that after steaming they were only bent on their flat edge.
Noel was at the time working as a builder during the week, building his first home at the weekend and helping Hector with the rooving of the planks in his spare time. Frank would mark out where he wanted the copper nails driven into the planks, in a fashion that did not split or damage any of the grain. This was a slow and tedious process that was left to Hector and Noel. Frank would later inspect this process to ensure the nails were rooved perfectly smooth inside the hull. The construction took approximately 3 years, with input from Alex Baxter.
Alex made the hatches and sliding doors and the skylights. These were fitted by John Roberts, who worked for Ken Lowe and Alen Orams. John Roberts worked for Ken Lowe for three years, then for Alen Orams for fifteen years, boat building. 
Hector deconstructed the chicken brooding shed and Manapouri was taken to Ken Lowes Boat Building shed in Ewings Rd. This slipway was originally Frank Ewen & Brothers Business in the earlier years. Here the motors, gearboxes and shafts were fitted. The original motors were Listers and were purchased from Schofields in Auckland. One of the Listers was reconditioned and gave some trouble over the years. The Engine Room was under The Wheelhouse floor. This floor was loose screwed so you could get to the motors. The Cabin top was made to a very high standard by John Roberts and was made so it could be removed with ease should the motors need to come out. Peter Macdonald replaced the motors and changed the cabin style to suit his needs.
The engineering work was undertaken by Ron Lowe who was a brother of Ken Lowe. Ron would have been one of the best engineers in the North. He was a hard man to peg down, he loved his beer and you could find him most days heading down to his main watering hole The Settlers Hotel. This old wooden pub was pulled down a few years ago and is now the site of the Whangarei Police Headquarters. It is thought that Donovans completed the Electrical works.
Once this work was finalized Manapouri was taken to Kioreroa Ramp by trailer. This was supplied by McBreen Jenkins and was a low loader used for D10 Bulldozers and was fitted out to suit Manapouri. With the help of Steve Bignall’s crane called Tiny, Manapouri was launched, and the man in charge of this operation was Peter Macdonald. (The same Peter Macdonald who later purchased Manapouri.) 
Hector worked for many years operating the dredging bucket crane in Whangarei
Harbour. The skipper was Peter Diamond, and the Dredge was the William Fraser, and working for the Whangarei Harbour Board gave Hector a leg up regarding securing a berth for Manapouri.  He also ran a Charter Business taking fishing parties out of the harbour on Manapouri. He was tied up to the main wharf and lived aboard her for many years until he had “words” with the new Board regarding his operating his fishing business without a licence.
Throughout these years, Hector who was a poor sailor, would get violently seasick in a long oily swell and was unable to swim, hence Manapouri was built with high continuous handrails to her decks.
Hec, on moving from Whangarei Town Basin purchased a Bach at One Tree Point,
Black Smiths Creek. (This is now the New Marina’s Main Channel, and Hecs old property has a very expensive home where his Bach once stood.) Manapouri was moored on the inside channel opposite the Bach. She broke her moorings twice over the years, and the last time Hector boged his tractor and struggled to refloat her it was the last straw. He sold her to Peter Macdonald a short time later. 
Hector and his wife (Noel Parks Mother) were moved to Rambourne House. There they lived until they died, Hector at 96 and his wife at 95.”
You can see & read more on her past at the WW link below

https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/01/28/mystery-launch-1-mahurangi-regatta-2014/

In the photo below with two adults and a backside in the clinker dinghy we have Hector on the oars and Frank Ewen with his back to the camera. Frank built the dinghy in 1946.
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MAHURANGI REGATTA – What you are missing

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MAHURANGI REGATTA – What you are missing

If you are reading WW today, chances are you are not at Mahurangi, so to make up for it today we have a totally stunning 16minute video filmed & edited by Roger Mills of the 2018 event. Roger filmed the footage using a drone.
It truly is breathtaking & what makes it even cooler is the coverage of the Classic Launch Parade. I recommend to watch the video in it entirety, but if you are time poor, skip to the 1:50 mark.
This footage could easily be re-branded as a tourism NZ movie.
Enjoy the film, link below – 2019 regatta photos will be on WW on Tuesday.

Summer / New Year 2019 Raindance Cruise Photo Gallery – 70+ Classic Wooden Boats

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Best coffee & brownie on the Island = Rocky Bay Hall

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282′ – Available for rent NZD$970,000 week

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Very cool packaging design & yum

Summer / New Year Raindance Cruise Photo Gallery – 70+ Classic Wooden Boats

The above gallery is a selection of photos I mostly took at random over the 12 days we were floating around the bottom end of Waiheke Island. I apologise for the quality of some, but the light & direction I was heading were not always my friend in terms of image quality. I just wanted to record & showcase some of the craft out & about over the holiday period. Remember click photos to enlarge 😉
Like most people in the upper north island we were gifted with stunning weather – I rolled the cockpit canopy clears up on day one & rolled them down again when we returned to the marina 12 days later. I can honestly say that it was the best cruise we have had aboard RD, just perfect.
For those of you that were cruising in other parts, email in some photos so we can share.
Even last week the weather remained near perfect, & allowed me to get the sandpaper & Awlwood (Uroxsys) out & re-varnish RD’s trim – 9 coats, looks very smart.
As I write this I’m hoping for some rain, the garden is crying out for a downpour.
Mahurangi Regatta is fast approaching, I say it every year but in terms of vessel numbers & location, it has to be NZ’s premier classic wooden boating event. Put a circle around Saturday, Jan 26th in the diary & make the effort to be there. More details closer.
Check out WW tomorrow for some great photos from the Bay of Islands Tall Ships Regatta – there will even be a photos of Tony Stevenson on the helm of a classic, its been a while 😉

LITTLE JIM (Mk1) B7

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LITTLE JIM (Mk1) B7

If you search the words Little Jim in the WW search box you we see numerous references to a very stunning yacht, owned these days by CYA Chairman James Mortimer. She was designed / built by Arch Logan and Bill Couldrey in 1934, photos below.
Outside of the die-hard classic yachties, few know there was another Little Jim, B7, pictured above.
This LJ was a B class Keeler owned by J. Mitchelson.
Sadly she was driven ashore and totally wrecked at Catherine Bay, Great Barrier Island, after being dismasted in a gale on Christmas Day 1934?. The only good news was that the crew of 5 escaped drowning & reached the shore.
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07-01-2019 Input from owner – James M
Little Jim started out life as a schnapper boat in 1900 under the sail number AK1 when it was built for a fisherman named Charles Vieri. Once converted to a pleasure boat for racing and cruising by the Feltham brothers, she sailed as B7 under various owners until a syndicate including Mitchelson purchased her in 1931. It was Xmas Day of ’33 she was driven onto the rocks in Katherine Bay. The story goes that after the rig snapped in two about 6 feet above the deck, and while cutting everything away a shackle got caught between the rudder and stern post, not only making a huge sea anchor with the still half-attached sails and rig but also losing any form of steerage. They managed to get two anchors down once in Katherine Bay. These held for some hours before the warps of one then the other finally frayed under the load and she went ashore. A few items were salvaged, including the small circular porthole you can see in the current cabin top in your last photo above. Legend has it that a leg of ham washed ashore, which fed the crew on Xmas Day over a campfire in the scrub behind the bay. With the insurance payout of 230 pounds plus a generous gift from Mitchelson’s aunt, Little Jim A16 was launched on 19th November 1934, a pretty impressive feat in less than 11 months! She went on to win the Anniversary Day race just two months later and has been sailling and cruising the Waitemata and Hauraki Gulf since. For anyone interested there is a great history of the two boats captured on Peter Brooke’s boatbuilders page here: http://www.classicboating.co.uk/Little%20Jim%20H.html

2018 Rudder Cup – Motor Boat Race – 60 + Classic Wooden Boat Photos

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My Girl

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Trinidad
My Girl
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Korara
Lady Margaret (DL)
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Waitangi
Baden & Richard – Safety Officers
Baden & Richard – Safety Officers
Meola
Ronaki
Matanui
Cowboy
Taree
My Girl
Rorqual
Kumi
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Sterling
Lady Margaret (CW)
Waitangi
Waitangi & Trinidad
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Waitangi

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Trinidad
Ronaki & Trinidad
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Rorqual

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Lady Crossley

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2018 Rudder Cup – Motor Boat Race – 60 + Classic Wooden Boat Photos

Friday 14th December , was only the third time in one hundred & ten years that the Rudder Cup race has been run – previous dates were 1908. 2008 & now 2018. Always in December, always the same course to Sail Rock & back, always overnight & always 108 nm in distance.
The background to the race has been well documented on WW so I will not re-hash the details – WW search Rudder Cup for more details.
2018 saw 15 classic Woodys assembling on the start line in front of the RNZYS for the 7pm start. The fleet were joined by almost as many fellow woodys who gathered to see the fleet off. John Street fired a magnificent cannon (details of which will appear on WW at a later date) to start the race.
Conditions were overcast & a little damp but that did not stop the skippers & crew from putting on a stunning sight for the crowd assembled on the foreshore.
By North Head the fleet had established itself in terms of boat speed & positioning – the race is a sealed handicap event, with skippers not knowing their handicap until the prize giving. This year, technology via the PredictWind race tracker app, allowed skippers & shore based woodys the opportunity to view the position & speed of the boats in ‘real-time’. Helped make the hours slide by quicker.
I had a very comfortable race aboard Barbara & David Cooke’s sensational Salthouse motor-yacht Trinidad. The mix of vessel, company, catering & banter was perfect – a good time was had by all. Not a lot of sleep (zero for myself & the skipper), but when dawn came around we all had found our second wind, or maybe it was Brian Fulton’s scones topped with brandy butter 🙂
We ran a sweep onboard Trinidad as to our finish time & I won – only 10 seconds off my prediction of 12 hours / 40 minutes.
Results below – you will see that Trinny won her divisional prize, which made Captain Cooke a happy chap 🙂
VETERN DIVISION (pre 1918) – STERLING 
VINTAGE DIVISION (1919-1949) – WAITANGI (note: no photos below of skipper Ian Cooke – as RNZYS commodore, Ian was attending another function)
CLASSIC DIVISION (1950-1978) – TRINIDAD
OVERALL RUDDER CUP WINNER – STERLING 
 
Todays photo gallery of the race, comes to you via the camera’s of numerous woodys – thanks go out to Graeme Finch, Rod Marler, yours truely – Alan Houghton. Some are not any where near perfect – boat speed, sea conditions & a very long tele-lens are not a good mix if you are aiming for great photos.
I’m sure I’ll get sent more in the next few days, so will update when & if we get more. If any of the skippers want a copy of a photo – drop me an email at waitematawoodys@gmail.com
I would like to thank the Rudder Cup Race Committee for pulling the event together, a huge amount of time & co-ordination goes into one of these events & with out the folks below, it would never have happened:
Jason Prew (Chair), Nathan Herbert, Barbara Cooke, David Cooke, Alan Houghton, Joyce Talbot (Wonder Woman), Chris Collins & Baden Pascoe.
I would also like to mention the support we received from the Classic Yacht Association committee in stepping forward & underwriting the event – a progressive move from the then new CYA Chairman, James Mortimer. Thank you James.
 
ENJOY – As always, click on photos to enlarge + I have been extra nice today & captioned most of the photos 😉
 
Photos below from the prize giving at the RNZYS on Saturday night – weather was perfect & the food VERY good- well done RNZYS team.
A few ‘tired’ eyes – most of these guys had been awake for 24+hrs 🙂
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CYA Chairman James Mortimer + Brett Evans – Sterling – Winner 2018 Rudder Cup

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Sterling Skipper & Winning Crew

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CYA Chairman James Mortimer + David Cooke – Trinidad – Winner Classic Division

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CYA Chairman James Mortimer + Iain Forsyth – Meola – Spot prize winner

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Peter Boardman Skipper – Lady Margaret (D. Lang) Spot prize winner

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Ferro Skipper – Dick Coughlan – Spot prize winner

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Ronaki Skipper – Daniel Thomas – Spot prize winner

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Korara Skipper – Anatole Perry – Spot prize winner

Myrtle

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MYRTLE 
Myrtle (White Heather) was launched in 1914 as a fishing trawler. Her original engine was a 10hp ‘Oil Motor’ so her main power was via a ketch rig.
In the late 1960’s she was re-powered with a freshwater cooled Fordson D92 , her ketch rig was discarded at this time.
Her trademe listing (thanks Ian McDonald) states she is approx. 46’ in length & designed/built? by Miller. Over the years a larger wheelhouse & saloon have been added.
Myrtle’s 65hp engine sees her cruising at 5.8knots.
Given her age, there must a lot of history around Myrtle – can anyone enlighten us more on her past?
Harold Kidd Input – MYRTLE appears to have been built as WHITE HEATHER in October/November 1913. She was 39ft loa, 9ft beam, 10hp engine. That’s 10 rated hp not 10 bhp so it was her main propulsion.She was for sale in Port Chalmers in April 1914. As for builder, the choice is between Knewstubb Bros, William MacDougall, Miller & Tunnage or Miller Bros. From then on there are so many MYRTLES and WHITE HEATHERS that it’s hard to pick her out.

Woody Trip To The Riverhead Hotel – 30+ classic wooden boat photos

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Woody Trip To The Riverhead Hotel

Yesterday, 14 CYA Woody launches got together to visit the Riverhead Hotel, we had a fantastic turn-out with several ’new’ woodys joining in. Of course Jason Prew’s just relaunched – My Girl, had everyones attention, check out the zoom zoom photos above, that girl can move 🙂
A small tide made for some interesting manoeuvres at times, but no one came to grief (for long)
It was great to see the publican – Stephen Pepperell’s magnificently refitted woody – Volantis, alongside the wharf. She is a stunning ship, but the man does have very good taste.
The hotel was buzzing with a band in the garden bar & great food on offer – from those that I talked to, everyone had a great time. Several CYA members travelled by road, including Margaret & Bert Woolicott, our hosts in 2 weeks at Patio Bay for the Xmas weekend cruise / BBQ, which for me is the coolest event on the CYA calendar – see you there on December 1st.
ps if anyone picked up a small white & blue fender on a long rope, with brass clip – its mine – lost it overboard on the trip up, 1/2 way up the creek 😦
waitematawoodys t-shirts orders – don’t be slow in getting your order in, based on the sales to date I will probably close the order book early 😉

Cruise To The Riverhead Hotel

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CRUISE TO THE RIVERHEAD HOTEL
If you have not visited the Riverhead Hotel by water, its time you did. The Classic Yacht Association (CYA) has an afternoon cruise to the pub next Sunday (18th). These events are a lot of fun – we head up the river / creek on mass & anchor / raft-up before going ashore for a drink & a catch-up. If you have concerns about the route, just follow the boat in front of you & anchor with the others. There will be plenty of ‘old-hands’ to show you the ropes.
High tide is 16:24pm & so we aim to be heading up the ‘creek’ 2hrs b4 HW, its a small tide at 2.8m so I would imagine we will be meeting up in the Herald Island / Lucus Creek area around 2.00pm, so leaving Westhaven area around 1pm. ETA at pub is 2.30pm & departure from the pub approx 5.30pm.
If you are not a CYA member (yet) come along & see what you have been missing out on.
The photo gallery above is a snap shot of past trips – enjoy.
Ps – Wear your WW shirt 🙂
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