Lady Lynn > Lady Sophia > Tide Song
The photos above of the game boat Lady Lynn weighing in her catch at Russell are from Dean Wrights collection.
The 48’ Lady Lynn has had several name changes since leaving the Oliver & Gilpin shed c.1970 (b/w launching day photo below ex Brian Worthington). Launched as Lady Lynn, she then became Lady Sophia & today is named Tide Song. You can view & read more about her at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/20/tide-song/
I have had several woodys alert me to the trademe listing for the above vessel – to date we know that she was designed and built in 1968 to survey by John Gladden. 45′ in length, with a beam of 13’1″ & draft of 5’6″, she is kauri strip plank construction and powered with a 110 h.p. Gardner 6LXA diesel.
I Want the Compass
The rest of you can fight over the what’s left. We could all chip in & buy her 😉 I can see the shower on My Girl?, Lucinda needs a home-home-theater set up, the sink would look good in Trinidad’s cockpit, the alloy floors for Waimiga’s cockpit?.
Now those outboards?, might be the only way I can get more speed out of Raindance 🙂
I suppose at a $18k buy-now, it could be a cheap floating man pad but…………………………. really how do people come up with a value for their pride & joy?. Some recent trademe examples are so far off the mark, its embarrassing & just paints the wrong picture for the wooden boating scene.
Lady Eileen Launch Day
Another great launch day photo ex Harold Kidd from the Tim Windsor collection. This shows the 1947, Shipbuilders/SupaCraft bridge decker – Lady Eileen post sliding down the rails. Lady Eileen has made frequent appearances on WW – check out the clicks below to view her past & current restoration it owner, Hylton Edmonds Bay of Islands property.
https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/05/22/lady-eileen-3/
https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/06/08/lady-eileen-2/
https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/12/23/lady-eileen/
Woody 4Sale
One of the CYA’s most iconic classic woodys ‘Monterey’ is for sale. The bridge decker was launched in 1946. She is Lidgard designed and built. I have spent a lot of time aboard & her layout makes her an ideal family cruiser for the Hauraki Gulf and beyond.
Built of 2 skin kauri with glassed cabin tops and decks she is ready for the summer season. During owner Mark Edmonds ownership, her hull was professionally stripped down to bare timber, filled, fared and painted. Power comes from a 130hp Ford Dover engine, reconditioned 470 hours ago by Moon Engines.
Monterey cruises at 8-9 knots. Will suit a passionate classic wooden boat enthusiast. Marina also available for sale or rental at OBC.
Specs: 33’6” ’x 10’6” x 2’7”
Interested parties can contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Watch a very short movie of Monterey under way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZPZYA8lyGw&feature=youtu.be
Christmas 1948
Monterey & crew enjoying the Rudder Cup race
PANIA
Pania has had the same owners for over 25 years. She was built in 1973 using triple planked mahogany.
The get up & go comes from twin 90hp 6LW Gardeners & she measures approx. 50′.
She looks a very sea worthy vessel, no doubt one of the reasons her home port is Bluff, Southland.
Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe listing heads up 🙂
Can we expand on her details e.g. designer / builder & where was she from 1973 > early 1990’s ?
Input from Dick Hall
‘Pania’ was built by Jack Morgan for Rex Baldick of Picton off the extended ‘Hawaiki’ design. She was launched with a single Allis-Chalmers diesel that came out of a local fishing-boat but later when back to Jack and converted to twin screw with two four cylinder Fords. You can see the original strut with shaft hole through it in underwater photo. Rex had the Baldick families ‘Prima-Donna’ before building ‘Pania’
SIERRA 100th BIRTHDAY DAY
Sierra was designed and built by Joseph Fell of Kohukohu (Hokianga Harbour) & launched 3 May 1917. If she was a human, Sierra would be getting a letter from the Queen – as the old girl has just celebrated her 100th birthday. Owner Dennis Christopher is having a wee party for her this Sunday at the Panmure Motor Boat & Yacht Club, 104 Kings Rd, Panmure.
Sierra will be alongside the jetty from 2.00pm on-wards. It’s a just drop-in event & any one is welcome. So woodys, if you are out & about on Sunday, call by. (photo below ex Tom Kane).
VALSAN
Recently on ww one of Valsan’s previous owners, Shirley Colthart reached out to her current owners Ian & Carol Nicholson & made a very generous offer to pass on a collection of blue blazers that had been custom made for Valsan’s crew (refer photo above)c1995/6. During the process Shirley mentioned that she had a collection of old photos from during their ownership, which appear above. Below I have reproduced Shirley’s note (edited) to me that accompanied the photos. The collection is a wonderful snapshot into a period of Valsan’s history. (As always click on any photos to enlarge) Enjoy.
“I have sorted through a few photos of when Valsan was in our care that may be of interest. When we sold to Hans Otto in 1998 we left a full history onboard including a home movie of her 1938 launch and letters between ourselves and the original owner’s daughter Valerie Harvey and it would be nice to know all was still intact for Ian when he took possession.
We added a dining table and elevated the seating area around the dining table so as to have a view out the windows as the original seating was very low, and due to our cooler climate in the south we also added the diesel burner.
We and our family loved Valsan and only sold to acquire a vessel with more accommodation once our daughters became older and wanted their friends to stay.
We purchased her in December 1988 from Jobe Hollander in Auckland and my husband and friends, with a professional skipper onboard, cruised her down to the Marlborough Sounds, quite a mission as they had to carry two 44 gallon drums of additional fuel in the cockpit and along the way encountered a couple of big storms where she well and truly proved herself to be a very seaworthy vessel indeed.
Early 1993, my husband, with a crew, brought her down from the Marlborough Sounds to Lyttelton where she was used as the after-function venue at the Banks Peninsula Cruising Club for our elder daughter Anna’s 21st celebration”.
Below are copies of Valsan’s Certificate of British Registry and the NAPS booklet from a 1943 Smoke Concert. For reference also below is the first page naming the NAPS ships.
ARAWA
The above 45′ Gladden pilot house bridge-decker was built in 1972. Powered by twin Ford 180hp diesels that get her along at 10>14 knots. Thats about all I know, photos ex trademe.
Can anyone put a name to her & some history? (see comments section – lots of info there )
Sorry about the poor image used as the main photo but that was all there was available.
Photos below ex Brian Worthington & Ken Ricketts
AMAKURA II – A Great Story
I was recently contacted by Michael Shields who relied the story below about the 1936, Colin Wild launch – Amakura II to me – its a get read – enjoy 🙂
“I spent several years on Amakura II, my step father Jim Somner, of Waipu and Somners Transport owned Amakura II for many years in Whangarei and did extensive work on her over that time, , Originally she had an open rear cabin and a single W12 engine, that is a V8 with an extra bank of 4 cylinders in the middle of the V, these same engines were used in landing craft in the second world war, this was removed and changed to twin engines very early on but if you dive down and have a look you can see where the single large prop was and where the very large prop shaft came out of the keel.
When lengthened the rear area was closed in forming a rear cabin.
She sunk during WW2 when after a few too many medicinal rums were consumed and the bow got caught under the wharf as the tide came up, water came up though the head in the bow and she sunk. Being a popular boat and crew everyone pitched in and a huge crane, called “Tiny”, was brought in and Amakura II was lifted up and cleaned up in time, before the Navy, who had heard that one of their boats had sunk came to investigate. The Navy found no evidence of any damage or sinking and everything was in order, although it was noted the rum rations were missing, having been used to pay for the help to clean her up.
She had a large machine gun mounted on her bow during the war and a photo of her in her drab paint hung in the main cabin.
During Jim Somners ownership he modernized and much altered her. He replaced the engines with twin Ford diesels which he then removed the turbos from for improved economy and also installed the custom made large fridge and freezer unit, removed the head from the bow, rejigged the shower and made the the large flying bridge which has now had the roof shortened as it used to extend almost to the rear end of the back cabin. Being a trucker, Jim was very good at getting things ship shape and working well.
I spent many years on her as crew for Jim and have many story’s of that time like when she ran around, caused the delay of the firing of guns at Waitangi Day and parties a board.”
You can read more about her history & past owners here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/06/03/amakura-ii-2/
Michael – please send in more tales & any photos you might have. Thanks Alan.
(colour photos ex Heather Rose – b/w photo ex Ken Rickets)
JEAN 7314
Jean started life as a Jack Guard fishing trawler, launched c1953. She was converted at Havelock in 2005 for pleasure use. She measures 45′ & is powered by a rebuilt 125hp Gardner 6LX that sees her cruise at around 8 knts. 4sale on trademe, she has the makings of a nice live aboard. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up.
Do we know any more about her past?
And at the risk of boring everyone – REMEMBER the Classic Launch Parade & Riverhead Hotel lunch cruise on Sunday 😉
09-02-2020 Input from Paddy Gerard – Built by Jack Guard in Pukatea Bay, French Pass for Merle Rayner of Kaikoura. Jean is presumably named after Merle’s late niece Jean Brooks (daughter of Keith and Wikitoria Rayner), who passed away in 1942 in her mid twenties. Merle died in 1959 and his son, Russell, took Jean to Timaru and continued fishing until he sold Jean in 1978. I understand she later worked out of Lyttleton, Oamaru and Bluff. Vince Armstong from Havelock bought her in about 2007/2008 and spent 18 months stripping her out- new ribs, new deck beams, engine overhaul, recaulking, and a brand new wheelhouse fitted. I coincidentally bumped into the chap who did the caulking a few months back – he mentioned that when they pulled the Gardner out they found the bilge had been filled with concrete! I think Vince sold Jean in about 2012 and she has had four owners since then. One of those owners tragically lost his life in the Platino yacht accident in 2016. I am now living on her in Wellington and look forward to giving her plenty of TLC and learning more about her past.
JOCELYN
Today’s ww story was put together by Hamish Moore, a great grandson of Sir William Stevenson, the original owner of Jocelyn. Hamish would love to hear from anyone who has spent time on the vessel and or may know more about her and/or some of Sir Williams other vessels. Photos would be fantastic, of particular interest would be any photos of Jocelyn in her fishing guise. Hamish has heard she had a lovely set of wooden outriggers & can recall as young fella sitting in the crows nest at times.
You can email details & photos to me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & we will share them with everyone & also forward to Hamish. Enjoy the article its a good read 🙂
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