Category Archives: A Peek Down Below

CLASSIC WOODEN CLINKER RUNABOUT

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CLASSIC WOODEN CLINKER RUNABOUT

In recent times more and more of these restored Seacraft classic clinker runabouts have been topping up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald).

This one is 16’ in length and  was built in 1955. The engine is a Ford 100E, petrol and is allocated 1955 so possibly the original engine.

Her hull has been Dynal on the outside and Endure on the interior so should be dry boat.

Trailer appears modern and at $8750 ono its an affordable entry into the classic wooden boating community.

THE NEXT BIG CLASSIC WOODYS EVENT – Clevedon River Overnight BBQ Cruise Nov 14>15

RSVP NOW – BOAT NAME AND APPX CREW #’s – Note dock space is limited

EMAIL waitematawoodys@gmail.com

CLASSIC CABIN JET BOAT – TARANUI

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CLASSIC CABIN JET BOAT – TARANUI

If you typed the words jet boat into the WW search box, pretty sure the answer would be ’Nothing Found’, until today.

I stumbled across this wee beauty 4 sale in Nelson – what a treasure.

Some details – TARANUI is 19’ in length and was built in 1967 by Mr Macpherson of Mapua. She spent the most of her life in a shed at Duncan Bay, Tennyson Inlet. Powered by a Crusader Marine 327 Chevy, connected to a Hamilton Jet unit which was purchased from Wilkins & Field in the mid to late 60’s. The gate steering has been modified to make her more agile.

She won ‘Best Jet Boat’ at the 2016 Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti and from the photos looks like she could win again.

STUNNING SUNSET AT KBC LAST NIGHT

CLASSIC LAUNCH WAIKARO GETS A HEART TRANSPLANT

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CLASSIC LAUNCH WAIKARO GETS A HEART TRANSPLANT

Spotted the 33’ Roy Parris designed and built (1978) classic launch – WAIKARO at the Slipway Milford earlier in the week , poked my head / camera into the cabin and got a surprise – it looked a little like a tip 🙂 Normally she is immaculately presented (last photo), closer inspection revealed a large hole midships and the absence of her Ford 2715 diesel engine.

Turns out she is getting a heart transplant – out with the Ford and in with a new Yanmar. Will be interesting to see the performance comparison – the Ford was 6cly. 120hp and gave her a top speed of 14 knots, The Yanmar is 4cyl. 110hp and turbo. Yanmar is higher reving and probably 1/2 the weight. Her semi displacement hull helps with the speed.

Being keen fishermen her owners like to fish where the big ones are eg Great Barrier Island , so reliability would have also been key factor in the decision to re-power.

Looking forward to feed back on the performance of the new Yanmar.

You can see / read more on WAIKARO here https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/08/11/waikaro-exceptional-classic-wooden-boat/

UPDATE – Engine installation and new fuel tanks

Also nice to see at the Slipway Milford the progress being made on LEXIA the 26’ 1904 Chas Bailey Jnr built yacht. See early update on the work here https://waitematawoodys.com/2026/09/27/122-yr-old-classic-woody-gets-a-well-deserved-makeover/

CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

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CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

Over the last week I have been following the update on the ‘Famous Meteor 3 Queenstown NZ’ fb page that has been documenting the start of a refit on the iconic Queenstown classic tourist boat – METEOR III.

METEOR III was once one of the star attractions on Lake Wakatipu. Fingers crossed that post the refit she will take her place as one of Queenstown’s leading water based tourist attractions along side the TS Earnslaw . Yes – its not wood and not made in NZ but its a kiwi classic.

I’ll hand over to the crew overseeing the work for an overview of the vessel

SOME BACKGROUND

In 2021 the Society purchased the Meteor III, a 10m fast hydrofoil assisted tourist viewing vessel constructed of aluminum (rivetted) on steel frames.

Vessel History

The Meteor III was constructed by Porthleven Shipyard in Porthleven, Cornwall, UK in approximately 1964. The vessels design was by Supramar AG of Lucerne, Switzerland. Once completed, it was shipped to New Zealand for its original owner Frank Howarth of Lake Wakatipu. The vessel was put into passenger survey. It is well known that Meteor III attracted plenty of business both because of its space age looks and its high speeds.

The vessel was then held by various people, retired and fell to dereliction. It was then purchased by an owner who undertook and completed a full restoration of the vessel so once again she appears intact, bright and sparkling with a quality paint job, fresh carpeting and refurbished seating.

Design & Layout

The Meteor III is designed as a fast hydrofoil monohull constructed of aluminium. The engine compartment is at the bow and the drive shaft extends almost the full length of the vessel. There are hydrofoils both forward, below the engine, and aft. The passenger cabin is somewhat reminiscent of an aircraft with 15 seats that take up most of the interior with just a small area aft for storage of safety equipment and providing an emergency exit. There are plenty of viewing windows for the passengers with extra windows built into the cabin ceiling to allow passengers a full view of the scenery.  Cabin head height varies from 5ft 10′ to 6ft 2’.

The Engine

The Meteor III is powered by a Chrysler 440 petrol engine rated at 300HP V8 coupled to Chrysler gearbox.  This engine is not original to the boat. Fuel tank capacity is 200L. Cruising speed is around 31mph and top speed is 45mph. To get vessel up on the plane it needs to achieve approximately 4,000RPM following which it can drop back to 3,100 RPM. There are two hydrofoils on the vessel, one forward and one aft. The forward foil is adjustable using a hydraulic pump and the aft foil follows suit automatically. The drive shaft is stainless steel and the prop measures 420 x 560.

CLASSIC 1930’S BIG GAME FISHING LAUNCH – 4sale

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CLASSIC 1930’S BIG GAME FISHING LAUNCH – 4sale

Todays woody is named PILOT and has appeared on WW numerous times over the years, each time we have learned more about her provenance.

What we have learnt is that she was built in 1931 by L.C. Coulthard in Onehunga, Auckland for the  New Plymouth Harbour Board.

Back in the early to mid 1990s her current owner, Paul Nattrass, was working for Sea-Tow barging coal into New Plymouth and commented to the senior pilot that he would like to buy the boat. Paul was told he would never get the opportunity as someone from the port would get her.                   Fast forward a couple years and in a tender Paul  bid to in sure that he proved him wrong.

Paul and friend Graeme Wiig steamed her round the top of the North Island to Houhora where she still resides today.At the time of purchase she was powered by a 4 cylinder Ford diesel, later updated to a 6 cylinder .Paul converted PILOT to a recreational game boat and has been landing good sized fish ever since.

After approx. 30 years of ownership Paul has made the call to find a new custodian for PILOT. To quote Paul ‘ she is a wonderful sea boat and seems to be blessed with good luck in terms of landing fish’.Wonderful bones, time spent with a sander and paint brush will be rewarded with a very sharp looking classic woody.

Interested parties to initially contact Paul at paulnat@xtra.co.nz

A SPIRIT OF TRADITION CLASSIC LAUNCH – FAULTLESSLY PRESENTED 4SALE

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A SPIRIT OF TRADITION CLASSIC LAUNCH – FAULTLESSLY PRESENTED 4SALE

If you used the WW search panel you would not find many Pelin Empress motor launches on WW, but there would be more than you would find Vindexs 🙂

Todays 35′ launch, ELYSIUM fits very comfortably into the Spirit of Tradition category.

Built in 1980, 10.6m in length and powered by a 225hp Ford Lehman SP225 turbo diesel engine.

Her owner, a good friend, has ELYSIUM for sale along with her Gulf Harbour marina (note – marina not for sale separately)

The sale is brought about due to health reasons, always sad for an owner but more often, a buyer gets a better boat i.e. most boats sell at the end of an ownership period and their condition reflects deferred maintenance.

There is a tongue-in-cheek saying amongst trades people that goes like this – “the builder has the worst maintained house in the street” – well ULYSIUM’s owner is a marine engineer and he destroys the saying. In terms systems, fittings and maintenance you would struggle to find a better boat. I do not have the room on the page to narrate her extensive fit out. To see and read more go to her trademe listing https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/listing/6173940295

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – MOANA ROA (MAUREEN R) A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – MOANA ROA (MAUREEN R) A Peek Down Below

 Back in August 2018 we Rana story on the 1957 Owen Woolley built 29’ launch MOAANA ROA (previously named MAUREEN R, then over time we received regular input and historical photos from WW readers as to her story, the last being in 2025, Link to that story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/08/27/maureen-r/

Fast forward to last week and thanks to Ian McDonald spotting a tme listing we now get to have a peel down below.

Appears to be a very smart, well presented classic wooden launch. Forward motion is from a Lees Marine Ford 60hp diesel engine.

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON – RESTORATION UPDATE #6

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON – RESTORATION UPDATE #6

Today we have an an update from Tobias Forsyth on his rebuild of the 24’ Sam Ford built (1954) classic wooden launch – AVALON. Getting very close to hitting the water. Have to admire the workmanship , very talented man is Tobias.

I’ll hand over to Tobias to walk us thru the work – Update 6, great progress and we have a launch date for late November.

“Photos are fairly self explanatory, new cabin top has been clashed with kauri and then corners glassed, an internal laminex epoxied and vacuum bagged down to have a nice easy maintainance deck head. Cabin top then fully painted and installed. Final coats of varnish done plus non skid on decks before glass install. Made some good progress of wiring and systems with a quick test run of the engine to make sure all is working as it should. 

Test fit the new squabs and carpets along with a few other cosmetic touches. All going to plan the launch date should be ok. Just the final coat on the hull and then driveline install and finish off the engine bay and systems left to go now.” 

WOODYS GETTING SOME TLC + Marine Yard Sale This Saturday

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MENAI
LADY MARGARET (Colin Wild)

WOODYS GETTING SOME TLC + Marine Yard Sale This Saturday

As we get closer to the summer boating season, several woodys are nearing completion of significant winter work.

The first woody above is the Sam Ford built MENAI that came in for a deck replacement but the scope has slipped out to some TLC, MENAI is one of my favourite classic wooden launches so very happy to see her new owners commitment to her.

The last photo is of the 42’ LADY MARGARET  (Colin Wild) in the shed for a big birthday (100 in 1927) treat – photo was sent as a tease, with the promise of a full story soon. 

HEADS UP – the Te Atatu Boating Club are having a Marine Yard sale this Saturday  (3rd Oct),.Nice and early start –  7am  A great opportunity to find those goodies or to sell those preloved unused items. 
Seller spots also available for non TABC members if any of your readers wish to buy a spot.
Details are on the poster below.

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – EMERALD – 4sale

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – EMERALD –  4sale

The 32’ classic launch EMERALD first appeared on WW back in Sept 2019 (link below) that story generated a lot of comments and historical photos (below – dated c.1970’s). We also were sent updated photos from her then trademe listing. WW Sept 2019 https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/09/16/emerald/

What we know about EMERALD – built c.1950’s, designer unknown but possibly her hull from the Collings & Bell stable.

Kauri hull now glassed and powered by a 3.6L, 4 cylinder Ford Trader marinized (Lees Marine) diesel engine, that gives her a cruising speed of 9 knots.                                                             Her home waters are Picton, Marlborough Sounds, South Island.

Earlier in the week WW was contacted by Bruce Herbert, who purchased EMERALD in 2022. Bruce advised that between 2022 and 2023 he commissioned a restoration at Sounds Marine Series, Picton that saw her exterior and interior refurbished and included upgrades to her systems. 

Sadly circumstances have changed and Bruce is looking for the next custodian of EMERALD. Bruce is aware the market is weak and in my eyes is asking a fair price ($19k)

Interested parties to contact Bruce at  bruce@tradingwireless.com for more intel on the vessel.

c.1970’s

05-10-2026 INPUT ex owner BRUCE HERBERT (edited) – below are a few photos showing some of the journey Emerald has come on. The black and white image shows a similar lineage, I’m guessing, or is of a similar age as the image above from c,1970’s.
The location is Henderson, courtesy of Bob Wylie, where she was undergoing the rework of hull restoration when they sheathed it in glass, along with the additional cabin work.