Category Archives: A Peek Down Below

Marie J + Hirawanu

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MARIE J

Marie J was built in Whangarei by Master-Craft ( M Ryan) in 1956 & measures 30′. Built of kauri & presently owned (for approx 5 years) by Peter Croft  & kept at Gulf Harbour.
Peter C.  bought her off a Mr Hambrook of Auckland, who bought her in Motueka (2005) & cruised her to Onehunga, Auckland, via the West Coast. Then a quick road trip over to the Waitemata Harbour. Her history at Motueka & before that, is unknown.

She has been powered by a 4 cyl 90 hp Ford diesel since new & due to some very bad luck has had a total of 3 of these engines, including one installed  this week by Moon Engines.
The engine history goes like this , whilst in the care of a previous owner, she was tied to a wharf one day, at low water & when the  tide came in she got jammed under the wharf & ended up with water on the wrong side of the hull, which flooded the engine. This resulted in a replacement identical engine. Then the  present owner Peter C. had the misfortune to be cruising along one day & an oil cooler hose ruptured & sprayed lubricating oil all around the bilge & pumped the engine dry, which then promptly seized up. Thanks to Peter Croft & Ken Ricketts for the photos & details (edited by Alan H)

OMG – words fail me……………….. Its a bit like one of those dogs with a big body & very short legs – normally the result of a hole in the fence 🙂
For the record – it’s a 1948, 38′ Lidgard named Hirawanu.

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Nana – Rescued & Restored

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NANA -Rescued & Resored
Over the weekend while at the Mahurangi Regatta, I spied Nana sliding by on numerous occasions, which made me smile – it is always good to see a woody that has been rescued from the chainsaw / backhoe.
Firstly a history lesson – Nana was designed by C. Bailey Jun. &  built by C. Bailey & Sons for Mr F Alison of Matiatia, Waiheke Island in1934 & launched in late November / December. She is 35′ with a 8′ beam & a 3′ draft. A day cruiser, all her controls were in the raised top amidships. When launched she was fitted with a 100hp Redwing engine & expected to reach a rather speedy 17 knots. You can view a photo of her taken during her early December, 1934 sea trails at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/05/nana-2/
Alison had her built for trips to town (Auckland City) & for taking friends out to the fishing grounds in the gulf.

Back in 2014 Nana was hit, whilst moored, in a storm. She suffered reasonably extensive structural damage around the deck line, stern and aft cabin top & was leaking badly, resulting in a flooded > seized Ford diesel 125hp engine, refer hauled out photo below. She was bought off the insurers as a wreck.

Enter the very talented, woody restorer John Wright who has worked his magic on her. The above marina photos were taken by John Wicks while Nana was recently at West Harbour (Hobsonville) marina. The under way photos are from your truly at the Mahurangi 2017 Regatta weekend. Would like to see some photos of the restoration process – John ??

YESTERDAYS WOODY WEEKEND STORY ON WW BROKE ALL THE RECORDS IN TERMS OF VIEWING NUMBERS & VISITORS TO THE SITE.
THE STORY WAS VIEWED OVER 16,000 TIMES IN THE FIRST 24HRS.

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Rosemary M – A peek down below

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Rosemary M – A peak down below

Rosemary M has appeared numerous times on ww in various ‘states’, in todays photos she is looking very smart, possibly the best she has in her 102 year life.
She was built in 1915 by Lanes & named Rothesay, which became Maude T, that became Speedwell, that became Jean, that became Rosemary M. No wonder we get confused on the provenance of these classic motor boats 🙂

As a result of her trademe listing we get to have a peek down below, again very impressive.  Enjoy the tour 🙂

If the weekend has gone to plan, tomorrow there will be coverage from the Mahurangi Regatta – the biggest on-the-water classic boating event in NZ.
I promise lots & lots of photos.

If anyone has photos from either Mahurangi or yesterdays Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta – email in to waitematawoodys@gmail.com.

New photos added 16-11-2017

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Silver Hawk

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SILVER HAWK

Even though Silver Hawk is built of wood, her 1986 build date & style would normally exclude her from appearing on ww, but she makes a guest appearance today solely based on her drop dead, stunning 127hp Gardner LX6. Have you seen another better? I can hear Dick Fisher’s (MV Akarana) jaw dropping when he opens ww today, its also a wee bit of a challenge to John Sloane who is currently having his Gardner restored by Peter & the team at Shaw Diesels, workshop photo below. The Silver Hawk photos are ex CYA Launch Captain Angus Rogers.

Can anyone tell us more about Silver Hawk & also who did the restoration on the engine?

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Korara

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KORARA

Korara was built in 1962 by Snow Waters to a design by naval architect, John E. Powell, UK.  The 37’6″ design is for a ‘sport- fishing’ motorboat which can cruise at a good speed in the rough conditions of the English Channel without slowing.
She is a very practical boat with an extremely well built kauri carvel hull. Zoom zoom comes from a 120hp Ford diesel that sees her cruises at 8 knots using very little diesel. While she probably can sail without the engine, her owner has never tried. She has a main stored on the boom under a brand new cover (beige, not shown) and a couple of headsails which have never been out. The main works excellently as designed, to steady her in a sea.
Some specs:
• There are two large plastic fuel tanks in a walk around engine room with about 5ft headroom. Engine room even has its own porcelain hand basin!
• Her propeller and rudder are bronze, the rudder being supported by a large, beautifully cast solid bronze shoe.
• Sleeping is via – 5 singles and 1 double berth.
• Decks are double (possibly triple) diagonally laid with no leaks and no movement save for the odd small seam crack.
• Coamings are all varnished teak including skylight, hinged 2 ways and removable all on bronze fittings, over the aft double cabin.
• Interior is in excellent condition, with all solid teak mouldings. Floorboards are teak and all wear areas are very thick teak (staircases, steps, handles etc)
• Gas stove / grill / oven is used very little. Water in 3 basins is fed from a header tank which is topped up by manual pump from a large stainless underfloor tank.

Korara is a special boat that has been fortunate to have been owned by a very talented & passionate woody. This owner is asking a very reasonable price – $75k ono, I hope a good buyer steps up soon & buys her, she deserve to be passed onto someone who will continue to appreciate her & care for her.
I’m not always a fan of the high gloss varnish coamings but Korara would look like a million dollars if you did the Uroxsys (Awlwood MA ) varnish treatment on her 😉

I very rarely post trademe links but I like the owners & I like the boat – so here you go – buy it.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-1237123330.htm
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Sandpiper – A Floating Motorhome

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Sandpiper – A Floating Motorhome

While not an oldie, built 1986 by Hodemaker in Wellington, she is a woodie – & has been in the same family since new. This is a go anywhere boat & has circumnavigated New Zealand about ten times and is extremely seaworthy. So if you were looking for the equivalent of a motorhome to tour NZ by sea, this would be it. Sleeps eight people in two cabins, has a toilet and two showers (one inside and one outside), a diesel heater for those cosy winter nights, oven, cooker, microwave, a three way fridge and a large fridge/freezer on the foredeck. The deck is massive as you can see in the photos.

For the specs – she is 43.62′ long, planked in kahikatea, powered by a very economical 127hp 6LX Gardner, has a 12kva generator, weighs 20 ton net, holds 2,000 litres of fuel and 1,000 litres of water.
4sale on trade me. Thanks to Ian McDonald for digging out the name & builder.

Mason Clipper 24′

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Classic Mason Clipper 24′

This 1971 24′ Clipper is another ‘almost a woody’ – having a f/glass hull & wooden cabin top / interior. A friend of Rod Marler’s was contemplating buying her late last year, if her had any sense he would have 🙂 She featured on the cover of Sea Spray Magazine in 1971.
She was completely rebuilt in 2006, with a new 270hp fuel injected Volvo V8 engine & stern-leg fitted in 2010. She sits on a 2012 custom built Prescott trailer with 4 wheel disc and sensor brakes., Tows The engine had a full rebuild in 2015 and has only  done 8 hours since.

With the trailer setup she is a fine example of a very user friendly classic, with I imagine a good turn of speed 😉

Ruah – a big Australian Woody

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Ruah – a big Australian Woody

Ruah might have been built in Australia in 1944 but she now calls NZ (Nelson) home.  At 78′ long with a 17′ beam & made with 2 skins of Jarrah, on opposite diagonals she is a big girl.
Built for the Australian Navy as a survey ship, over the last 15 years she has been converted to a luxury pleasure craft.

Ruah is powered by a 175hp 6LX Gardner diesel, which was fitted in 2013. A peek at the Gardner will give you an indication of how much this wee ship has been cared for. She is also a registered NZ Ship reg. No. 1910.
Thanks to Ken Ricketts for bringing her trademe listing to ww’s attention – she would make a wonderful long haul cruiser or live aboard.

Lara

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LARA
Lara was built in 1977 by Alan Williams & measures 28’6″.  She is a Banshee displacement design , kauri carvel construction. Zoom zoom comes from a 72hp Ford with a Lees Marine Paragon 2/1 transmission, this sees her cruising at 7-8 knots on 4 litres per hour.

Any woodies able to tell us more about her?

Lady Alice

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Looking For A Xmas Treat?

The above little beauty, Lady Alice,  just popped up on trademe, perfect for the lakes or as a Mahurangi boat.
Now this one is a tad special, she is a Percy Vos boat so almost royalty on the classic wooden boating scene.
Her details are – 12’6″ kauri clinker, built 1950 & powered by a 8hp Kohler petrol inboard – with electric start, perfect for the old woodys with a bad back 😉
Her current owner has owned her for 33 years which is a rarity with a boat this size. I don’t know much about trailers but she sits on a ‘Hosking’ trailer which supposedly makes launching very easy.

This ww story is not a commercial listing – I just saw the boat & thought someone needs to buy her (asking $8k)

And seeing its Xmas , I’ll give a copy of Baden Pascoe’s book ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos – The Boats & His Boys’ to the woody that can tell me where Percy Vos served his boat building apprenticeship ? Answers via mail to waitematawoodys@gmail.com , prize draw 9.00pm 21-12-2016.  (copies available from badenhp@xtra.co.nz  )

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