SOU’EAST
photos ex trademe
Sou’East was built by Lanes in 1947, solid kauri carvel planked. She measure 39’3” & is powered by twin 90 hp Ford diesels on V drives. Underneath all the additions there is a very smart classic , see photo below.
Currently for sale.
She has younger sister – Nor’West that was built in 1951, also by Lanes. View here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/04/27/nor-west/
Ken Ricketts took the above photo of Sou’East in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island, Christmas 1949
Lucille
Rod Marler, Greg Salthouse, Bruce Marler, Bruce Tantrum, Mrs. B Marler, George & Dan Renall
Wairiki
Classic Raft Up at Salthouse Boatbuilders
photos from Alan H & 2 from Ken Ricketts
Saturday saw the CYA host a visit to Greg Salthouse’s Greenhite boat yard, members had the choice of arriving by water or road. Given the deep water anchorage at the wharf it was ideal for some of the yachting members to join in. Fiona Driver & Rod Marler buddied up with Barb & David Cooke to provide a BBQ lunch that disappeared very quickly 🙂
Greg S gave the attendees an intro to the yard & the work that was being undertaken & then thru the yard open to members to explore at their leisure.
Salthouse is one of the few remaining classic wooden boat friendly ‘railway’ haul-out slips in the Auckland area, so folks to quote that old saying – use it or lose it 😉
And on Sunday, while most of you rested I spent the day picking olives at a friends Ti Point property. Bumper crop this year made the day fly by, helped by a longish yum lunch featuring local produce & wines. If we got bored the view was pretty wow.
Drone photo looking back at property
IRENE
photos & details ex Dave Murphy via Zach Matich
OK woodys, today’s launch is the Lane built kauri hulled ‘Irene’ – 31′ long with a beam of 9’6″ & 2’10” draft. Other than that ww does not know a lot about her past. She is currently powered by a 120hp, 6 cylinder D series Ford which was rebuilt 2012, with approx. $6,500 spent on her & has only done 100 hrs since then. You will see from the photos that she has all the things that make life easy on these old girls – auto anchor, gas fridge etc. If this is starting to sound like an advertisement, that is because Irene is for sale & at around $20k in my eyes is very good value + she has not been too mucked around with. Throw $5>10k at a good wood friendly boat builder & you would have a very smart classic. Not that there appears to be anything wrong with her now, as the architects say ‘the bones are there’.
Her owner Dave Murphy can be contacted on 09 439 8609
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Can we uncover more about her past ? home at the moment is the Kaipara Harbour.
Bella Heather (Heather Belle) – Sailing Sunday
photos & details ex Tim Evill
On Waiheke Island these is a lovely 100 year old yacht that has just been rescued from a beehive restoration (a box of matches).
Belle Heather was reportedly built by a Norwegian boat builder around 1915 and he built two other of a similar ilk. It fell into disrepair and it was taken on by the RSA who were going to renovate her and had made a start but then had to move her off the Causeway on Waiheke as all boats are being cleared now. No one seemed keen to take her on so she was due to be burned. Luckily Michael Raymond, a Waiheke builder fell in love with her super lines and put his hand up. He now has her outside his house and has already made a start on her. She is double skin kauri and needs an engine and full rigging.
So the question today is – do any woodys have more info one her, as Michael would love to find out more on her past. Also I imagine if you have an (smallish) engine in the shed that is looking for a home…………
25-04-2016 Update & photo below from Jason Prew
Built by Neilson from Kawhia….. its not heather belle….it’s Belle Heather (amended. AH)
Mystery Yacht
photo ex Mac Taylor collection
I’m sure the classic yachties that follow ww will find this one easy to ID.
Make sure you check out ww tomorrow, there will be a great post on the ex Auckland pilot boat – Waitemata, wonderful photos from construction to present day.
Launch day at Kenepuru
Launch day at Kenepuru
Alongside wharf at Ulva Island
While in charter – Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island
VOLANTIS – A new addition to the Auckland classic launch fleet
photos & details ex Michael O’Dwyer
Regular readers of ww will know that the CYA launch fleet are regular visitors to the 150+ year old waterfront Riverhead Hotel, in fact the upper harbour cruises are one of the highlights on the launch calendar.
What might not be well known is the publicans (good old fashioned word), Stephen and Paula Pepperell are very classic friendly, in fact before buying the hotel they built a 46′ Herreshoff mobjack ketch ‘Long White Cloud’ & cruised around the world for 6+ years.
On our most recent visit Paula & Stephen came aboard Barbara & David Cooke’s ‘Trinidad’ & I think this was the tipping point in their decision to buy a classic launch.
I can now confirm that they have purchased the 48′ launch ‘Volantis’ from the Marlbourgh Sounds.
Volantis was built in 1965 by Tom Brake at Kenepuru Sound, Marlbrough & has a semi displacement hull built from kauri & kahikatea. Power was a 6/71 GM diesel. From day one she was in charter, fishing in the Sounds. She started life at 42′ but c.1985 Miller & Tunnage at Port Chalmers lengthened her to 48′ & extended the wheel-house.
In 1985 she was sold to Phillip & Dianne Smith & based at Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island again in charter work. In August 2003 she was sold & relocated to Picton.
Volantis is powered by a 180 hp Detroit 2 stroke diesel & the Pepperell’s are currently on-route on the delivery voyage from the Sounds to Auckland, last weekend they stopped in at Napier, with the plan being to head north again this week.
Stephen commented to Michael that he already has plans to give her a more classic look without losing it’s work boat aesthetic. Given the presentation on ‘Long White Cloud’ & the hotel renovation – Volantis will be a fine addition to our Auckland fleet. I’m impressed with the expresso machine on board 🙂
Can any woodys supply more details on her past life?
Hopefully she will be heading up the creek to Riverhead & we will be able to have a peek during the CYA Launch Riverhead Hotel lunch cruise on Saturday 30th April. Should be a big day out – they always are 🙂 CANCELLED
12-01-2017 – Update from Barry Davis
Photo below of Volantis during her refurbishment, the mast is lying on the cabin top, some of the comings are under repair and there was masking tape around the cabin windows.
LITTLE TASMAN
shed photos & info ex Ken Ricketts. Pt Wells photo ex Mark Edmonds. details ex Harold Kidd. edited a lot by Alan H
Back in early March Ken Ricketts dropped in to see artisan boat builder Colin Brown at his Omaha yard. Colin & side kick, Josh, have been restoring the rather pretty 26′ Colin Wild launch Little Tasman. She was named Tasman when built in 1925 for Albert Spencer & changed her name to Little Tasman in 1927 when the bigger Tasman (photo included below) was launched by the same owner/builder. Its said she that LT was a prototype / test boat – Mr Spencer was not short of a few pennies 😉
It is such good news to see whats happening to Little Tasman as she sat on a front lawn at Pt. Wells for a number of years (photo below) & her future was at risk.
In Harold Kidd’s words Little Tasman is ‘pure class’ & whats happening in Colin’s shed is also pure class – the man is one of the best classic friendly tradies out there.
You will see in the above photos that she now has a brand new 4 cyl Nanni 38 hp diesel in place, which should give her a top speed of around 10 knots, with a cruising speed, with her 2 to 1 reduction gear, of around 7 knots. Will be interesting to see her performance as the Nanni is a lot lighter than the old 6 cyl Ford diesel it is replacing.
Her restoration has seen most of her ribs replaced, a full recaulk (no splining), work on the forepeak & bow, a new dodger, very faithfully copied from the original & a full interior refit & partial redesign of the interior layout, for greater space use, & practicality.
Steering will be from the front of the tram top, as it was before, where there will be a large hatch fitted, to the newly replaced, as original, T & G cabin top. Check out the stern photo, classic Colin Wild on show there 🙂
Launch date is fast approaching so we will update on the event.
Read more on her past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/20/little-tasman/
Below is a photo of Tasman that I took a few years ago in Sullivans Bay. She is stunner & on a lot of woodys bucket list.
30-06-2016 – Another great photo update from Ken R of Little Tasman’s restoration at Colin Brown’s yard. Remember click on photos to enlarge 😉
SAN CRISTOBAL (Pagan)
photos from Peter Croft, Alan Good & trademe
Over the last few summers I have seen the San Cristobal anchored up around the gulf, she appears to be a live aboard at Matiatia on Waiheke Island & is regularly seen on the weekends in Man 0 War Bay. I understand that she is a 1943 60ft converted Scottish drift trawler & have heard that $100k was spent on reconditioning the 8 cyl. Gardner………
San Cristobal is currently for sale on trademe & the following details are ex there – she was built by the British Admiralty in Lowestoft in 1943. Built to take saboteurs and supplies to Norway. The German High Command had instructed the German submarines not to torpedo fishing boats. Bronze fastenings below the water line as not to set off the magnetic mines. After the War she sailed to NZ and was purchased by Sanfords. Name changed from Pagan to San Cristobal. Commercial fishing around NZ. Designed off the Scottish Drifter developed for the herring fleet in the North Sea. Built of larch on oak and measures – length 20m, width 5m with a 2m approx. draft.
She is a perfect example of the the magic powers of paint, from memory she was classic work boat green & looked like she had just escaped from the fishing fleet, then bang she is sporting a salmon / terra-cotta & cream colour scheme & looks a different vessel. It would have been a big call looking into the paint tin but it works a treat (in my eyes).
Any of the woodys able to supply more info on her past, must be a few woodys that have worked on or alongside her.
Update 19-12-2016 ex Ken Ricketts
She was sold by the insurance company 2 weeks ago to a Andre Botha, after she had come to grief in the Warkworth River sometime earlier this year.
He put her in the water last Friday afternoon & lifted her out again about 3 hours later, about 6 30pm, with massive quantities of water on the wrong side of the hull, which was all falling out of her, at high speed after lifting.
As shown in the photos below she is has a substantial recaulking exercise underway at the moment & the new owner hopes to have her back in the water in about a week, & will initially keep her at Gulf Harbour for a few days & will then move her to town to a mooring site in the central city area, as yet unconfirmed.
The owner told Ken he has bought her with a view to restoring her & ultimately he is considering living aboard in due course. The purchase of San Cristobal is his first ever venture in to the world of boating. He also mentioned she is built of oak & she still as the 8L3 Gardner diesel engine, which he says, has only done around 2500 hours.
PALM BEACH BOAT SHOW 2016
photos & comments from James Dreyer
Today’s ww post is a trip report from James Dreyer (Laughing Lady) James has kept the focus on wooden or partially wooden craft, with a little American excess and muscle thrown in for good measure. Enjoy, its a great read & interesting to see whats happening in the USA. Remember click on any photo to enlarge
The latest offering from Hacker craft. A modern take on the classic triple cockpit runabout. I did get the feeling that the boat is a little let down by stainless off the shelf hardware. If your forking out over $300K for a speedboat, you wouldn’t expect the same handrails as a Searay.
Vicem yachts of Turkey builds all mahogany, cold molded up to 140’ Beautiful craftsmanship with a long history.
Hinckley Yachts is famous for their jet driven Picnic boat, but this is their latest model, a 36’ open. Built in glass but with some really lovely styling cues from downeast.
This little Grand Craft spent most of her time doing cocktail cruises of the Intracoastal waterway between Palm Beach (Holiday spot of the wealthy and retired, including DL Gardiner who owned Laughing Lady) and West Palm (home of the normal folk.)
Trumpy yachts Flying Lady. Lovely solid lines on her wheelhouse.
My favorite boat of the show, a modern commuter and tribute to Aphrodite. Vendetta was built for Billy Joel out of a high tech blend of carbon and kevlar and runs twin 1300 MANs with Arneson drives in tunnels. She will do 50 knots and doesn’t have a stateroom, just a lovely big salon area with kitchen and seating for many. Totally impractical but oh so cool. I was very lucky be invited onboard and shown around once the guy heard I had a commuter yacht. He even knew laughing lady from his original design research. She’s for sale at $1.3 million if anyone is looking to tour the East coast in style.
Honey Fitz, the 1931 Defoe built ex-presidential yacht named after John F. Fitzgerald and once chariot for Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson and Nixon.
A 1960s era Bertram offshore race boat. Sporting close to 800hp and Ray Hunts game changing deep vee hull design, she’s a thing of beauty. Almost like a vintage Nascar.
Maybe I am biased, but the whole express cruiser (open) sport fish really does it for me. Totally impractical in anything but fine weather, but oh so cool. Registered to Montauk at the tip of Long Island – Laughing Ladys first home port and serious Bluefin Tuna grounds.
Jarrett Bay build some of the finest cold molded SFs on the market, this being about as small as they come.
Seven Marine are the newest outboard on the American Market and are just ludicrous. 627hp (!!!) each, from a Chevrolet 6.2L supercharged V8. At 500kg each, you want to have a pretty robust transom to hang three of these off!
76’ Sportfish provides a pretty big aft cockpit. Again cold molded.
Rybovich is the name most synonymous with classic sport fish designs and this modern express model has a lot of classic styling cues from original Rybo’s like Release and Bolero
A few for the yachties 🙂
Wild Horses – the 70 odd foot W-class Spirit of Tradition sloop designed by Donald Tofias.
I’m not sure if this is Herreshoffs Bounty or Ticonderoga, but she has incredible and unmistakable lines. Pretty cool little yard tugboat on the left too. This helped us park the large yacht I work on.
Everything is big in America – to give you an idea of the scale, this has 3 x 350hp Outboards and is 41’ and note the tow rig.
Some nice wheels on display:
Sometimes you really have to wonder 😦
And a funny to finish – Some people don’t hide it. Apparently he owns a chain of Laundromats.
Tasman
Raindance at Man o War Bay (photo Andrew Miller)
Easter Weekend Cruise – Photo Gallery
Headed to the bottom end of Waiheke Island for the 4 day easter break. Nice to see so many classics out & about. There were a lot more than the above photos, these are just the ones we mooched past. Everyone was graced with almost perfect weather & the water temp is still in the comfortable range.
See captions for details.
ps I got to practice my fuel filter changing / system bleeding on the way back………….. fun in a busy seaway 🙂
MOERANGI
photos & story from NZ Life & Leisure magazine
Today we feature the Logan Bros ex work boat Moerangi. When launched in 1901 she was schooner rigged & also had one of the first oil engines in New Zealand.
Built for Archibald Weir Jnr. she started her working life towing the commercial fishing fleet in & out of Moeraki, as the fleet started installing engines her role became redundant & she became a passenger ferry with the Peninsular Ferry co. in Otago. Around 1920 she was converted back to a fishing boat & moved around several ports – Port Chalmers > Lyttlelton > Akaroa. Her past is a lille cloudy after 1920 until the early 1980’s when she was converted to a pleasure craft. Her owners Alice & Mick Sinclair would love to know more about the ‘missing’ years.
ww has a great relationship with the crew at NZ Life & Leisure magazine, the #1 selling magazine in its field & we thank them for sharing this story with ww readers. You can find out more about the magazine here http://nzlifeandleisure.co.nz/
More details & photos on Moerangi’s past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/12/15/moerangi/
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