Category Archives: A Peek Down Below

CLASSIC 1920’S PICNIC BOAT – LADY BETH 

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LADY BETH 2026

CLASSIC 1920’S PICNIC BOAT – LADY BETH 

At the recent 2026 Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat weekend one of the stand out craft was LADY BETH, a 23’ picnic / day boat, builder unknown. I was surprised with her build date as she had a ‘new build’ level of presentation.

Today thanks to the LRC&WB team we get to learn more about LADY BETH’s past and how she ended up my pick of the 2026 parade.

LADY BETH, formerly named HIDDEN AGENDA, was first used in Whakatane as a picnic and tour boat. She then moved to Napier and was used in the same way until she was to be found on Lake Taupo, moving to Lake Rotoiti about 40 years ago. Purchased by the current owners in April 2018, she underwent a major  20 month refit at Alan Craig’s boatyard where she was transformed into the very beautiful classic wooden boat she is today. She is named after Lady Beth Moore, (mother of her co owner), who was born the same year the launch was and loved the lake since coming on her honeymoon in 1942.

Her inboard has been replaced by a 9.9hp outboard in a concealed well.  The glass house is made of teak and a teak bowspit and duckboard were fitted with stainless anchor and remote windlass. During restoration it was noted she originally had 2 portholes each side, not just the 1. So stainless ones were imported from Italy. 

WHAT DO ALL THESE CLASSIC WOODEN CRAFT HAVE IN COMMON

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MARLINE
KORAWAI
OTEHEI
ALMA G II
LADY CROSSLEY

WHAT DO ALL THESE CLASSIC WOODEN CRAFT HAVE IN COMMON

As I have noted recently on WW the classic wooden boating scene in the Bay of Islands is experiencing a re-birth. Seems one in three woodys the Wooden Boat Bureau has sold in the last 2 years has headed north. And recently the woody skippers have been organising events to show case the woody movement in the B.O.I. – we like that.

At the recent Russell Tall Ships Regatta on the Friday prior to the sailing regatta there was a Classic Launch Parade that had 13 woodys participating. Post the parade one of the skippers pointed out the % of woody craft that owed their good looks to time spent at the CMC Design – Boatbuilders Opua yard. So I did a count and in recent times and in no particular order the following woodys have been under the care of the talented crew at CMC Design – LADY CROSSLEY, KORAWAI, OTEHEI, MARLINE and ALMA G II.

Now they aren’t the only boatbuilders up north but they seem to get the cream of the work. When you factor in haul-out yard costs in the greater Auckland area, a wee road trip on one of the specialist boat haulage trucks isn’t the budget stumbling block it once was.

If todays WW story reads like an ad, I suppose it is, I’m passionate about seeing our classic fleet get the TLC they deserve.
Check out the CMC website – some great work-in-process photos on their work + its not all boats, some stunning architectural  and commercial wood work.  https://www.cmcdesign.co.nz/marine

28-02-2026 UPDATE – video below of the LADY CROSSLEY project

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DBPqwBVVR

CLASSIC MASON SPORTS CLIPPER RUNABOUT – RAROA

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CLASSIC MASON SPORTS CLIPPER RUNABOUT – RAROA

This 23′ woody recently popped up on tme and immediately caught my eye — helped in no small part by the great photography and those postcard-perfect backdrops.

Built in 1966, RAROA presents as a very well-sorted example of the Mason Sports Clipper style. She’s beautifully finished and comes with one very practical bonus – she’s trailerable. That means no marina fees and the freedom to tow her to wherever the water (and weather) looks best.

At 23’ she strikes that sweet spot between classic elegance and modern usability. 

Power comes from a Chevrolet blueprint 383 V8, pushing out a serious 405hp. Top speed would have to be well and truly off the dial. The engine alone reportedly cost around $50k, which tells you straight away this is not an entry-level woody.

This is a complete package that has the woody wow-factor.

INSIDE THE CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH WIRIHANA – What Powers Her

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INSIDE THE CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH WIRIHANA – What Powers Her

In the New Zealand classic wooden boating  world there is one designer / builder whose name that no matter who you speak to, is in their top three craftsmen – and that gent is Colin Wild. A quick search of his name in the WW Search Panel will result in a visual show case of NZ’s most striking classic craft.

One of Wild’s finest builds is the 1933 launch – WIRIHANA, a woody that has featured numerous times on WW in the last 10 years. Where ever she goes, I get sent photos from people seduced by her looks.

Aside from her wow factor, WIRIHANA is rather unique in that she is still owned by the third generation of the original owners – the Gould family. The family have had the wisdom to engage retired master boatbuilding icon Chris McMullen to maintain, skipper and use WIRIHANA for 18+ years. Today thanks to Natasha Gould, Chris McMullen and Ken Ricketts we get to uncover a side of WIRIHANA’s past not covered on WW previously – the engine room.

Her original engine was a slow running 4 cyl Kelvin with no reduction gear and  a petrol start. This engine also had a ‘day diesel tank’ fitted to the engine room wall with a gravity feed to the engine with the main diesel tanks aft, from which diesel had to be pumped daily, into the day tank, manually.

Chris McMullen has commented that all the  original associated equipment and day tank, associated with the Kelvin, is still in her today, although not in use, and has the Kelvin name on it.  

As covered on WW previously WIRIHANA was commandeered by the NZ Navy during WWII and when returned to Jack Gould (Natasha Gould’s grandfather) at the end of the war, Jack insisted that the NZ Navy replace the engine, because of the rigours of naval service.  Another reason for the replacement shared by Chris McMullen is probably the fact that reverse gear on the Kelvin had to be inconveniently operated by crew in the engine room. 

End result was the NZ Navy fitted a 6/71 165HP GM Detroit 2 stroke diesel, that had a hydraulic gear box that could be operated by cable. WIRIHANA retained this engine for a great many years and was eventually replaced in the early 2000’s by Rusty Gould (Jack Gould’s son), with a 180hp artificially aspirated 6 cyl. Scania diesel, which she still has today.  

One unusual feature of WIRIHANA’s engine room is the absence of an engine box / sound installation – Chris McMullen told me once , you get used to the noise and its a perfect place for drying towels 🙂

(photo credit – Natasha Gould, Dean Wright, Alan H)

TOKATEA – A Classic Workboat Conversion 

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TOKATEA – A Classic Workboat Conversion 

The 44’ launch TOKATEA started life back in 1959 as a Government fishing patrol and lighthouse tender, built by WG Lowe.                                           TOKATEA was ‘retired’ in 1987 and converted to pleasure use.

While still retaining her workboat roots the interior fit out is rather smart, certainly providing a home away from home afloat.

Forward motion is from a 100hp Gardner 6LW engine.

Read and see more on her past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/07/28/tokatea/

TOKATEA was once owned by WW contributor Ian McDonald. Home these days is Waikawa Marina, South Island.

RUAHINE – Ex 1908 WORK BOAT

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RUAHINE – Ex 1908 WORK BOAT

Todays woody is RUAHINE, an ex Lyttleton Harbour Board work boat, built by Charles Bailey c.1908. 

And that woodys is all we know, Russell Ward spotted her on tme and before he noted any more details she was sold and the listing gone.

Russell is keen to learn more about RUAHINE, and hopefully who bought her and what the plans are.

WHAT BECAME OF THE WOODEN LAUNCH – HOPAI

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WHAT BECAME OF THE WOODEN LAUNCH – HOPAI

Back in mid 2024 the owners of the 32’ Chas Bailey Jnr, 1926 built bridge-decker launch – HOPAI were looking for someone to step up and take over the rebuild of the vessel.

The rebuild had been an ongoing project for an extended period and her owner was unable to complete the project. I believe her hull has been f/glassed…..

Does anyone know what happened to HOPAI, hopefully now in the care of someone finishing the work, or is she still in a shed in Kaukapakapa.

REMEMBER SAT 7TH FEB – LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE 

Details here  https://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/wooden-boat-parade/

1942 EX OTAGO HB CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – MARORO

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1942 EX OTAGO HB CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT – MARORO

When I get an email that has the boat name MARORO in the subject panel, it gets opened straight away – lots of classic boating history surrounding that name. Turns out todays woody is an ex Otago Harbour Board workboat, that started life as a tender to a OHB dredge. 

MARORO was launched c.1942 and she is 30’ x 9’3” x 3’ and built from kauri carvel planks and rebuilt in 1990 and still owned by the family that rebuilt her. Powered by a Mazda 4cyl HA 76hp diesel engine, she has a cruising speed of 7>8 knots.

Home is still Dunedin and she looks like she could handle a sporty weather day + very well fitted out.

Each to there own but the mahogany interior doesn’t get a tick from me – a tad too perfect for an 80 yr old classic. (Thanks Ian McDonald for the tme heads up)

Remember – if you are at a loose end tomorrow (Monday), head down to Westhaven / waterfront to watch the Auckland Ann. Day Regatta – Classic MotorBoat Inner Harbour Racing.

Race start off RNZYS / Westhaven > Orakei and return > RNZYS

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – TAKARO – A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – TAKARO – A Peek Down Below

The classic wooden launch TAKARO last made an appearance on WW back in May 2014 – link here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/05/04/7089/

Back then we learnt that TAKARO was built approx 1952 and was 35’, kauri planked with a 11’3” beam. In 2014 she had been fitted with a reconditioned 120hp D-series Ford motor with Lees Marine conversion. This engine was reconditioned in 2013.

At the time Harold Kidd commented that there was the possibility that she may have been designed by or to a Colin Wild design. From todays photos TAKARO appears to be very fitted out. (Thanks to Ian McDonald for the tme heads up)

CHRISTMAS 2025 – NEW YEAR 2026 CLASSIC WOODYS CRUISE 

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CHRISTMAS 2025 – NEW YEAR 2026 CLASSIC WOODYS CRUISE 

I have talked previously about the weather that we all experienced at the start of the annual cruise, so I’ll skip that other than to quote Billy Connolly – “ There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes”.

Life on a small launch with a wife, dog and a paddle board can be challenging – normally takes us 2>3 days to get used to living in close proximity, but we have managed this for 18+ years. The bad weather days / nights that include having to take the pooch ashore for a pee in 40+ knots at 6am are quickly replaced with good food, good books and good booze 🙂 One of the positives of evil weather forecasts is low boat numbers, when things improved and we moved to Oneroa for a supply stop, the only other craft in the bay was a yacht and that was ‘washed up’ on the beach.

Today is a bit of a photo bomb from the 10 days  – anchorages visited, food, boats we saw, boats we nearly bumped into and general good times afloat. 

Hopefully the lucky ones are still out there enjoying the weather.

ps check out the woody champagne flute in the last photo – I have the bug bad 🙂