Todays woody – Karina, was built in 1959 by Brin Wilson, kauri planked she is 36’ in length with a 10’ 11” beam and draws 2’11”. Forward motion is via newish 75hp Yammer diesel engine that gives her a cruising speed of 8 knots. Her owner must like hot showers as her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) states she has 600L water capacity.
Can anyone tell us what Karina has been up to for theist 60+ years.
Input ex K Ricketts – Top photo (b/w) below ex a Ford Dealership advertisement in Sea Spay magazine 1961. 2nd photo (colour) c.2014 ex B Worthington.
The 40’ ex work-boat Sierra was built by Joseph Fell at Kohukohu on the Hokianga Harbour in 1917, making her 105 years old. She had a complete rebuild in 1998. Forward motion is via a Ford 120hp diesel engine.
She started life as a work-boat in Hokianga and later become the Hokianga ferry. Later on she worked in Auckland as the Customs and Doctors boat on the Auckland Harbour. She also assisted with building the Auckland Harbour Bridge & Glenn Brook Steel Mill.
Sierra has made several appearance on WW – links below for more details and photos. For those woodys looking for a classic with deep workboat roots the vessel Sierra presents as a very affordable classic. Interested parties are asked to contact the Wooden Boat Bureau at waitematawoodys@gmail.com for more details and viewing.
Last week B.O.I. woody Dean Wright popped into the CMC Design boat shed in Opua and snapped a few photos of the restoration of the 1927 Collings & Bell built launch – Alma G II. The last update was in May, link here to that story https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/05/01/restoration-of-alma-g-ii-begins/
The old girl is getting a serious refit, some diagonal planking being added to hold the old girl together 🙂 anything that gives her another 100 years of life is better than slowly decomposing on a swing mooring up some estuary .
Her Lees Ford has been reconditioned – check out this video of the test bed run.
The headline above was all the seller just on tme (thanks Ian McDonald) to described this 12’ 1960 built clinker day boat. There is a builders plate which states she was built and engined by – H.N. Burgess & Co., Judges Bay, Parnell, Auckland.
There is an inboard Yammer diesel to propel her and home is the Waikato.
Not a bad woody to do some gunk-holing over the Christmas / NY holidays with the kids > grandkids.
Cake Day Entries – It Did Not Win But The Chocolate Cake Was The Best
PATIO BAY CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT WEEKEND – 2023
Todays story wasn’t meant to happen, the 2023 Patio Bay Weekend was not on the radar but several woody skippers told me late in the week that they were going so I shuffled the plans around.
Saturday mornings weather and sea state was average but sometimes you just have to make the call and head out. I was also suffering from serious cabin fever, so little boating in the last year.
As the day unfolded the weather improved but from the fireside chat post race, the classic yachts racing down did not have a pleasant trip.
CYA numbers were down significantly from previous years , in fact I was the only launch in the bay.
The venue hosts, the Mahoney family, ensured a great time was had by all, with the emphasis on an old-school / retro boating gathering e.g. open fire / bbq, Pohutukawa and driftwood smoke and the legendary barrel of rum……….. on that subject most were amused when the yacht “Prize” won her division – part of the winning is having to re-fill the rum barrel the following year – I was told Prize’s skipper historically has gone to great lengths to sidestep the expensive.
The assorted collection of photos above is simply to give you a glimpse of the weekend, and showcase the magic of Aucklands woody fleet and Patio Bay. Enjoy (passage photos B15 Frances & dark hulled yacht ex Dennis & Sue Rule) – (some photos below average in definition – long lens the camera).
Xmas Boat Reading – 10+ years ago I asked at my local 2nd hand book store, about an out of print copy of a book titled “Hemingway’s Boat’ by Paul Hendrickson – out of the blue last week I got a call telling me one had turned up – I started to read over the weekend and after just 10 pages put it down, just a gem, to be saved for the summer xmas /ny trip. Best $15 I have spent. If you see one for sale, grab it.
Todays woody – Hoani has a wee bit of an identity crisis – her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) labels her builder as Salthouse in 1976. In a previous WW story from 2017 (link below – lots of details and old photos) we had great intel that Hoani was built in Coromandel, over a 15 year period by Charley Turner and launched in 1979. On launch day she was 36’ x 12’ x 3’10. Now she is just over 39’, most likely that ‘bit’ tacked onto her stern – a walk thru transom.
In 2021 Hoani was re-powered with a Yammer 110hp turbo Diesel engine. As they say in the car sales game – she has had a lot of fruit added to her so with a wee bit of TLC would be a nice woody. Back in the day her cabin sides were varnished and she was a looker 🙂
WW got alerted last week that the Roger Carey built double-ender – Quest was heading back to Picton after my time in the winterless north. Sad for the northland fleet, but good news for the southern woodys.
Now Quest has been well documented on WW (use the WW search box) but we have never really got to have a good look aboard. Today thanks to the camera of Dean Wright we see Quest in all her glory.
The short story is – built 1959 as Roger Carey’s private boat, later converted to a work boat, then converted back to pleasure. She sat on the hardstand in Picton for a number of years and then came north, where she was given a major refit. Specs – 33’ x 9’9” x 4’6” and powered by a Gardner 5LW. A lot of boat for 33’ and in my eyes her new owners bought very well.
Todays woody – Magic Fiddler , is a 15’ clinker day boat built in Picton by an unknown boat builder. Year of build / lunch isn’t listed on tme (thanks Ian McDonald) so we don’t have an age, but looking at the bilge photo she appears older v’s new – thats very Irish I know and I apologise in advance to any Irish readers, I do not need another report to the Human Right Commission 😉
Forward motion is via a new Honda 6.5hp petrol inboard engine, backed up by a Seagull auxiliary. Rather a smart trailer.
Current home is Waimate, South Canterbury.
Perfect craft for someone wanting to do the New Zealand Antique and Classic Boat Show next March (3rd), at Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes, South Island.
The launch Ozone was built by Percy McIntosh in Whangarei for Harold Vipond Silverdale for the Wade River <> Auckland trade (thank you Harold Kidd – WW story link below)).
Then in the early 1920’s Ozone was taken to the Bay Of Islands for the big game fishing trade which as just starting. Then we have a big info hole until she popped up in the late 1980’s in the Mahurangi Harbour, where she is today, as a fishing / pleasure boat.
What we know about her from her recent tme showing (thanks Ian McDonald) – built c.1914, 32’ in length, 8’6” beam and powered by a Ford 90hp engine.
Keen to learn more about the missing years. Would be nice to see her return to a configeration closer to her early days – photo below
Earlier in the week I was out east and called into Leader Boats on the Panmure River. Dave Patterson and his team are currently breathing newline into a launch named – Fantasia, previously she was ‘berthed’ near-by.
Fantasia started life as a Crestacraft design and was built by Harry Biddle in a shed in Saleyard Rd, Otahuhu c.1968.
She has had several face lifts over the years and at time been a little un-loved. Now is getting what I’d describe as a sport fisher look, check out the new sheer line – close your eyes and think Oliver & Gilpin. The boat was re-engined in 1978, with what I’m not sure – much to K Ricketts disgust, I’m never that interested in the engines.
Her owner commented to me that he only came in for a new duckboard and paint job 🙂 I said to Dave that he could always get a job at McDonalds i.e. he’s the champion of companion selling – “do you want fries with that” 🙂
Still very much a work in process but you can see from the photos what she will look like.
HAROLD KIDD INPUT – According to the contemporary APYMBA records FANTASIA was built in 1963 By B. Everett of 51 Kiwi Esplanade Mangere. No mention of a designer. Make of that what you will. Did Everett simply pay for her to be built? That’s not the normal way APYMBA recorded information. Did he finish off a hull perhaps?
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