Category Archives: A Peek Down Below

Omokaroa / Omokoroa Saved

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Omokaroa / Omokoroa Saved
Back in August 2018 we reported on the fate of the launch Omokoroa that appeared abandoned, washed ashore in the Whitford River, near the Whitford Boating and Cruising Club. At the time we uncovered a lot about her past , supported by some great photos – read this WW story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/08/07/amokoroa/


Early this week I was contacted by Lyndon Chambers with the news that the launch had been saved, I’ll let Lyndon tell the story:


“I contacted the harbourmaster late Feb about the salvage of Omokaroa from Wade’s island, found the owner through a small book of notes from on board then after a lot of spadework and the help of 8 airbeds under the scow-like flat-ish hull, 2 plow anchors and a winch combined with a 3.6m king tide she floated out over the mangroves, just requiring some work around the rudder and some time to ‘take up’. It’s now happily on a mooring and part of the Shelly Park Cruising Club where it’s being restored to a comfortable family cruiser.Shes an ailing old hull that’s been sured up with galv nails at some point but I will get it tidied up, Its running a 60hp Ford 2401e on a 2:1 Paragon box, just had to do repair the sump, sort some wiring and a general service of the cooling system”.


NOTE: It some stage the name has been changed / altered from Omokoroa to Omokaroa ?? Or have we two different boats?? There was some chat about this in the Aug 2018 story. 

Lady Pamela – A Big Woody for not a lot of money

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LADY PAMELA – A Big Woody for not a lot of money
When I mooching around the marina scooping out the launch – Pirate, I noticed a small 4sale sign of the rather king-sized woody – Lady Pamela. Now I know its outside of the ‘classic’ category but its wood – triple skin kauri. Lady Pamela is 60’ in length with a beam of 17’+. Power comes from twin Ford 150hp diesels, giving her a top speed of 11 knots. With a fuel capacity of 5000L (tbc) she is a serious long range cruiser.

Set up with eight berths LP would either be a perfect large family boat, a live-aboard base or maybe a group of serious fisher-persons could buy her as a syndicated floating man (oops can’t say that) bach.


You will see from the photos that the last owner of LP liked the colour mint green – now just close your eyes and imagine all that painted off-white, the boat would increase in value overnight. The owners want her sold, so all offers will be considered.  If you are on the lookout for a boat like Lady Pamela – call David Cooke 027 478 1877 for a chat 😉

27-11-2021 UPDATED WITH MORE PHOTOS (below – click photos to enlarge)

Taioma SOS

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TAIOMA SOS

Over the last 48 hours I have had a lot of calls from woodys that spotted the 30’ Lidgard built yacht – Taioma on trademe as an abandoned vessel. Current bid is $10.50 and the reserve has been meet. The auction closes on July 19th. You are bidding on the hull only, and the motor is unknown condition. But the wooden mast and boom + a mainsail have been located and will go with the boat, if wanted (stored in a different location).

Woodys, someone will ’steal’ this boat and as a last resort that hatch has to be worth what ever the purchase price the boat ends up at. I do not do this often – but here is the tme link

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3164872276?bof=GUPg30qb

Bill Brown commented to me that Taioma was restored in the 1990’s by Gary Underwood and pointed me in the direction of Gary’s blog, details and photos below:

“Taioma is a 1936 Fred Lidgard kauri sloop of 28 ft. We bought her for  $5000 in 1995 and did a 60 day full refit at the ‘Bolthole’ in Auckland. She was a great live-aboard for a year alongside our boat shed in Whangarei while we were building ‘BOOTSTRAP’. Note the full bulkhead at the mast which gives an end to the saloon and provides support for the table, which lowers to give us a full double bunk athwartships. Its like a kind of ‘dresser’. The f’csle has a portapotti and bosubs store, access thru the fore hatch. Also stiffens the boat up as she had a big rig.”

What Happened To Privateer (SandPiper)

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What Happened To Privateer (SandPiper)
The 1927 kauri launch Privateer first popped up on WW back in August 2015, when Paul Drake spotted her as a new arrival on Lake Taupo (link & photo below). At the time Zach Matich ID’ed her as Sand Piper and commented that she had been on trademe and based in Wellington at the time.

Fast forward to Jan 2021 and Ian McDonald saw her on trademe, ‘berthed’ at Tokaanu, Lake Taupo – offered up ‘for removal as an abandoned vessel’ by the Taupo Harbourmaster. As you will see from the above photos she was looking very sad, but a comment on WW in Feb 2021 advised that she had been acquired and hopefully would be restored.

The above and below photos are a good graphic example of how quickly old woodys go down hill when the TLC stops.
Hopefully the new owner will update us on their plans for the launch 
2015 WW Story https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/22/privateer/

Gytha

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GYTHA

While catching up on the where abouts of the launch – Kitty Vane, I learned that Chris Geddes, a previous owner of Kitty Vane, swapped KV for the launch – Gytha.
Chris advised that Gytha was built by Doug Robb in Timaru in the mid 1960′, he believes the launch date was 1967. Doug Robb was also the builder of Strathallan which features on WW’s and a number of the Timaru fishing fleet. Gytha is 45′ long and powered by twin Ford diesels. 

Last year, when Gytha was hauled out at Orams, Harry Jorgenson saw her parked in the yard and was able to identify where she had come from by looks alone. 

Home these days for Gytha is the Te Atatu Boating Club in West Auckland. Any woodys able to tell us more about Gytha?

Woodys On Show

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WOODYS ON SHOW

Todays video comes to us from Cecilia Viktoria Rosell and showcases a selection of woodys from the Canadian Classic Yacht Association Fleet berthed in Ladysmith, British Columbia.

As they appear, we have  Loueda > Sannox > Euphemia > Falcon > Bianca.

Cecilia commented that the youngest member wasn’t the 7 month old kitten on Bianca as one might think, but rather the 8 week old baby onboard Loueda.

HAVE YOU RSVP’ed FOR THE WOODYS CLEVEDON OVERNIGHT BBQ CRUISE

CHECK OUT LAST YEARS EVENT https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/08/10/classic-wooden-boat-cruise-72-photos/

RSVP with boat name to waitematawoodys@gmail.com – Numbers will be limited

Eclipse – A Peek Down Below

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ECLIPSE – A Peek Down Below
Back in Sept 2016 John Sankey was mooching around Nelson and sent in a selection of woody photos, amongst them were several of the launch – Eclipse. At the time she was looking a little sad and was for sale.

WW link here to that story.   https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/09/22/woody-nelson-trip/

Now thanks to a tme listing we get to have a peek down below, she has also had a lick of paint.Some details – 37’ in length with a 9’ beam and drawing 3’4” , powered by a 70hp Nissan SD25 diesel engine, giving her a cruising speed of 8 knots.

Her tme listing states she was built in 1907, but in the 2016 story Harold Kidd advised that she was built in November 1922 by James McPherson at Dunedin for W. Webber of Ravensbourne.

04-06-2021 Update ex Keith Murphy – photo below of Eclipse at Ravensbourne

RSVP to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Oranui – Part Two

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Waikawa early 2000’s
Hobsonville Aug 2008
Hutcheson Boat-builders 08-11-2011

ORANUI – Part Two
Yesterdays request for more intel on the yacht Oranui, hit the jackpot when Marl McLaughlin opened his WW email yesterday. Mark sent in the above and below selection of photos. If you missed yesterdays story, might be best to scroll down first and read /view it then read Mark’s input – reproduced below.


“Further to the “what became of her story” on Oranui, I have sent in some extra info and photos. The obituary details are for her builder and original owner Eric Tomkies, taken from the winter 1988 edition of the RPNYC magazine “The Rip”. Eric Tomkies was a distant relation of mine (he and my grandfather were cousins) and I know Oranui well.

Previously brothers Eric, Clinton and Horace Tomkies built the 47ft Burns designed RAKOA and sailed her extensively. I have included a photo (below) of Rakoa from the Gisborne Photo News, June 1954. Unfortunately Rakoa was later lost when working as a fishing boat at Stewart Island and what remains now rests on the seabed in Foveaux Strait. 

Oranui was sturdily built in strip planked kauri on a hardwood backbone. Heavy scantlings are typical of Athol Burns’ style and it is notable in the magazine article that of the six boats that came ashore in the Wahine storm, it was only the two Athol Burns boats (Hinemoana III was the other one), that were re-floated. 

Oranui has spent most of her life in the Wellington and Marlborough Sounds regions. Her 3cyl Volvo Penta diesel was re-powered with a 4cyl 52hp Yanmar diesel engine in 1999 and she circumnavigated the South Island in the early 2000’s. She was then sold to a New Plymouth based owner who cruised her extensively between New Plymouth and Nelson/Marlborough Sounds and also up to Auckland. I have attached a photo of her on the hardstand at Hobsonville Marina during this time. She was then sold in 2011 to a Wellington based Doctor who sent her to Hutcheson Boatbuilders in Tauranga for a refit before taking her back to Wellington. I spotted her motoring around Picton Harbour in January this year looking as good as new.

As per most Athol Burns designs she is functional but beautiful, and very sea-kindly for Cook Strait conditions. “

FOOT NOTE: Mark believes the RPNYC article is confusing the Wahine storm in 1968 with the storm in 1966 which the Sea Spray article about Oranui and Hinemoana III relates to. However, Eric’s brother Clinton Tomkies did tell him that Oranui came ashore in the Wahine storm as well, but he could have been confusing it with the 1966 storm too 🙂

NGARO – A Sneak Peek Before She Sells (SOLD)

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NGARO – A Sneak Peek Before She Sells

You would have to look long and hard to find a classic woody in as original condition and as highly presented as the 1953, 48’ Lidgard built launch Ngaro. Scroll down to the b/w press clippings below, showing her as launched. One well respected woody once said “Its one of the few boats that, in my opinion looks better with painted coamings than the original varnish”.

The Lidgard clan really aced it when they designed and built Ngaro – I do not think I have seen a more perfect bridgedecker and that flying bridge, which has been there since day one, scores a 10/10.

She is a very well built ship being triple skin kauri – 2 – 6’x1/2” diagonal planks and 1 – 6’x1” longitudinal plank, with 3” bronze rivets.Power comes from twin 1985, 120hp Ford diesels, both rebuilt in the last 3 years, including gearboxes. Professional bare wood anti-foul in 2020 and full repaint in late 2014 – she presents as new. The mix of painted surfaces and varnished trim is perfect. As always – click on photos to enlarge.

And guess what – Ngaro is for sale, but not for long…..
Enquiries to waitematawoodys@gmail.com


If Ngaro is not you – click the link below to view a selection  from the oodles of classic woodys currently for sale 🙂

A Classic For The Lake Woodys

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A Classic For The Lake Woodys
This cute clinker launch popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald) and at 18’6” it would be perfect as a family lake boat – even the kids couldn’t get into too much trouble in SS Magoo.She was built c.1950 by Swanson, and current home port is Waikawa marina in the Marlborough Sounds.Powered by a 2.2L BMC Diesel engine , she will comfortably cruise at 5>6 knots, perfect for trolling (I think).

I suspect with a make-shift wooden cradle she would slip into a shipping container, for a relatively low cost re-location.