The 1959 L Coulthard built 30’ launch – Pania has a new owner, she didn’t hang around long 4sale, mostly thanks to the great job her previous owner did in rebuilding her and prepping for sale. As always – click on photos to enlarge 😉
After viewing the above photos , click the link below to see how she was presented back in 2019 – its not rocket science folks, most people buy with their eyes, initially anyway 🙂
Powered by a 80hp Ford diesel (Moon Engine) and a Paragon hydraulic gearbox, she gets along at a comfortable 7>8 knots. Given the fit-out and work done – the buyer got a bargain if the bones were all good. Pania also appeared on WW back in 2014 https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/11/14/pania/
At the weekend I attended a celebration to mark the 1921 Arch Logan built launch – Ngaio reaching the grand age of 100 years.
In the last decade Ngaio has been blessed with very good owners, starting with Ian and Lancia Kohler who commissioned the 2013 refurbishment of Ngaio and then passed ownership onto Jan Barraclough, the host of the birthday party. The launch is a stunner but you expect that from the Logan stable.
I was dockside admiring the finish on the hull and I was advised by an old boy that she had been splined and fibre-glassed (I had forgotten), obviously in his eyes not what you should do to a Logan. In the interests of not wasting any more time getting to the bar, I wasn’t going to let him know that 1/2 the Logan A-Division yacht fleet were glassed 😉
Following on from Sundays story on Matahorua the sailing cutter tied up at the Riwaka river / estuary , today we follow the camera of Tim and Pauline Evill as they explore the craft that call Riwaka their home ‘port’.
A fine collection of woodys, all appearing to be well loved – if you had the Riwaka agency for marine varnish , you wouldn’t remain in business for long 🙂
When you step aboard the 50‘ Arohanui you feel the warmth that comes from 50+ years of tender loving care and consideration.
Built using the finest materials available – NZ kauri and Burmese teak, her planks were later glassed over, this undertaking when combined with the varnished (uroxsys) cabin gives Arohanui the resilience of a modern f/glass vessel. Arohanui was designed by A. Donovan (with significant reference to the the Hacker Boat Company, USA designs of the same period) and built by the Lane Motor Boat Company and launched in 1965 – she featured on the cover and was the lead article of April 1966 issue of Sea Spray magazine, the magazine described her as a twin screw diesel gentlemen’s motor yacht. Arohanui was built to comply with Marine Department survey requirements.
A brief overview – 50’ LOA – 13’6” beam – 3’5” draft, 3 double private cabins + 2 berths in saloon, 6’4” head-room. Powered by twin 300hp Iveco engines. Cruising speed – 15knts – Max – 20knts. And the most impressive Lithium battery power management system I have seen. Her inviting interior is aided by a central heating (diesel) system installed in 2017.
In 2015 she underwent an extensive refurbishment at Lees Boat Builders – view video below to experience the attention to detail and standard to work.A full list of her inventory and specifications is available to likely buyers. Private viewing by appointment only. Contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com
If you have a serious interest in Arohanui, I suggest to go onto trademe and enter the following criteria – boats, fibre-glass, twin inboard, 14>16meter – and review what one would pay for a white plastic floating apartment of a similar size and spec, then come back and take in Arohanui again – then be quick with your reply 😉
This 36’ bridge decker , named Salt Air, recently popped up om tme. We do not know a lot about her, other than she is powered by a 120hp Nissan LD28 6 cylinder diesel.
Keen to uncover more on her past – who built her and where she has been for the last 90 odd years – the build year is given as c.1930’s
Harold Kidd Input – I have a record of a LORRAINE at Okahu Bay in 1947 in a Lee Rail article with the comment “red cedar”(!). The first LORRAINE was lost on the bar at Tairua in 1923 with big loss of life. I also have a SALT AIR (or perhaps SALTAIRE) owned by Jack Phillips in 1955-7 bought from the Whau Creek.
Real Yacht Racing – check out the J-Class Shamrock V in amongst the whole J fleet.
Update 09-05-2021 – From new owner – Steve
“Well I took the plunge and purchased Salt Air . She is in pretty good nick, although there are many sessions with the sandpaper to come. I was told she was built by Bayley and Lowe and launched in the mid 1930’s.When the previous owners purchased her she was known as Muritia undergoing a refit at Te Atatu and they bought her understanding she had a faulty starter which turned out to be a completely ceased engine They were lucky enough to find a marine version of the LD28 Nissan which is a pearla. They met someone who knew knew her in a previous life then known as Salt Air when she regularly bought mussels over from the barrier. They liked the name and renamed her Salt Air.We had an interesting delivery journey to her new home in Whangarei. Left Te atatu at 6 am with a forecast 0-0.5m sea and 5-15 knots, dead calm as we left, at least 1.5 m swell with a breaking 1.0m + chop, a 25 to 35 knot SW breeze blowing the tops off the swells as we crossed Kawau Bay. My wife became well acquainted with the bucket. I found out why Salt Air survived 80+ years as she punched through at her most comfortable speed of 7.3 knots. Very impressed with her. Ended up running before it a bit in the interest domestic harmony and came around the sheltered back side of Kawau and spent the night in Bon Accord and finished the journey next day. I would love to know more about this beautiful old girl.”
The 40’ Aoroa was built in 1928 by Miller & Tunnage and is kauri carvel planked. She has a beam of 9’11” and draws 3’5”. These days she is powered by a 100 hp Ford diesel, which I would suspect works hard to push a boat of Aoroa size along. But I’m sure I’ll be told its all about gearbox / prop configuration.
Thankfully her tme listing included some old b/w photos (below) from when launched and of the alterations over the years – from these we can see the bones of a very smart woody, that hopefully one day someone will do a top-chop on 🙂
Can we expand more on her past?
Harold Kidd Input – Original owner was J.T. Paul; original engine a 100hp S4 6 cylinder Gray.. Did a trip to Akaroa in 1931. Owned by W.R. Carey of Lyttelton in 1953. VERY handsome vessel.
20-03-2021 Input from David Lackey – Wren Carey, the proprietor of the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills (then a substantial South Island manufacturer) was a friend and business associate of my father, Keith Lackey and, in the 1950s we would we occasionally call in to see him at his property in (I seem to remember) Blackwood Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound. The property was both immense and immaculate, boasting magnificent gardens and even a citrus orchard (which, for those familiar with QC sound, was a rarity if not a miracle. At one end of the beach was a large boatshed in which Mr Carey kept the immaculate Aoroa. Assisted by his caretaker, Mr Carey would launch the ship and take off for a day cruise in the sound, putting her away again in the evening just as nonchalantly as if she were a runabout or dinghy. She was like a piece of chippendale furniture, with glowing topsides and gleaming brightwork. I believe she still had the 6 cylinder Gray Engine which was a point of mutual interest because our Marinus was powered by twin 144hp Graymarine Luggers. Wren Carey was the father of CR (Roger) Carey, the noted Picton builder of many fine commercial and private vessels.
Today’s clinker woody has been popping up in social media (tme & Facebook) for a while. If your looking for a day boat or something to get you out and about on the lakes, this could be the boat.
Almost 14’ in length, with a Stuart Turner engine that if you believe her tme listing, runs sweetly eg starts and keeps running 🙂 And when it doesn’t there is a Seagull long shaft o/board to get you home.
Not sure about the build year of the boat, but the engine is dated 1940.The rather smart trailer is part of the package.
Requests for info on boat on WW can be a lot like paying the pokie machines – you ‘feed’ the machine and pull the handle – sometimes it spins and nothing comes up, most of the time we get a small payout, just enough to keep us motivated to keep playing – then sometimes you hit the jackpot.
Today’s story is a jackpot pay out – starts like this – over the last 5>6 years the 1939, 56′, Miller & Tunnage built – Koputai has popped up on WW and we have been trying uncover more of her history. Back in May 2015 she was for sale and the then owner, the late, Louey Sandiant told us everything you would want to know about the photo + photos. Then in Sept 2020 Keith Foster, who purchased Koputai off Louey contacted WW and supplied some updated photos and a request for any further intel on the boat.
It took a few months but Matt Siddells made contact and advised that his grandfather – Russell Bramwell purchased Koputai as a retired pilot boat and did the conversion to pleasure boat. Matt has very kindly shared the gallery above of photos from the family album. You can see and read more about Koputai at the WW links below
A LOCK-DOWN TREAT – FREE ACCESS TO THE WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW
Our friends over at Off Center Harbor have been orchestrating a new gig on the classic boat scene – a virtual worldwide classic boat show. Its been live now for 10 days and only available via purchasing a ticket (US$5) – now woodys to help us kiwis (and the WW overseas followers) during CV-19 lock-down – the show is now free.
See below instructions on how to visit the show.
You can use the globe / map to see an amazing collection of vessel around the world + locations of museums & trade folks – but the real gem for me is the daily video presentations from some of the worlds leading lights on the classic boating scene – sailors, teachers, photographers, event promoters and boat builders. You will be addicted so I apologise in advance for ruining your day/s – but, you’re supposed to be in lock-down 🙂
If you only watch one presentation – make it the legendary Tom Cunliffe presentation – you’ll find it on Sat Feb20th under the heading ’Seas of Northern Europe’ – do not be put off by the boring title – its a cracker, the mans one of the best storytellers around, you’ll be glued to the screen for 2 hours. ENJOY THE SHOW 🙂
2. Checkout for free, and your username and password become your ticket
3. To login, go to ClassicBoatShow.com, click login in the top right corner to get full access, and enjoy the show!
If you have trouble getting your free ticket, you can always email the show’s crew for help at crew@classicboatshow.com.
If the show turns out to be an enjoyable and valuable experience for you, they have a voluntary “tips/donations” button on the top of the screen where you can contribute.
Totally Over The Top Restoration – But OMG – Stunning Today should have been a big sailing story, around the CYA Classic Regatta, but weather and CV-19 killed that. Race Day 1 (Saturday) was a bit of a fizzer with little wind, resulted in two shortened races and then Saturday nights announcement on CV-19 levels killed the remaining two days – so time to pull something out of the hat. Actually easy – when I was scrolling thru the guys at Off Centre Harbors latest virtual gig – the Worldwide Classic Boat Show I came across – Gelyce, a 1930 50’ ex J-Class tender, designed and built by Camper & Nicholson, Gosport, UK. A quick google search told me a lot more about the launch and the amazing restoration – more here http://www.gelyce.co.uk Its a great story and stunning commitment by her owners to bring her back for a near death to being one of the UK’s finest craft. I’ll let the owners tell the story – the gold plated fittings and Rolls Royce engine are OTT but perfect.
“The history of this famous vessel makes her possibly the most unique yacht tender and spectating boat in the World. She was built in 1930 by internationally celebrated 200 year old builder of world-class leisure and sports craft Camper & Nicholsons (C&N) of Gosport, UK and provided to Sir Thomas Lipton with the legendary J Class Racing Yacht Shamrock V. Upon Lipton’s death in 1931 both were taken on by Sir Thomas Sopwith, for whom C&N also built the America’s Cup challenger Endeavour. “Gelyce” was also used as Endeavour’s tender to transport guests to ‘the big boat.’ This sublime 50ft example of the Gelyce Class (official no 160934) is the only one of the series used as a J Class Yacht Tender. C&N built only nine of the 50ft Gelyce-class boats all in the period from 1912 to 1930, several of which were for the use of Nicholson family members. Indeed, “Gelyce” itself remained registered to C&N for seven years through the 1930’s. The Gelyce class of boat was thus always rare and exclusive and is now even more so with only three surviving. “Gelyce” was the last built of the class, pre-eminent in terms of its provenance as the only one to be a J Class Tender. The name Gelyce is an amalgamation of the Nicholson brother’s wives names – Gertie, Lucy & Constance. “Gelyce” has now completed a restoration of unprecedented quality and with her impeccable history is sought after in the growing classic yacht racing fraternity. She has undergone a complete restoration of the hull, using three layers of structural mahogany veneers laid in double diagonal then carvel, fastened with modern epoxy and 75 thousand polymer staples. The entire superstructure and interior has been retained and refurbished. The instrument panel, morse control, all deck, cabin and head fittings are Welsh gold plated for easy care. Her engine is a concours condition aluminum mid-1960’s Rolls Royce, producing 175hp, which theoretically gives her the capability of 28knots at sea. The engine was restored and marinised by Brian Bax at Tim Walker Restorations. Exquisite “Gelyce” has been lovingly restored by Classic Restoration for with her owner, Wint Taylor. “
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