Category Archives: A Peek Down Below

Choptank

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CHOPTANK

Todays WW story falls into the eye candy category and will spin the wheels of the workboat group.
The 62’ Choptank was brought to my attention by Australian woody – Andrew Christie, who spotted her on the WoodenBoat Forum.
Built in 1938 in Virginia, USA by O.W. Payne Palmer and named – Julian.
Later name changes were – Callis Brothers, then – Crow Bros II.
She has just had a complete rebuild at the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where her name was changed to – Choptank.
Choptank is what they call a ‘Chesapeake Bay Buy-Boat’.
Make sure you check in tomorrow (Sunday) – great story coming u 😉
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Marlin

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MARLIN
Woody Baden Pascoe recently sent in the above photos of Marlin seen here in the top photo at Whitianga c.1968 after being re-powered with a Caterpillar 320. 
At this time she was owned by Alf Clow (photos are courtesy of the Clow family). Alf bought Marlin off Rolly Smith who used her for game fishing. It is believed that prior to Rolly Smith she was owned by the Thames Harbour Board (who went bust).
 
The thinking is Marlin was build by Sam Ford, but there is know knowledge as to the launching date.
The second photo shows the new Cat 320 being lowered into Marlin, seems a rather large donk for the size of the boat. Thence the last photo of her flying along with Clow family on board.
The dinghy on the stern is from the hands of Howard Pascoe 🙂
Any woodys able to shed more light on the history of Marlin?
Input from Barbara Cooke – Rolly Smith was my uncle. He purchased Marlin during the early years of WW11 for the purpose of deep sea fishing but due to government fuel restrictions this wasn’t permitted. He and his young family farmed at Fletchers Bay, top of Coromandel. After the war they returned to Whitianga where Rolly operated Marlin for chartering and game fishing. In later years his son Bruce skippered Tuatea, another game fishing vessel in Whitianga.

 
Input from Ross Dawson – Papers Past, Thames Star 11.3.1926 tells us…”the Harbour Board’s new launch Marlin, was brought down from Auckland on Tuesday by the Dredgemaster,..Mr Roche” and in the same newspaper 31 March 1926 says…”…the launch passed government inspection on 10.3.1926….fit to ply with 8 passengers within extended river limits when not towing and with suitable canvas over the cockpit, or with 16 passengers within river limits proper….length 31.75 feet, breadth 8.25 feet, depth 2.87 feet, horsepower 30-35, crew 2. Registered as “Marlin” …” So, no builder but it shouldn’t be too hard to find a reference to the launching about Jan – Feb 1926, in the Auckland newspapers.

The Thames newspaper notes Marlin being in Whitianga in 1933.

 
Input from Harold Kidd – Can’t say I was confident about my last posting. Did some more digging and found that the Thames Harbour Board commissioned this launch from Sam Ford as a towboat, largely used for their dredge. She was unnamed but was completed in early 1926. Her dimensions were 31’6″ loa, 8’3″ beam and 2’6″ draft and 2.87tons displ. Things can’t have worked out as she was up for tender in August 1928 (again unnamed). The Secretary of the Harbour Board was later charged with embezzling a large sum from the Board and it folded shortly afterwards.
So the memories of all concerned were absolutely spot on!
Now we have to sort out what her name was before it was changed to MARLIN. Lovely boat! How nice it’s Sam Ford. 
I’m just in the process of preparing a series of Boating NZ articles on him. This boat just shows the breadth of his skills at much the same time as WHAKAARI and before his Art Deco cruisers.
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Annalisa

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ANNALISA
Annalisa was launched in 1960 and is a 36’ Roy Parris built launch.
Powered by a Ford 120hp Lees diesel engine. Current home is Mangonui, Northland and that woodys is all we know about this woody.
Can anyone tell us more about Annalisa’s past?
(thanks to Ian MacDonald for the tme heads up)
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Ngaio – A Peek Down Below

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NGAIO – A Peek Down Below

Last weekend a few woodys gathered in Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island, one of my all time favourites was there – Ngaio the 1921, Arch Logan built, 36‘ launch owned by Jan Barraclough.
Ngaio is such a stunner she couldn’t be from any other designer / builder than Arch Logan. I got to have a peek below – enjoy 🙂
She has made several appearances on WW, links below – her restoration is well documented here.
19-03-2020 Harold Kidd Input – How interesting to see the Logan Bros’ builders’ plate on NGAIO. I assume it was put there by Arch? If so, he was keeping the LOGAN BROS name alive. Of course he would still have had a stock of their builders’ plates but I can’t quite work out his motivation in using one on NGAIO. Robin might care to comment too?
20-03-20 Robin Elliot Input –Sorry I missed this. I have been self-isolating for the past 15 years or so and now it seems the world has caught up with how peaceful it can be.

The Logan plate is Interesting. From the photos in the earlier WW posts, that plate has been there on Ngaio for some time but whether it was there at the time of launching is impossible to say. Doubtful.

I’m not sure if there is one on Doreen/Coquette – I don’t think so – but as you say why would he put one on Ngaio in 1921? He was very ‘proper’ and it just would not have been right.

I suspect that rascally his son Jack was flinging them out when he cleared out the house in Bayswater in the 1950’s and passed one over to the then owner of Ngaio; probably on the grounds that Ngaio was an Arch tweak of a general hull shape developed at Logan Bros?

Interesting that there are 4 small screw holes in the plate around its edge but some philistine has drilled two big boofy holes in the centre for a couple of bog-standard slotted screws. The two empty holes in the timber above the plate lead me to believe there was another item (a different plate?) there before the Logan plate.

It’s not strictly correct but hey, its a nice addition.

RC Yacht Racing
Yesterday while waiting to pick up a family member from the medical centres near North Shore Hosp. I wandered down to Lake Pupuke and spied a group of gents sailing their yachts in the Quarry Lake.
A very pleasant way to fill in 1/2 hr – nearly forgot about the patient 🙂

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Telstar II – Vintage Speed Boat

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TELSTAR II – VINTAGE SPEED BOAT

I came across this ‘classic’ speed boat while trolling thru trademe. All the Masterton, Wairarapa based seller knows is that its 13’ in length.
Maybe the number on the hull, W.P. 45, will help us ID the boat.
 
Unless she held the NZ water speed record (which I highly doubt) the vendors asking price of $3.5k is a tad bullish.
 
23-05-2022 Update
Peter McLeod contacted us to advise that he now has Telstar II under his care and has just about finished recommissioning her. Photos below.
 
 
 

Welcome To The Waitemata – Cindy Jane

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Welcome To The Waitemata Cindy Jane
These days we seem to lose more woodys to other parts of Auckland than gain them on the Waitemata. So its very cool when we get one back.
I was recently contacted by Steve Taylor to let me know that he had just bought the 34’ Pelin Empress – Cindy Jane. Launched in 1975 she slots into the ’spirit of tradition’ category, built from kahikatea she has been glassed.
I’m always impressed with the amount of space on these woodys.
Cindy Jane is now calling Bayswater home but previously was a Taupo girl.
Steve bought Cindy Lane along to the Woody Classics BBQ at Little Oneroa last month.
Anyone able to tell us more about Cindy Jane’s past?

Erinor – A Peek Down Below

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ERINOR –  A Peek Down Below

Back in August 2014 Erinor made a brief appearance on WW, link below, lots of chat in the comments section.
What I can tell you is she was built by McGeady in 1953 for Gordon Collie and measures 33’6” x 10’8” x 3’6”. Powered by a Ford 120hp diesel.
In a previous life she was named – Lady Allyson.
Thanks to tme we get to have a peek down below.
Note To Self – Don’t Raft Alongside Trinidad – tends to lead to ‘short pants’ syndrome 🙂
RD+Trinny+Ngaio
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Northern Star

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NORTHERN STAR
Its not often we see an Australian designed / built Halvorsen in NZ waters, they are the darlings of Sydney Harbour. Its even rarer to see an ex WW II one.
Northern Star was built in 1944 by Lars Halvorsen & Sons for the Royal Australian Air Force as a air-sea rescue boat.
She measures 38’x10’x4’. Current power is from a 306hp Volvo TAMD61A diesel that gets her along at 12>13 knots.
Her owner has had her for 45 years and she is  now 4sale on tme – a few rot issues to her plywood stern area and fore deck but I’m sure easily fixed. Rather a smart boat for the current price ($20+k)
Anyone know how she came to be in NZ ?
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Ngarurua + CYA Regatta Sailing Photos

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NGARURUA

The 37’ Ngaruroa was built by Nobby Clark, a commercial boat builder and launched in 1965. Built from carvel plank, heart kauri. Powered by a 120hp 6 cylinder Perkins diesel engine. 
Over the last 8 years she has been under gone an extensive re-fit and her owner now finds themselves just too busy to complete the project – so if there is a woody out there handy with their hands – Ngarurua just needs her interior finished and a lick of paint. She is fully operational in its present state. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the tme heads up.

CYA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA UPDATE – DAY TWO (Races 2&3)
Yesterday morning I was dock side at Race HQ co-ordinating a meet up between renowned wooden boat photographer Benjamin Mendlowitz and James Dreyer (MV Laughing Lady) and I got ‘press ganged’ into accompanying them on LL for the day. Was not what I had planned but sometimes you just go with the flow.
Had an amazing day and got some great sailing photos. A taste below – full story on Monday.

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A10 – Thelma / A7 – Rainbow

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A7 – Thelma / A2 – Rawhiti

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A16 – Little Jim

Kotare – 4sale

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KOTARE
 
Over the Xmas / NY (2020) period Barbara and David Cooke were cruising aboard their launch – Trinidad and anchored near the ex work boat Kotare and as you do, introduced themselves to her owner, Laurence Ryan.
The photo gallery is a mix of photos from Barbara Cooke and her owners.  
The story below was sent to Barbara by Laurence and is reproduced unedited.
 
“Kotare was designed and built by John Miller who was a boat builder who worked for Miller and Tunnage in Dunedin. However, I am told he is not one of the Millers, as such. She was built in 1940. Solid oregon plank construction, hull and decks. 15 m OA, 13.8 m on the waterline, 2 m draft, 31 tonnes fully laden. Beam 3.66 m. She was built as a trawler and fished out of Dunedin and possibly Lyttleton. She fished at the Chathams and features in the book “Shipwrecks of New Zealand”. She was in a convoy of some six fishing boats making the trip to the Chathams in extremely bad weather. Two of the vessels were lost with all hands – Kotare made it!
 
She was first converted into a pleasure boat in 1987 by the owner, John Liddell, from whom I bought her. The conversion was undertaken by Careys in Picton. A further variation was completed in 2000 where the final configuration occured.  John Liddell had her in SSM and she spent most of her new life in the Marlborough Sounds doing some fishing charters. John took her to the Chathams, Stewart Island, Fiordland and she circumnavigated NZ twice.
 
She is powered by a Detroit GM 6/71 2 stroke diesel, 225 hp de-rated to 195 hp, Alison 3:1 gearbox.  The whole engine was rebuilt in 2006.
 
I purchased her in September 2016 and we sailed her up the east coast from Mana that Labour weekend, 72 hours non-stop!”
 
Below is a photo of Kotare, before the alterations – trolling off the Otago coast.
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