Yesterday the 30’ 1978 Roy Parris built launch – Waikaro, slipped back into the creek at the Slipway, Milford, looking very smart post a lot of work both in and outside. A Jason Prew paint job and 15+ coats of uroxsys were just the icing on the cake + lots of work on her systems and ‘lets keep the water on the outside’ eg new windows etc.
No sooner had Waikaro vacated the cradle, the 38’ 1937 Sam Ford built launch – Menai (below) was climbing into a warm bed. After a lot of deferred maintenance work, Menai had been ’settling down’ eg taking up on one of the Milford marina berths before getting her final top coats. The new bow-thruster certainly made manoeuvring in the creek easy.
UPDATE 12-07-2022 back in the water after the JPPJ at The Slipway Milford.
We followed the refit of the 26′ Colin Wild 1925 built launch – Little Tasman extensively on WW, links below will give you a great insight into the project undertaken by Colin Brown and Josh Hawke at the Omaha Yard.
The other day I uncovered a very cool video put together by Kauri Classics that gives us an overview of the project.
Post re-launching Little Tasman was relocated to her new home in Wellington.
The build of the 30’ launch – Pearl Diver was started in 1960 by Ken Rickett’s friend Lloyd Burnand. She was built in an old corrugated iron shed, at his parent’s home, in Ngapipi Rd Orakei. Lloyd bought the boat as a kit set off Shipbuilders, who supplied a good number of kit sets, all between about 28′ to 34′, during the years 1960-66. Over nearly 6 years Lloyd assembled / built the boat. At the time he was in his early 20’s (photo above of Lloyd outside the shed). Being somewhat of a perfectionist Lloyd put only the best of everything into the build and the launch was his pride & joy between 1965 to1982.
She was built of 3 skins of kauri, on opposite diagonals, held together by ‘Epiglue’, a very strong adhesive, this combined with through fastened copper nails, made her like a proverbial brick outhouse. The coamings were fibre-glassed over marine ply, with a very distinctive, futuristic for the day, window styling, which was partly created by Lloyd purchasing and having professionally cut up, a windscreen from a 1950’s Chev Impala car, and using the 90 degree rounded corner sections of the windscreen glass of this, for her front screen corners. The rest of the boat was finished with a product called ‘International Poly 707’.
Original power came from a 6 cyl. 100 h.p. intermittent and 86 h.p. continuous rating Ford diesel, which drove through a 2 to 1 Borg Warner gearbox & reduction gear, to a 20 x 22 Henley propeller. This engine was replaced c.1994 with a 180 h.p. inter-cooled artificially aspirated Ford diesel, which she still has today.
Lloyd was a keen aqualung diver from way back in the very early days of the sport i.e. the mid1950’s. He even fitted a portable 3000 p.s.i. petrol driven, aqualung compressor on Pearl Diver. The boat was named after his passion for diving and his wife named Pearl – a habit of many ’smart’ boat owners back in those days 🙂 The launch was kept at several locations during Lloyd’s tenure – Westhaven, Bayswater and the Tamaki River, but her best home was at the bottom of Llyod and Pearl’s waters edge home in Birkdale. There she would sit on a wooden cradle for winter maintenance. Note: click on photos to enlarge
Ownership Timeline
• Lloyd owned her until c.1982, when she passed to Pearl & her second husband Steve Lomax, kept on a swing mooring at the Sandspit, Warkworth. • Sold in c.1987/8, to a Mr C Bradshaw. For how long unknown – anyone able to confirm timings. • Late 1980’s or early 1990’s appeared for sale with a Titirangi phone number – price $50k • Mid 1999 she appeared for sale again with a Northland phone number. Price $75k, (new 180HP engine fitted). The ad photo shows a fly bridge added. The owner was Graham Eastgate of Tutukaka. • Eastgate sold her to Doug and Raewyn Marsh in July 1999 and they relocated the boat to McLeods Bay, Whangarei Heads. • July 2004 the Marshs sold the launch to Barry and Julie Spencer. The Spencers relocated the launch to Doves Bay, Kerikeri in August 2004. • Present owner, Reb Aplin, inherited Pearl Diver off the estate of Barry Spencer, Barry was in his 70’s, when they bought her and for a number of his later years Reb mostly cared for her, on his behalf, as age prevented Barry from doing much of her maintenance. When Barry passed away, late last year (2021), at age 89, he bequeathed Pearl Diver to Reb, who took the boat over a couple of months ago, and is going through her, and bringing her right up to the minute, in every respect. Hopefully considering removing the block of penthouse. She is still moored at Doves Bay, Kerikeri.
Special thanks to – Ken Ricketts for pulling the bones of this story together and the following people for their time, knowledge and sharing of photos – Pearl Burnand-Lomax, Warren Burnand ( Lloyd’s son), Val Schmidt (nee Burnand, Lloyd’s sister) and present owner Reb Aplin. Story edited a lot by Alan H
Regular WW readers will be familiar with the USA website – Off Center Harbor, Benjamin Mendlowitz who aside from being one of the world’s top marine photo journalists, is a co-founder of OCH – dropped me a note the other day re a video he shot for OCH last week. Its one of those feel good insights into what this classic woody boating gig is all about – Click the photo above to view – Enjoy 🙂
If you not a subscriber to OCH, you should be, neat stories and the back library is one of the best woody boating reference tool out there. In the link above there is a wee bonus – you can view 10 of the best OCH videos at no charge.
Friday was one of those special woody days – I travelled out to Pine Harbour marina to see the re-launch of Pirate, the Leon Warne 1939 built, 46’ launch.
Why was it special? Well back in March the launch Kokoru was ravaged in a dockside fire, just weeks after a total refit / restoration, links below to Kokoru. One of the few salvageable items were the brand new twin Yanmar 75hp engines.
The owners made the tough call and decided to purchase another classic and use Kokoru as a donor. The lucky woody purchased was – Pirate. And she became the recipient of Kokoua’s engines.
For the last 6 weeks the transplant and associated bits – new shafts, props etc and a lot of work to the tankage – size and location, has been happening.
Still a work in progress but back in the water and ready for the next stage of the project. Amazingly Pirate did not take on any water, probably the result of her owners hosing the hull down twice a day while hauled out.
WW will visit again when Pirate is ship-shape and knowing the owners – sparkling 🙂
A big shout out to the owners – it takes special people to (1) restore a woody (2) recover from seeing her destroyed (3) leaping back in and buy another – well done Tracy and Alan. I read somewhere the other day a quote that “beautiful boats attract beautiful people” – seems to fit this story 🙂
( fyi – Kokoru went to a good home and we understand, overtime will be rebuilt, so a happy ending)
WW has been contacted by the owner of the launch – Mahere, seen above. They are very light on information and history, so today we are asking for help in regard to design / builder / when built / past owners etc.
Mahere is powered by a 120hp Ford Trader diesel, see photo – very impressive exhaust ‘plumbing’.
Current home is Whakatakataka Bay, Auckland – otherwise known as the OBC basin 🙂
Yesterdays Quiz Winner – The lucky winner of a WW cap was Dave Stanaway – lots of entries in the draw but few got three tickets in the draw i.e. three correct answers – being Frangipani / Zane Grey / Off to Tahiti via Rarotonga
The skippers that had RSVP’ed have been contacted but FYI – the weekends Woody Cruise to Clevedon has been postponed – slightly evil forecast – new date tba
Several years ago the classic powerboat – Caberfeidh was bought to my attention by Shawn Vennell, who was attempting to put a price / value on her.
Caberfeidh at the time was owned by Lindsay Barron whose father, Tom, kept Caberfeidh in a berth at the Kinloch marina. He used the boat for fishing on Lake Taupo, where the family had a crib (bach). She was also used for big game fishing at Russell in the Bay of Island every year, leaving from Tauranga. So the Caberfeidh had many trips out to sea in the early days.
At the time I was talking with Shawn the boat hadn’t been on the water for approximately 8 years. It has always been kept in a large boat shed. Designed and built in 1967 by Dick Smith in Tauranga- a master builder and of a style that is recognised as a Dick Smith boat.Wooden/ply hull with fibreglass matt skin, inlaid mahogany transom – 5 meters in length.Inboard/outboard Volvo Penta motor.
So woodys – todays question is – what became of Caberfeidh? Hopefully still on the lake.
Update 05-07-2022 1st coat of the shinny stuff goes on
Classic Woody Yard Mooching
Dropped into The Slipway Milford the other day, very pleased to see the 1937, 38’ Sam Ford built launch – Menai, getting some serious TLC after languishing at the CYA’s Heritage Landing for many years, dockside chat was it was a permanent fixture.
As with most things in life, boat ownership goes in cycles and with new owners she is get the attention she deserves. Always nice to see painting prep well executed i.e. back to bare wood – that kauri looks as good as the day Sam Ford fastened it.
I understand a new engine has been installed so the TCL is serious – we like that 🙂
While there the 1945 K-Class – Jenanne was getting a Jason Prew Paint Job, the photo is coat one of two top coats, already very slick.
Now a tip on how to get marine engineers to come down to your boat – keep your engine room as ship-shape as the 1965 Owen Woolley built launch – Adonis – the man from the Moon didn’t even have to put his overalls on 🙂
Todays story comes to us from John Gander via Dean Wright. John you may recall designed and built the two stunning double-ender 38’ kauri yachts Whisper and Time (sisters) that have appeared on WW. Today John shares with us the story of himself and Frank Derbyshire saving the 1935 Charles Bailey & Sons built fishing vessel – Joan from becoming firewood – I’ll let John tell us the story: (click on photos to enlarge)
“About November 1975 Frank Derbyshire and I arrived at Port Taranaki from Picton having successfully tendered for the fishing vessel ‘Joan’ and her equipment. ‘Joan’ was moored alongside the wharf when struck by the bulbous bow of the phosphate ship “Eastern Saga” as the ship was being manoeuvred in the harbour. Joan suffered extensive damage and was crushed about amidships.
Prior to our arrival the vessel had been lifted onto the breakwater wharf, her wheelhouse had been removed and her 6L3B Gardner engine was on beds in a wharf workshop having been stripped down, cleaned, reassembled and run.
“Joan” is a triple skin vessel of about 35 tonnes, and thanks to Harold Kidd it is confirmed that she was built by Charles Bailey and Sons and launched on 14th October 1935. We weren’t familiar with New Plymouth but soon learned that if you can see the mountain it is going to rain and if you couldn’t see the mountain it was raining, however we did experience some fine weather.
We were advised by a few sceptics to put a match to her, she will never go to sea again, however after a week or so into the repair and it was seen that we knew a bit about wooden boats some of those on local fishing boats and other workers about the wharf became very helpful when it came to advice on where best to procure some items we required during the repair. One person who was especially helpful to us was a retired fisherman Frank Roper. We learned that Frank was held in high regard by the local fishermen and was known to most on the wharf. He approached us saying in his retirement he needed something to do and could he help, and what a help he was.
After lifting the fuel and water tanks out it was Frank who chipped and wire brushed them, and applied a new cement wash to the inside of the water tanks and primed and painted the exterior, and while doing this he also stoked the fire for our steam box, this of course was when it wasn’t a problem to have a fire on the wharf at New Plymouth.
Prior to tendering for the vessel I had flown to New Plymouth for an inspection and made a note of the timber requirements to take to the job. For the inner skins we used Larch that was grown in the upper Awatere Valley Marlborough, and milled at Blenheim. Not such a common timber to use in New Zealand boatbuilding but we had the advice of Peter Jorgensen a Danish boatbuilder who knew Larch, we found it a good timber to work with and it steamed well.
After the initial inspection by the Marine Department wooden boat surveyor Bill Salter we set about clearing away the damaged section, this also entailed removing the freezer compartment and the cork insulation, and cutting scarfs in the stringers and gunwale well forward and aft.
The deck covering board was forced up during the impact but not damaged, we pulled this down into place, repaired the bulwarks, and from memory I think we replaced the outer planking with White Pine ( Kahikatea ) and Australian hardwood for the new belting, Metalex was a good wood preservative we used in those days, and red lead for priming paint.
We did have our share of rain but a bigger problem was salt spray during heavy westerly weather, this was before RCD’s were in vogue and electric tools were mostly metal, when the seas hit the breakwater and the fine salt spray wet the tools, it made one jump around a bit. But looking back on the job now we were lucky imagine asking a Port Company now if you could have a fire for the steam box on the wharf run a few power leads, and spread wheelhouse, tanks, and other ships gear about, and all this without a dozen orange cones and danger notices, yet we survived without mishaps.
With completion of repairs and a new Marine Department survey we left New Plymouth late afternoon bound for the Marlborough Sounds with Frank Roper aboard. Frank had fished the coast south to Cape Egmont and he regaled us with stories of fishing in the days of long lining before depth sounders, when after catching the fish they cleaned and gutted the catch on the way home.”
NEW INPUT FROM Chris Waide – We have owned Joan for 8 years now, has a 4/71 Jimmy, the hull is tight and sound, those guys must have done a great job of repairing her back then. Although the mishap on the West Coast was also on the port side, she was repaired at Guards Ship Yard with kahikatea but sat out in the rain for a few years and went rotten. She was then bought by Doug Valk, (a local boat builder) he put her in a paddock and completely rebuilt and converted to pleasure, refer photos below. The port side damage was repaired using Lawson cypress this time and Doug was helped by Andrew Candler who is a traditional shipwright, and is still a commercial vessel surveyor here in Nelson.Joan’s home these days is Motueka.
03-05-2022 Input from Dean Wright – photos below ex Auckland Museum collection
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