Category Archives: Boat Sheds

Restoring & Installing a Gardner in Arethusa – Revisited

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Restoring & Installing a Gardner in Arethusa

story & photos ex Dean Wright

It not often I get sent info on a boat & it jumps the queue & appears on ww the next day. If you have been following on ww the rolling restoration Dean has been doing on Arethusa over the last few years you would know two things, Arethusa is in very good hands & Deans a very talented commercial photographer. So the links below to Deans latest project – the restoration of a Gardner 4LW & subsequent installation in Arethusa are well worth check out.

Restoration     http://deanwright.co.nz/arethusa/log-arethusa/152-gardner-4lw-diesel-restoration.html

Installation      http://deanwright.co.nz/arethusa/log-arethusa/154-installing-the-gardner.html

Some history below

Arethusa ticked over 96 this year. She started life as a gaff rigged cutter, built by Bob Brown (designer of the Z class) at Sulphur Beach, Northcote. She’s carvel planked kauri, 33′ 4″ LOA with a 12′ Beam. With the aid of a fair bit of ballast she weighs 10 tonnes. She’s had an interesting life, more details here http://deanwright.co.nz/history.html

Electro-Chemical Damage In Wooden Boats Update – Revisited

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rudder electrochemical damage

 


ELECTRO-CHEMICAL DAMAGE IN WOODEN BOATS UPDATE
A Special Post By Chris McMullen

Recently I received a note from Chris where he questioned if the story we posted last year on ww about electro-chemical damage to wood  was a little too long & were people reading it. Well I can tell you that the post is the single most visited story on ww, ever, & gets read by people all over the world. Its frequently referred to on the hugely popular WoodenBoat Forum in the USA. The link below takes you to the original story.

Electrochemical Damage To Wood – the marine version of ‘leaky homes’

For the impatient ones out there 🙂 Chris has done a ‘Readers Digest’ version & refers to a vessel that recently featured on ww.
I encourage all of you to read today’s story & if you own a classic wooden boat – read both versions – the problem is the biggest risk to the life of our classic boats.

In Chris’s words:
“I received the above disturbing images of another woody being destroyed by an owner who I believe is unintentionally loving his boat to death.

The use of anodes and bonding on a wooden boat is fatal. The cathode or protected metal makes hydrogen gas and this combined with saltwater makes Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). This chemical is used to pulp wood in the paper making industry. Not on my boat thank you! I say again, there is no reason to use anodes and bonding on any boat. The only exception, steel hulls require anodes. If copper or bronze are being corroded it is due to a positive DC leak and Zinc anodes will not help. Find the electrical leak is the cure. If there is brass or manganese bronze underwater it will corrode due to the
zinc in the alloy. Anodes will possibly stop the corrosion but at the expense of wood damage. A better plan is to replace the brass with proper marine bronze.

Bronze and copper should last indefinitely in the sea. To prove that statement, I ask you to look at the Roman coins and artifacts salvaged from ships wrecked in the fourteenth century. There was no anodic protection and the metal is well preserved. So what is the difference to the copper and bronze on your boat? There is absolutely no difference so why waste your money buying anodes that will in time destroy
your wooden boat.

Three or four bottles of wine will cost the same as anodes and will make you and your boat happier.”

Note: ww is read all around the world, if there is water & boats, there are people reading ww. So a little about the man for non kiwi’s  – Chris is one of NZ’s most respected boat builders (retired) and at one time was the Lloyds (Honorary) Wood Boat Surveyor in Auckland. Chris’s (the original company) ‘McMullen & Wing’ built and repaired wood, steel and marine aluminium vessels. They built the first welded aluminum vessels in NZ. Chris is the current holder of the Classic Yacht Association of New Zealand ‘Outstanding Achievement Trophy’ for services to classic boating.

14-05-2016 Photo Update
Gavin Gault sent in the below photos of a Nova skeg floor that he believes were probably damaged due to engine – anode bonding failure. Pretty graphic !!

 

10-07-2016 Reply from Chris McMullen

“Wow. Thank you Gavin Gault for sharing your very graphic images. Very sad, small consolation but yours will not be the only wooden boat affected by this scourge.
Maybe, at last some of the Flat Earth Society will start to believe what I have been saying. The worst detractors are some in the Marine Industry who have been preaching the Anode, Bonding party line for years.  Now there is no where to run for cover,  they continue to conjure up excuses and it seems, refuse to accept a simple scientific fact.
“If you have a positive and negative electrode in salt water, the negative cathode or protected metal makes hydrogen gas and this combined with salt water makes Sodium hydroxide.”
This chemical is also known as caustic soda and removes paint and destroys wood.  There is no doubt about this fact. You do require a power source and bonded dissimilar metals ( zinc and copper) provide sufficient current to do the damage, but slowly.
If there is a negative DC leak (to the sea)on a bonded boat the process is accelerated. If there is a positive leak any metal becomes an anode and will waste away. It is important to isolate the DC power from contact with the sea. Again bonding is just asking for trouble. Please remove Anodes and Bonding from your wooden boat now!
Chris McMullen”

06-09-2106 In case you were not to sure what to look out for – the below photo should be a wake-up call to a few woodys 😉

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New Zealand Classic Wooden Boat Register – 200+ Photos

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New Zealand Classic Wooden Boat Register – 200+ Photos

Stoked to be able to share with you the 2018 edition of the CYA Classic Register. Big ups to the CYA team behind it, pulling everything together is a massive undertaking, I’ve been there & done that, having been involved with the first 4 issues – 2018 is a winner, so make a cup of coffee or pour something a little stronger & sit back & enjoy over 200 photos. Click link below

to view https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/fullscreen/59612422/cya-classic-register-2018-yum

Lucky CYA members will be getting a free hard copy version in the post very soon. Almost worth joining to get a copy 😉 Membership details here  http://classicyacht.org.nz/joinus/

Mystery Clinker & Engine

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MYSTERY ENGINE

In the latest Lake Rotoiti Wooden Boat Association newsletter, one of the members, Andy Hammond, was looking for help to ID the engine in his 14’ clinker run-about.

Andy commented that the engine was a proper marine unit with F & R gearbox, and almost certainly “Made in England” as it says so on the fuel filter housing. Also has A/F spanner sizes.

Any woodys able to help Andy out on the engine? & what do we think about the design of the boat?

 

Nukutere – Part 2

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Construction & Launching

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1940’s War Service & Up To About 1950’s

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1960’s > 1981

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NUKUTERE – Part 2

Back in September (11th 2017) I wrote a story on WW about the launch Nukutere, as a result of that story Bernie Warmington made the comments below on the WW Comments section

“Hi, the lovely Nukutere was built by Arthur Sang for our grandad Foster Warmington of Wellington, from 1939-41.  She remained in the family until 1981.  Grandad sketched up some design drawings from reading boating magazines and Arthur made up a model.  (Grandad then shaved the model to make the bows finer, Arthur didn’t find out until she was partly built!).  Moored mostly at Port Nicholson and then later at Seaview, and in the Sounds she was moored at Nana and Grandad’s house in Double Cove.  She saw naval service as Frank mentioned, her registration was Z74.  My Dad Gavin and Uncle John went on night patrols when 14 and 15 until the navy banned them due to age.  Not sure what Nana thought of all this… We have a small book based on Dad’s memories of the Nukutere and her adventures, happy to share these, photos etc with the current owners and others interested.”

I asked Bernie to send me the above mentioned photos, which appear above. What a collection – I have broken them into 3 parts.

  1. Construction & Launching (stunning photo of the kauri log)
  2. 1940’s War Service & Up To About 1950’s
  3. 1960’s > 1981

THE NUKUTERE STORY – Below is a link (in blue) to a photo-essay book, titled The Nukutere Story, that Gavin Warmington authored for his family. The story & photos were passed over (told) to his children – Julie, Bernie & Matty in late 2007 > early 2008.

The family edited the story & published it in March 2016. WW is in debt to the Warmington family for sharing the book with all us woodys.

Enjoy the read, it puts all the above photos & more in context.

THENUKUTERESTORY

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Link to the WW post #1 showing Nukutere today.  https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/09/11/nukutere/

 

 

 

 

A Master Class in Wooden Boat Building

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A Master Class in Wooden Boat Building

In the past I have published several links to retired Australian boat builder, Ian Smith’s blog (Smithy’s Boatshed) on the building of his 24’ Ranger Class yacht. Today’s link is to the full blog; it is a truly amazing record of how to build a wooden boat. If Ian was to appear on the TV program Mastermind, his specialist topic would be ‘Australian Open Boats’, the man is a living legend. Read / view the story, if you are too busy, bookmark it for later reference.

(thanks to Robin Elliott for pointing me in the direction of Ian’s build / blog)  

http://smithysboatshed.weebly.com/blog

 

Rawene – A Peek Down Below

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RAWENE – A Peek Down Below

Woody John Wicks sent in the above photos of the launch Rawene. They came from a friend of John’s, who got them from his brother on Tauranga, so the details were a little light e.g.  only the name & the date 1926.

This Rawene (there have been a few) has appeared on WW before when she lived on Lake Waikaremoana, looks like she is being hauled after receiving some TLC, as mentioned below in the owner’s comments. Great to see below decks.

Link here to when she first appeared on WW, I in fact had suggested that she had to be a finalist for the 2016 Floating Bach Awards 😉 https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/05/21/2016-floating-bach-award/

Below I have reproduced Hendrik Metz’s WW comments on the vessel.

Keen to hear more about what happened to with her while she was out & if she did make it back to the Lake?

Rawene – as told by owner, Hendrik Metz

Built in 1928 by L.C. Coulthard, Boatbuilder of Onehunga, on a commission for a Mr Alexander Alexander of Napier, Rawene operated as a fishing boat out of Ahuriri.

After the Napier Earthquake in 1931, Rawene was left high and dry on the newly formed mudflats, caused by the earthquake.  Mr Thomas Holden of Gisborne, on a visit to Napier thought she would make a good lake boat and purchased her and brought her to Waikaremoana, in 1931.

The Holden and Heggarty families spent many happy holidays at Waikaremoana on board Rawene.  In 1960 following the death of Mr Holden the boat was sold to the Chapman Brothers of Frasertown, who owned her for the next eight years.  Phillip de Lautour, who was then farming at Ohuka, purchased Rawene from the Chapmans about 1968 and eventually sold her to Walmsley Canning of Porangahau, April 1970.  On 11th September 1976 she was purchased by a partnership of Jock Ross and Evert Metz.  The Metz/Ross families still own her today.

She is currently in Tauranga undergoing a refit but will be back at Waikaremoana early in 2017.

Mr Coulthard’s son, who helped with her construction says they built an identical boat at the same time but he cannot remember her name – if anyone knows of a similar shaped hull we would be keen to hear more.  Originally Rawene didn’t have the raised roof at the stern or the poop deck these were added in about 1978.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Hard to Find the Perfect Wife….

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It’s Hard to Find the Perfect Wife….

……But woody Rod Prosser has. Over the last couple of years Rod has been acquiring a flotilla of classic woodys in various stages of restoration.

You may recall that he already owns ‘Firefly’ the 1882, 25’ counter stern day launch & the late 1950’s / 60’s Chev 327 V8 powered flat-bottom ski boat ‘Kiri Moana’.

Rod was doing a trademe troll & came across the old Lake Karapiro ski boat above, desperately looking for a new home. Given that Rod had a set of deck vents, step pads, windscreen supports, plus flags and other various other bits and pieces sitting on a shelf, in the garage, left over from when he was doing the Classic Craft boats way back & they would not suit the flat bottom ski boat – it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Just needed wife Florence’s nod of approval & seeing that she had been asking what Rod was going to do with the bits, he suggested a family trip to Tauranga & surprise, surprise – came back owning the Karapiro boat.

As a bonus it came with a pretty rare Gray Marine AMC Rambler 327 Fireball V8 from the early sixties.

Even better news, Lake Rotoiti boat builder Alan Craig may have an old farm shed to store her until she gets her time in the sun.

So short, long story – Rod must have the perfect wife. 3 boats, that beats me.

 

 

2017 Centreboard Cup – 50 Photos

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2017 Centreboard Cup at the Herne Bay Yacht Club, Sloanes Beach

Raindance got a big 24hr workout at the weekend – Friday was the old mates lunch cruise to the Riverhead Pub, then back to Bayswater to drop the crew off & straight down to Waiheke Island for another mates dinner at the Oyster Inn. The nor-west puff put paid to anchoring in Oneroa so a quick call to Stephen Langton secured Kailua’s  mooring at Matiatia for the night.

The Oyster Inn was like a CYA gathering with several woodys there as well enjoying the late avo> evening sun on the deck – great to see Waimiga back in the water after some TLC, looking very sharp.

Up early & back to Auckland to catch the start of the Centreboard Cup. A good breeze ensured some lively racing. I was land based so could only focus on the pre-start > start. But I was perfectly placed to capture Corona’s rather embarrassing oops at the start with a boat-shed – they were over the line at the start (by a country mile) & came back, then it all went pear shaped – check out the slideshow below.

Hopefully someone captured some on-the-water racing photos that we can share on WW?

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This is the start of the oops, I suspect the skipper under estimated the length of the ramp, that was well submerged by a very high tide

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Swiftsure – Restoration Project In-Waiting

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Swiftsure – Restoration Project In-Waiting  

I was recently contacted by Harold Kidd in regard to Swiftsure the 1921 centreboarder that needs major restoration and to the right person –  is free for collection.

Harold supplied some history on the yacht below.

SWIFTSURE was built by George McLean of Birkenhead in 1920 a bit under 16ft and a bit over 14ft (about 4 inches) because of the available lengths of timber.

Her first race appears to have been in November 1921 with the Ponsonby Cruising Club in their “14ft handicap class” i.e. not square-bilge and not Jellicoe Class 14s, owned by G. McLean. She was on scratch which indicates a first race. She raced consistently much of her life. She was registered with the 14ft T Class when the AYMBA introduced its alpha-numeric system in 1922. She was allotted T38.

By the 1923 Anniversary Regatta her oversize had apparently been picked up and she was moved to the 16ft S Class as S62. She was then owned by George’s nephew Ted Fitzgerald. After a protest she had the offending bit sawn off her stern and was reregistered as T6 in 1934. Later he put the 4 inches back on and she raced with the 16 footers as S62.

After he retired her from racing as an open boat post WW2 Ted built on a raised foredeck and a bigger cuddy.He took her on an annual cruise to Great Barrier with his two little girls. Amazing!

Swiftsure is now stored under cover at Beachhaven and stabilized but needs a total restoration. The above photo shows her racing as an S Class. Harold commented that it was hard to photograph her under her current shelter (see below bottom). The 1st group of photos below were taken some years ago before she deteriorated but give a good idea of her final, “cruising” configuration under Ted Fitzgerald’s ownership.

Interested parties can contact Harold via WW  or Grant Firth at gfirth1955@gmail.com

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