Category Archives: CYA Boat

Cockpit Table

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Finished Project

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Romance II – the inspiration

The project

The old trademe table

Cockpit Table Project
As I tend to do I had been admiring & gathering ideas for a cockpit table for Raindance for a long time. Then one day I was aboard Harold Kidd’s launch Romance II & I spied his set up. He had the table ‘hanging’ of the stern & a drop down leg. This was enough inspiration to start me off.

I bought an old table on trademe for $30 (horrible yellow formica top & a bloody big drop down leg) & I started playing around with how I could adapt it to fit on Raindance. Being a bit of a wood butcher, I was lucky to discover a wonderful wooden craftsman, a perfectionist, by the name of Lional Barkle & we started the project.
I already had the bronze stern mounts, bought in Germany from the marine chandlery ‘Toplicht’. I striped the table & had custom-made s/s brackets that fit the bronze mounts.
Lional being much cleverer than me came up with the idea of an arched / cantilevered leg/support. It’s almost like a tiller & slots into a foot. Makes the area so much more open & frees up the space underneath.

Lional made the leg from 116-year-old kauri timber I discovered underneath my grandparents home in Herne Bay, actually ceiling boards. These (x8) were cleaned up & steam bent & laminated together. The leg fits into a teak & kauri base with pins to hold it in place. It took an unbelievable number of hours, as everything had to be tailor made – measure, make, dry fit, adjust, dry fit, adjust etc. We had to rebuild in the stern locker to take the strain of the leg set up. I love the suspended look & its just so practical. The leg also sits in a ‘boot’ under the table to secure it more.
The finished unit is perfect & has so much more Lional B in it than Alan H 😉  he is just so talented. Also makes other wooden products – toys, chopping boards etc – his website is http://www.woodspark.co.nz & on facebook as well, reach search woodspark.

A Lap of Waiheke

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A Lap of Waiheke

Over Labour weekend we did a lap of Waiheke Island in Raindance – bumped into a few classic’s, some will appear on ww in the next few days.
As we approached Oneroa mid afternoon on Saturday the weather was doing exactly as predicated  & the southerly was starting to pick up, coming around the point & it was blowing dogs off chains. Headed over to Little Oneroa & it was almost a mill pond, dropped the pick between James Mobberley (Moon Engines)  & Dan Ranell’s stunning N. Herreshoff designed yacht – Jonquil, pictured above with George Ranell ‘on watch’. Potentially it could have been a disaster i.e. 3 kids under 5 between the 2 boats – but good parenting saved the day. A few late afternoon coldies on Jame’s launch ‘Cartel’ was the perfect lead in to dinner – a wood fired pizza on the beach from the resident pizza caravan. Saturday was a cracker of a day on all fronts. Nice weather, people & boats.

For the first time (that I can remember) we had a peaceful night in Little Oneroa & woke to a stunning day (Sunday), one out of the bag. A quick breakfast ashore at ‘Wai’ & a few provisions from the ‘new’  store on the roundabout, called ‘The Island Grocer’ – its where the old general store (fruit & veg focus was) used to be. Less hairy armpits on display these days & a great hole in the wall coffee operation. Perfect spot to people watch.

Headed down the north side to the bottom end, very pleasant trip & a lot of people both fishing & catching fish. Mooched around a few bays & anchored in Man ‘o’ War Bay. The vineyard operation was a zoo with Island day trippers, so held off going ashore until late afternoon for a drink. Quiet night in the bay, except for 2 sets of very young children doing laps of the bay in dinghies with 2hp outboards – I do not lie when I say it went from 6pm to 10pm, if I had had a gun – I would have popped the tubes.

Slow start in the morning, had to wait for the tide, appears I had discovered a wee mud bank, never went a ground but I draw 2’3″ & the depth sounder was showing 0.700m (27.5″) 😦 So it was a leisurely breakfast 🙂 Th day was overcast & forecast to rain later on, so we headed home at lunch time. As we were leaving MoW, W1 was coming in – first time I had seen her ‘live’ on the water – way more narrow than I expected given her length, but still an impressive sight & a credit to the owner, who under took a lengthy restoration in his driveway in Herne Bay.
Saw Deodar (#1) in MoW looking very smart – photos tomorrow on ww.

A fantastic weekend, only takes a few days of good weather & one quickly forgets all the cursing & swearing over winter about bloody old wooden boats.

Below are a couple of photos from Rod Marler of the classic’s –  Arohanui, Trinidad, Lady Crossley & Nereides (looking none the worse for her oops at the Whangateau boat yard) at Kawau over the weekend. I hear the Kawau Boating Club was going off on Saturday night for the All Blacks v Aust rugby test.

Photo below of Wairangi at West Bay, Rakino Island on Sunday, taken by her owner & emailed in by Ken Ricketts.

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Mahanui Refit

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October 2016

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Before

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October 2016

Mahanui Refit

Over winter Angus Rogers (CYA Launch Captain) booked Mahanui into Greg Lees yard at Sandspit for a wee facelift. Mahanui has been a frequent visitor to the surgeons – she was built by Keith Atkinson in 1977 & originally launched as Jacinta II. Eight years ago her then owner changed the name to Mahanui & converted the portofino stern topsides to conventional topsides and added a new duckboard. He also shortened the flying bridge coamings.
Angus purchased Mahanui in February 2012 & in May 2012 she went into Lees Boatyard at Sandspit for a 9 months total refurbishment that included new engines – full details can be found here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/05/10/mahanui-jacinta-ii/

This winter saw the canopy over Mahanui’s cockpit replaced with a permanent structure & the finished article is a perfect fit. But as I have said before, we expect nothing less from the team at Lees Boat Builders. Compare the first two photos above & I think you will agree. Below is a ‘as launched’ photo.

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As launched

Skipper CJ

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Skipper CJ

I took the above photos of the Chris Craft launch Skipper CJ anchored in Man O War Bay over the 2015/16 xmas/ny period. Obviously an import but her owner has done the right thing & joined the CYA, in fact we had her with us on the last trip up the creek to the Riverhead Hotel.
There is a lot of boat there for I suspect not a lot of green backs.

Interested to learn more about here & how & when she arrived in NZ. Maybe one of the American ww followers can chip in with some info on the model of the boat.

And while we are having a USA day – if you are looking for some wooden boat reading over the weekend – the link below is to the Sept/Oct issue of the USA Classic Yacht on-line magazine. Now if you think the market for wooden boats in NZ is depressed check out the motorboat ‘Blue Mist’ listed for sale on page 89 (top right side). At US$145k it would appear a steal – but then again …………….

http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/ClassicYacht/classic-yacht-september-october-2016/2016100701/#0

A Woodys Weekend

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A Woody Weekend

After the last few days of inclement weather – its time to leave the house & get a wooden boat fix.
This weekend at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour the Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition is celebrating the iconic Mullet Boat.
Yesterday at the official opening – aka,  morning tea 🙂 Tony Stevenson from the Tino Rawa Trust, welcomed over 100 of Auckland’s yachting identities to the exhibition. The photos above give you a peek at the displays – on & off the water BUT only a peek, if you can, do make the effort to visit the exhibition – its open 10am > 4.00pm Saturday & Sunday at Karanga Plaza, Halsy St, Wynyard Quarter (in fron of the old Team NZ base)

As always with these events, the team have produced a 48 page booklet (below) to support the exhibition, this years one – ‘The Mullet Boat, is a cracker & from the pen/s of Harold Kidd & Robin Elliott, truely is a must have for any serious woody.
I have a copy to give away – so the first woody that can email me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & tell me the name of the mullet boat that appears the most times on the Lipton Cup, wins the book.

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COASTAL PATROL DURING WWII

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CALLING ALL VESSELS COMMANDEERED FOR COASTAL PATROL DURING WWII

On November 19th 2016, the Royal New Zealand Navy are holding the 75th Naval Review & have extended an invitation to the owners of any historic vessels that might be interested in taking part in the Review procession.  Interested owners can check out the Op Neptune website http://nznavy75.co.nz/international-naval-review/ & are asked to make contact with Commander John Butcher via Andrew Watts – the email address is,  ANDREW.WATTS@nzdf.mil.nz , please include details on your vessel & a photo/s.

The 1932 Colin Wild built classic launch ‘Wirihana’ was one of a number of vessels commandeered by the Royal New Zealand Navy during WWII to run supplies and to patrol the coastal waters around the Hauraki Gulf and up to the Bay of Islands. Her identification was Q01, photos above & below. Wirihana took part in the 50th Naval Review along with a number of the other classics that served as patrol boats and will be participating again this year.

A lot of our classic fleet played a very important defence role during WWII, its not well recorded but the Hauraki Gulf was mined. It is NZ Governments best kept secret. The NZ press often quote the closest NZ has come to war was the Rainbow Warrior bombing! This is BS, they just don’t know. A lot of the records make the patrol work sound like a boys own trip but  Wirihana and the other boats were on patrol for two years summer and winter, it would not have been much fun in these small launches.
The crews made their own navigation sketches so they could recognise headlands by their outline in poor visibility. Similar to those in the NZ Pilot. They had no chart plotters or navigation aids (only a compass) and often ran without Navigation lights.

So woodys if you own or know someone that owns one of the launches – get in touch today with the RNZN

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Chris McMullen found the  letter below on board ‘Wirihana’. Chris commented that he would imagine the writer has now passed on. Chris hopes the letter may draw
some history from others with photos and letters hidden away. Photography
was illegal during the war but it certainly did not stop people from
recording their life at the time.
Chris  recalls going to school with a John Rhodes who he thinks lived at Bassett Rd.
Remuera. Maybe the same family?

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Below is light hearted list of NAPS boats out of Whangarei. Sent to me by Brian Fulton.

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08-1-2016 Input From Chris McMullen
A German Raider mined the outer Hauraki Gulf. An account is recorded in the translated from German, a book listed as “The Black Raider”by Kurt Weyher and Hans Jurgen Ehrlich.
Chris’s copy dated 1955. Below are the relevant pages but there is more. This happened June 13th 1940. As a result the SS Niagara was sunk 19th of June 1940.
The Raider Orion sunk many ships off the New Zealand Coast.

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Unknown Motorboat & Seaplane + Cool Event Invite

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UNKNOWN MOTORBOAT & SEAPLANE

Hello woodys, triple header today – name the motor boat, the seaplane & event / gathering, if there is one? Lots of people lining the breakwater, so possibly a VIP onboard. Photo belongs to the Tudor Collins collection at the Auckland Museum, emailed to me by Ken Ricketts (as is the M-class photo below)

CLASSIC YACHT & LAUNCH EXHIBITION INVITE

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Once again the Tino Rawa Trust is hosting the annual Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition – this years exhibition celebrates the iconic Mullet Boat.
On this Saturday & Sunday 10am > 4pm – Karanga Plaza – Halsey ST, Wynyard Quarter (in front of the ‘old’ Team NZ base)

ENTRY IS FREE – Further details here http://www.tinorawatrust.co.nz

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I APOLOGIZE
If sometimes I’m a tad slow in answering your emails – that is because I average around a 100 emails a day relating to ww. BUT keep them coming, I love hearing from you all. 🙂

Harold Kidd Input

The PanAm flight was a proving flight in late December 1937. PanAm  had set up an infrastructure at Mechanics Bay for their Sikorsky flying boat SAMOA CLIPPER which Imperial Airways’ Short Empire CENTAURUS also used. Capt Edwin Musick was pilot in command of the Sikorsky. Musick Point was named after him when the SAMOA CLIPPER caught fire and crashed at Samoa while dumping fuel preparatory to landing. The Short arrived just after the Sikorsky, obviously to show that the Brits were up to it as well as the Yanks. The Short’s range made it unable to carry a viable payload across the Tasman however.
As for the runabout/launch, the only reference I can find is that PanAm had a “special launch” at Mechanics Bay. Need to dig deeper.

Mystery Launch & A Few Yachts

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Mystery Launch & A Few Yachts

I’m hoping that I have not published this photo before, its from the Mac Taylor collection. Interested in ID’ing the launch.

Sorry for a rather lame post today but I’m laid low with the man flu, feeling very average, in fact didn’t even watch the All Blacks test last night.

A Mixed Bag

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A Mixed Bag

One good deed deserves another, I posted the other day that Robert Brooke had given me a ‘stern’ off one of his model clinker dinghies  – I have just returned the favour with a rather large framed photo of his family launch – Linda (below). I purchased it via trademe for next to nothing, after a thoughtful person posted a comment on ww about it being for sale. She was worried someone would buy it for the oak frame & scrap the photo.

Speaking of trademe I also purchased a brand new, never used, full set of signal flags, made in the UK, all hand stitched (not printed), 50cm x 40cm so too big for Raindance but perfect for events & boat launchings. I bought them for $60 – a steal 😉

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I had some left over Uroxsys (Allwood MA) in the shed & gifted it to Richard Dark who was re-doing his coamings on his classic launch – Seafarer. Richard used Uroxsys 2 seasons ago but misread the instructions re using the primer (which provides most of the UV protection) so had an unsatisfactory result. Richard is a perfectionist so back to bare wood & then the yellow primer & lots of coats of Uroxsys. In the photos below I think there had only been one top coat, so will look even better after 6>8 coats 😉

I had a few blisters on the cabin top of Raindance so paid my son to (gently) scrap it off. The end result was great but it looks like I have a chart of the Hauraki Gulf on there at the moment, one wag (Murray Deeble) has offered to drop down & mark the fishing spots with red X’s 🙂

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And the UK ww numbers have improved big time, after a little bit of SEO (search engine optimization) – top ten viewing countries, below, for the last few days.

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Laughing Lady Restoration Update

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Laughing Lady Looking Very Shiny

Trolling the web I came across the Seven Oceans Boatworks facebook page, the above photos do not need any copy, if you want to see lots & lots of photos of the work being done on Laughing Lady, check out sevenoceansboatworks on facebook 😉

24-09-2016  Update – getting closer. Love the ‘n0w you see it now you don’t GPS unit” 🙂

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Click to view GPS Unit ‘jack-in-the-box’