Canadian Classic Yacht Association Fleet 2021Cruise Today’s wooden boat eye candy comes to us from the recent Canadian CYA Launch Fleet cruise to Desolation Sound.
I have a connection to the fleet as several years ago I hosted Mike O’Brien (MV Euphemia) and his family for a day, while their cruise ship was berthed in Auckland – it was a trip around the marinas to view some of our own classic wooden boats. From memory 10 skippers made the time to open their boats up for the tourists.
Enjoy the gallery of stunning wooden classics. As always click on photos to enlarge 😉
To see more of the cruise ,check out the drone video below from Pedell Sound, taken by Maurizio Hublitz
In early 1961 Auckland hosted the British Medical Association conference, with attendees from all over the Commonwealth attending. Included in the conference was a ‘break’ day where the delegates and wives were taken on a picnic to Motuihe Island.
In the photo above we see the launches that were transporting everyone to the island, assembling off Westhaven. At the time it was one of the biggest organised gatherings of pleasure craft seen in New Zealand with over 66 laid on.The weather gods smiled on the day and Arnold Baldwin’s launch – Valsan was the convoy flagship.
There are a lot of woodys in the photo that still grace the Waitemata today. The photo and details come to us from the April 1961 Sea Spray magazine via Angus Rogers.
LIDGARD 1/2 MODELS – Help Needed Saturdays story on the 48’ Lidgard launch – Ngaro, link below, promoted Donna Lewis to contact WW re three 1/2 models that she purchased from a garage sale on Kawau Island, when she and husband Norm were living at Schoolhouse Bay. At the time she was told all three were Lidgard vessels. The painted one is obviously Ngaro, the writing on the back, supporting this.
Donna and Norm live in Australian the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and took the models with them, hopefully one day they will find their way home to NZ.
The challenge is that Donna doesn’t know which launches the other two models ‘belong’ too, so woodys – big ask today. Maybe an ex Lidgard worker can suggest suitable candidates. Or maybe one of the more talented WW readers recognizes something in the 1/2 model that is specific to a particular Lidgard design.
I suppose I should put a reward to the woody that provides the most credible suggestion. So a WW cap is on offer. For once, let’s do entries / suggestions via the WW comments section. I think the answers will be via a collaborative approach.
12-03-2022 UPDATE The models have arrived back in NZ from Australia, thank you – Donna Lewis, obviously the painted one at the bottom is Ngaro, there was comment on WW that the other two would be
TOP > TAILSMAN
MIDDLE > MELODY
Are we able to confirm the likelihood of this provenance and if so can anyone supply contact details of the current owners ?
You would have to look long and hard to find a classic woody in as original condition and as highly presented as the 1953, 48’ Lidgard built launch Ngaro. Scroll down to the b/w press clippings below, showing her as launched. One well respected woody once said “Its one of the few boats that, in my opinion looks better with painted coamings than the original varnish”.
The Lidgard clan really aced it when they designed and built Ngaro – I do not think I have seen a more perfect bridgedecker and that flying bridge, which has been there since day one, scores a 10/10.
She is a very well built ship being triple skin kauri – 2 – 6’x1/2” diagonal planks and 1 – 6’x1” longitudinal plank, with 3” bronze rivets.Power comes from twin 1985, 120hp Ford diesels, both rebuilt in the last 3 years, including gearboxes. Professional bare wood anti-foul in 2020 and full repaint in late 2014 – she presents as new. The mix of painted surfaces and varnished trim is perfect. As always – click on photos to enlarge.
Woodys Riverhead Tavern – Winter Cruise Yesterday was one of those days where the weather forecasters got it wrong -big time. Took the dog for an early morning waterfront walk between the showers and the ferries on the harbour were sounding their fog horns – fast forward 2 hours and the suns out, water glassy flat and we are going boating. Quick side trip to collect our quests – Margo & Jamie (MV Lady Crossley) from Westhaven and we are off.
A great turn out for mid-winter, saw 60+ woodys gathering at the historic waterside Riverhead Tavern for lunch – special thanks to those that came by car and helped with berthing the boats at the wharf. As always – click on photos to enlarge 😉
Nice to meet some new faces and if there was an award for most travelled attendee, woody Bruce Rowe on board – Ngarimu would be the winner. Bruce and his ‘decky’ mate – travelled from Thames to attend. The boys left Thames on Friday, stayed at bottom end of Waiheke, then off Stanly Point / Bayswater on Saturday night and will be heading home today. Talking to Bruce, Saturday night sounded heaven – tucked up in their warm bunks, rain on the cabin top, listening to the Auckland Blues rugby game, then the NZ v India cricket test – not a lot of sleep was had 🙂
We were also graced with the company of John and Diana Olsen on their steam boat – Dancer, The Olsen’s towed Dancer from Cambridge and launched her at the old Salthouse yard to make the trip up the creek.
Check out the Woodys Classic Weekends Event Calendar at the link below, for upcoming outings – our next one is an overnight BBQ cruise up the Clevedon River on the weekend of 14 > 15th August – a heads up – numbers will be restricted due to berthing / anchoring limits -so RSVP early.
Raindance Gets A Birthday Firstly a double apology
1. If you are one of the several WW followers that have an issue with me posting photos of my launch – switch off and read a book, in fact do everyone a favour and push delete to WW updates
2. Today is all about the boat – after several weeks of being hauled out at The Slipway Milford, I relaunched today – I have used the term b4 but I’m as happy as a dog with two dicks 🙂 I will not bore you with all the work but Jason and Cam at the Slipway have corrected a telephone book size list of issues, faults and potential future oops – the ‘Readers Digest’ version of the work I’m very happy about is :-
• the paint job, stunning
• the steering, rebuilt including new rudder tube / stock / arm
• the mast – rewired / vanished + visual enhancements
• refurbished stern – removed upright support posts + rot
• refastened duckboard
• addressed several niggling water leaks
Still a few cosmetic jobs on my list but she is looking 90% perfect. If you are joining us on Sunday for the Woodys Riverhead Tavern lunch cruise, you can have.a gander dock side 🙂
Feb 2021 Islington BayAs launchedGraham Gibson at helm1988- Owner Stewart Bridgford,- center
KAIKOURI – A Flashback
The 40’ Kaikoura was built in 1951 by P Vos. It is believed she was built for the owner of Kaikoura Island at the mouth of Fitzroy Harbour, Great Barrier Island, as transport between the island and Auckland.
She has always been a zoom zoomer – when launched she had twin165 engines that gave her a top speed of 25 knots. These days she is a regular compeditor (& winner) at CYA race events. The flybridge was added in 1988, by then owner Stewart Bridgford,
20-06-2021 – Input on Kaikours’s twin Perkins 510, 8.36 liter, V8 4-stoke diesels from Mark Erskine The 510 (cubic inch) V8 was the first V8 model manufactured by Perkins, UK in 1965 and were rated at 170 HP at 2,800 rpm and were used predominantly in trucks and a few bus models.
The 510 was followed by the more reliable, longer stroke 540 cubic inch V8 Perkins at 8.84 liters and 170 HP at 2,600 rpm.
Other than their considerable size and weight for a modest power output, the 510 (and 540) proved reliable enough in commercial vehicle operation, so would make good, reliable marine engines when run at constant lower revs and moderate loads.
“Kaikoura’s” previous Kermath inline 6-cylinder engines were side-valve (or “flat-head”) design and all side-valve engines have a lower crank center line to top of engine measurements than overhead valve and overhead cam inline design engines.
The lower engine height above crank shaft center line helps boat builders retain flat cabin floors in larger boat designs.
Most V8 design engines (including overhead valve) also have lower crankshaft center line to top of engine measurements because the cylinders and cylinder heads are inclined in “V” shape out either side of the crank shaft center line.
So although the 510 (and 540) Perkins V8 diesel engines are considerably larger and considerably heavier than the previous Kermath inline 6-cylinder engines for similar power output, the top of the Perkins V8 engine wouldn’t have been much higher than the top of the inline 6-cylinder Kermath side-valve, which means “Kaikoura” would have likely retained her same flat cabin flooring over the Perkins engines – a nice feature in all boats.
REMEMBER RIVERHEAD TAVERN LUNCH CRUISE ON SUNDAY – TIMES BELOW. Join in by car if you are boatless.
Something different today a 4 minute black and white movie featuring mainly Russell in the Bay of Islands and some of the A Class fleets underway and racing. A cool flashback to that era. Their are two movies on the link – the boating one starts at 6 minutes, fast forward – Enjoy 🙂 (movie ex Archives NZ Weekly Review #390 – 1949)
WIN A WW CAP I’ll give a WW cap to the first woody than can correctly ID the launch alongside the Russell Wharf. Entries via email only to the address below and to make it fair NO entries before 8.30am. waitematawoodys@gmail.com
In fact a tad more than a facelift- its a total refit 🙂
A couple of weeks ago I was moodching around the Tauranga / Mount Maunganui area and took Doug Owens up on his longstanding offer to view Nereides in her ’shed’. The timing was perfect as I also meet son Mohi, who is project managing the refit. Click photos to enlarge.
Nereides has always been a rather special woody – as are most boats built by Colin Wild. She slipped out of the CW shed in 1937 and her specs where 55’x15’x6’5″ and powered by a 200hp John Deere. The photos above are a combination of the ones I took on the day and others shared by Doug and Mohi, as you can see its a mammoth undertaking but is very close to re-launch. WW will kept you in the loop on this project.
Pre – Refit
UPDATE 12-04-2022 Getting very close to splash day 🙂
Around The Yards – Centaurus Angus Roger’s 42’ 1967 1968 Bailey & Sons built launch – Centaurus has been tucked away over winter in a shed up the Tamaki River getting a serious serving of TLC to her hull. I understand that there was an accumulation of old anti-fouling removed, back to bare wood, and the process started again. Looks very impressive and back in the water later this week, Just in time for the Woody Riverhead Tavern lunch cruise on the 20th June.
Since buying Centaurus in late 2019, Angus has undertaken numerous upgrades and enhancements to the vessel, that sees her in the best condition of her life. I will have to reserve him a ringside wharf berth at the Tavern wharf 😉
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