Category Archives: Designers & Builders

Jack

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JACK

The clinker Jack belongs to woody Dean Wright, they got Jack from Picton back in 2008, a 8’6″ kauri clinker. From what Dean has learnt she was probably built by the Jack Morgan yard in the 1960’s. If anyone recognises Jack and has any more history, he would love to hear it.

 The story of Jack as told by Dean

He’s always been a leaker despite long spells in the briny to take up. You’ll see from the photos 3-4″ of water sloshing about and the bailer afloat, we decided that 2016 was going to be his birthday and he was going to get tight.

We stripped him back to bare, cleaned out the lands then took him to boat builder Bob Van Pierce (owner of the mullety Cora) for his opinion.  He thought she was recoverable but she’d need three and a bit new planks and a general refasten. And while we were at he’d fix the bulge in one side of her hull and bring her back into her original shape. Bob did all the smart stuff and I got on the end of the dolly. Thanks Bob, you did a fantastic job.

The first photos show the general condition of the planks we replaced, splits and bits missing.

A few replacement planks & Bob scarfed one in. Spotted gum for the ribs. The steam box was cranked up, ribs loaded in & then bent in. A few broke but where were spares. Ribs were nailed from below and riveted.

Then primer, Prekote and topcoat prior to new purple heart thwarts being fitted. Bob also added rubbing strakes.

Then Jack came back home to your the shed and was ready for bottom paint & signwriting by artist Lester Hall. Thanks also Lester for the beautiful oars complete with welcome swallows. These have been decorating my wall for the last 5-6 years, they got a hell of a fright being immersed in salt water.

Then the bronze rowlocks were fitted & new floorboards in + nylon rub rail secured with copper wire. 

First outing was planting trees with Project Island Song. Over a day, we got half a litre in the bottom, pretty happy with that.

The old dinks – Ken is not happy, he’s been relegated to barge duties.

 

And While On The Topic Of Wooden Boats

The NZ Traditional Boat Building School has just released details on its latest courses, see below. The presenter / instructors are legends in the wooden boating community. In the past the courses have been oversubscribed, so get in early or miss out.

To register – email tanya@nztbs.org.nz       or call 027 – 45 33 55

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Petrel

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PETREL
The posts last week on the Philip Lange built vessel Faith have resulted in Sharon Lange (Sharon, married Philip & Bev’s son, Ian Lange) sending in the above photos of ‘Petrel’, the last boat built by Philip. Petrel was build under Philip and Bev’s Mill Bay house in Mangonui and launched in 1991.

Petrel was build for Philips son Stev and is used as a commercial longline boat out of Mangonui to present day.

The photos, from the top, are tagged:
1: The Petrel on the cradle front lawn of Philips house
2: close up
3: Getting ready to go down the drive to Mill bay for launching
4: Philip lange on the Petrel during launching , Stev Lange on the ramp , Bev at the front and Ian lange ready to help and Phils grand daughter watching the action
5: Philip Lange and the Petrel
6: Bev Lange & the Petrel
7: the Petrel
8: speaks for its self

The New Zealand Clinker
In support of last weekends Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition, the Tino Rawa Trust have produced a 36 page booklet titled ‘ The New Zealand Clinker, its a great collection of stories on & around clinker boats. I enjoyed the read & learnt a lot.
You can grab a copy for $20 from BoatBooks in Westhaven or try your luck with answering the question below, all correct entries, emailed to waitematawoodys@gmail.com before 6pm 10-10-2017, go into the draw for a copy.

Q: Where does the word ‘clinker’ originate from?

Clinker Cover

Clinker Spread

Input from Russell Ward

A glossary in the pre WW2 book Motor Cruising by Irvine and others confirms that “Clinker (clincher, clencher) is a method of building in which each side plank overlaps the one below.”
Now, shipmates, we gotta drill a bit deeper into this one, maybe. Clenching or clench nailing is the merry art of holding an iron or hammer just right and picking up the sharp end of your nail as she emerges through the other side and turning it over and back into the wood (provided the wood is soft enough). Quick and easy and, if done neatly looks a lot better than it sounds. I sent a picture via Wifi to AH just now -qv. Iona had a lot of old epaired timbers clinched and it looked good.
The Yanks of course call “clinker” by the more descriptive term “lapstrake”. So Robin Seaward in ‘Boatbuilding’ 2ed says “Lapstrake -sometimes called clinker planking.”
However, I find this appealing “Late 17th century (denoting a person or thing that clinks): from clink + -er. clinker”. Do you reckon that the wisened old man crouched over the wee boat in the corner of the shed was clinking away at his craft?
(Personally I like the old-fashioned slang use for a bum note played on a musical instrument -a clinker! Or in my favourite town Galway, a clinker is a wee lass worthy of a very close inspection. Or modern slang says a clinker is a dingle berry. Nothing to do with our boats though.) Better watch where you use the term.
Take yer pick, fellow anorak wearers…..

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Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition 2017 – The NZ Clinker Boat – 50+ Photos

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Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition 2017 – The NZ Clinker Boat

Over the weekend the Tino Rawa Trust hosted the 10th Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition at Karanga Plaza on Auckland waterfront Wynyard Quarter. If you missed the event, you really did miss something special. The feature this year was the New Zealand Clinker Boat.

I went to the opening commemorative (Tony Stevenson, likes flash words) morning tea on Friday, if you were looking for a wooden boat builder or a fountain of knowledge on wooden boats, you would have been stunned at the guest list, it was the who’s who of NZ classic wooden boat movement. If you weren’t there you must have done something really bad in a past life to not be invited 😉

Above is a selection of the boats on display, taken on Friday when the crowds were light. Enjoy 🙂

Talking to Tony Stevenson, Jason Prew & Baden Pascoe last night & this years event was hands down the most successful in terms of attendee numbers, Saturday being huge. Well done guys. 

 

FAITH – Flash Back Friday

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FAITH – Flash Back Friday

Last week I posted some ‘recent-ish’ photos of the Philip Lange built launch – Faith, now owned by Neal & Nicki Harding in the Marlborough Sounds. Yesterday I was contacted by Sharon Lange with the above photos from the launching & older days up north.

Sharon confirmed that Faith was built by Philip Lange in 1967 and launched in 1968 at Whangaparoa at Matakatia Bay. Philip installed a Kelvin motor in the Faith.

Philip worked the Faith as a commercial fishing boat out of Whangaparoa for a little while then left Whangaparoa, driving the Faith up with one of his young sons – Graham Lange , north to Mangonui , Doubtless Bay. From there he continued to fish for cray fish and longline on the Faith. Philip and his wife Bev and six sons moved to Mangonui where he continued to build other boats.

The Faith was sold to Philips brother Douglas then to Murray Hamilton (both deceased). Then sold to Vick Spaights, after that Sharon does not know any further history apart from the Hardings owning her now .

There are 4 of Philips boats moored permanently in Mill Bay Mangonui, they are: – 1. The Michele, 2. Kaipara, 3. Tui, 4. Petrel. The Petrel was the last boat built in 1991.

# The top photo was taken at the launching of the Faith with 4 of Philips young sons and one neighbor’s boy at Matakatia Bay on the Whangaparoa Peninsula.

# The middle photo was taken in Mangonui Harbour by the wharf heading toward Mill Bay mooring.

# The bottom photo shows Faith heading towards the Mangonui wharf.

SLAINTE Relaunched

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Slainte

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SLAINTE Relaunched

Back in early August I posted photos / details on the restoration / rebuild of the 1947 27’ Chris Craft Super Delux – Slainte at Craig Maine at Lake Rotoiti (link below).

Yesterday Alan Craig sent me photos from last Friday’s relaunch on the lake. Alan’s a man of few words e.g. “ It floats, all went well” J

Slainte is a stunning addition to the Lake Rotoiti woody fleet – well done Alan & the brave owner that commissioned the project.

Slainte

 

Chris Craft in Canada

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Chris Craft in Canada

I have been sent the above photos from Kiwi woody Alan Sexton, who is working in Canada. Alan keeps an eye open for any interesting boats & commented that it seems wooden Chris Craft are the flavour of the month in Vancouver.

The two b/w photos are from a book on the Chris Craft factory, that Alan found in the marine section in the Vancouver Central.

 

Slainte

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SLAINTE – 1947 Chris Craft Restoration

I mentioned last Monday that while chatting to Alan Craig about the new restoration project for his yard – Craig Marine at Lake Rotoiti he just casually mentioned t “Speaking of projects, should probably show you the Chris Craft we just finished” – & then sends me a selection of photos of a simply stunning classic woody.

Slainte is a a 1947 27′ super delux enclosed Chris Craft. It was imported into NZ by the owner as a project that was walked away from in the states. The outside was 90% done but the inside was a shell. No motor, shaft or strut etc. A 5.7L v8 Crusader was imported too and Alan lifted the cockpit sole to suit.
Pretty much every single piece has been pulled apart fixed/painted/varnished and put back again. Some ‘ before’ photos below.
The idea has been to keep it looking original but turn key functionality!

WoW, what an additional to the Lake Rotoiti classic wooden boat fleet, can not wait to see her in person at next years Classic & Wooden Boat Parade weekend.

ALPHA A90 ( Arrow Class) – Sailing Sunday

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ALPHA A90 ( Arrow Class) – Sailing Sunday
I have been contacted by Adam Akehurst who is Interested in what us woodys knows about the Arrow class sailing dinghy. Adam is currently restoring A90 – Alpha. Progress photos attached. Wood working done, interior nearly done, soon time to turn it over and sort the outside ready for summer.

All Adam can find on the class is that they are a Jack Logan design from circa 1950 and that until recently the class seems to have been based at Glendowie but interest seems to have died out a few years ago in favour of the Mistral. Also interested in what else Jack Logan designed. I have heard he had a boatshed at Mangawhai at some stage.

The historic photo of Alpha above on the beach (date unknown) shows her rigged for a gennaker on a fairly long prod. Adam assumes this is a later class development and that they originally flew a symmetrical kite.

Adam hasn’t been able to find many photos of the class online, so is interested in seeing anything ww have.

07-08-2017 Update from Adam. Project finished – see below. Stunning

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Check The Video Link Below Out – If you thought the commute to work was bad, these guys are mad 🙂

Lake Rotoiti Barn Find Restoration

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Lake Rotoiti Barn Find Restoration

Alan Craig the Lake Rotoiti boat builder (Craig Marine) dropped me a note the other day to say that he was restoring the about boat. She would have to win the WW barn find prize 🙂 Her story goes like this – has be in a shed on a farm in Rotoma for the last ten odd years. Built in 1928, 24′ in length, appears to be to a USA Hacker Craft design or most likely copied, she is in fact not to dissimilar to Malolo.
It has been owned by Peter Davies and was his Fathers boat from near new. Details Alan has been told about her history: Built in Picton by Vic & Clarrie Olson? (Scandinavian or Swiss?). Built for a Mr Stocker then brought by Mr Davies in 1930, it was sold a while later and brought back again by Mr Davies once the wool price lifted and in 1950 an old, but still new, 1938 Osco marine flathead V8 went in it and is still there now. Alan thinks it was sold once again then found by Peter and brought back to Rotoma.

There is a Hacker Craft step pad fitted to her (the only reference to Hacker Craft) but this could easily have been a later addition. The plans are to rebuild the engine and try get a bit more than the supposed 90hp out of it. Apparently they didn’t get much speed out of it but looks like pretty small prop set up.

This will be a great project to follow – Alan is keen confirm / learn more about her past so if any woodys can help, please comment.

Now Alan’s not a man to run things up the flag pole, chatting on-line he says ” speaking of projects, should probably show you the Chris Craft we just finished” – totally blew we away – amazing project. I’ll run a story on her soon.

Update ex Alan Craig – Alan found the below under the fore-deck – D Jennings?

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WAIATA II – Sailing Sunday II

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WAIATA II – Sailing Sunday
Waiata II was Snow Waters personal yacht, designed by Alan Mummery, and launched in 1971 /2 – Alan Sexton gave me the heads up on the trademe listing & Alan commented that remembers seeing her around Waiheke Island on their first summer on Tarata.

She was featured in Sea Spray August 1971 whilst under construction. The feature noted that Snow was looking for waterline length, in the Innismarra (or even further back William Garden’s Oceanus) style, ie long (55′) and narrow.

She is single skin strip planked kauri glued with steam bent ribs. No doubt with the 6 cyl. Ford she motors at a good pace too.

Waiata II has been owned by current owner for 41 years in NZ, with the last 3 years being based in the Australian East Coast, where she is 4sale. The current location making her perfect for someone wanting to cruise the Queensland Coast, Whitsundays or further north.

05-01-2025 – INPUT ex RICHARD LOCK  – It was brought to my attention that the grandson of the long term owner of Waiata II was trying to locate her.This image might assist. New years day 2026.

Yesterdays Quiz Winner – WW T-Shirt

Mr M Deeble – proof that the early bird does catch the worm, with his 6.00ish entry 🙂