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.
YVA II (Yelda)
Woody Angus Rogers sent in the above photos of Ivy II (originally named Yelda) on Lake Whakatipu, for the overseas readers – Lake Whakatipu is the 3rd largest lake in New Zealand, situated on the southwest corner of Otago in the South Island.
Angus commented that she was not what he expected to see on the lake. Interested to learn more about her & when & how she arrived at the lake.
Photo below ex Russell Ward , taken 2003.
Input from Richard – owner
I purchased Yvalda via Ted Church (Picton) in 2002. Sailed her down to Port Chalmers then got Fulton Hogan to truck her down to Lake Wakatipu where I used her commercially for tourist trips on the lake. Had lots of fun doing it but did not make a fortune!! Christmas parties, hen parties (the worst), weddings, stag parties, N.Y.E. parties etc etc.
The O.D.T. had a great photo of her going thru Dunedin on the back of the F.H. truck.
Yvalda, ( Yes, her original name) was built by Mc Gruers at Clynder Scotland in 1936. ( I think a G.L. Watson design) for a couple of wealthy brothers who were manufactures of biscuits. Not sure how or when she came to N.Z. but she must have been shipped here.
She was beautifully built, ( as were all boats built by Mc Gruers). Teak on oak frames, all as good as the day she was built.
Still had her original 4L2 Gardner engines coupled to massive Gleniffer gearboxes controlled by a couple of wheels mounted either side of the helm station. You had to have your wits about you as to which way to turn them to go fwd. or aft. but after a while it became automatic.
Quite a lot of untruths about her relationship with Winston Churchill and I suspect he never had anything to do with her. I thought she may have been one of the Dunkirk little ships but there is no record of that. I believe she was use for the degaussing of much larger metal ships during W.W.11
What vintagesteamer commented was more the truth and I too was told of her so called association with Churchill when I bought her but as they say, ” Why let the truth get in the way if a good story” ( I was advised) I’m sure those deck stepped masts were perfectly aligned when I had her. Vintagesteamer, you must have had too many Speights to drink when you saw her!!
WIN TWO TICKETS TO THE AUCKLAND ON THEW WATER BOAT SHOW
Today & tomorrow I’m giving away tickets to the boat show – 2 each day. Just answer the simple question below & email your answer to waitematawoodys@gmail.com . All correct answers received before 6.00pm today (27-09-2017) will go into the draw. Winner will be notified by email.
Q: Name the location at the Show where the America’s Cup will be displayed. You’ll find the answer on the Show website http://www.auckland-boatshow.com
Woody Trip Down South
Nathan Herbert has just returned from a trip to Dunedin & snapped a collection of woodys that he saw – the first one to be shared on WW is the lovely wee clinker day boat above.
Can anyone enlighten us on her provenance ?
And I’ll use the post to segway into my next topic – The 2017 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition, on Oct 7>8th, refer below for full details. This year the focus is on the classic New Zealand clinker boat.
So woodys get the pen out & put a big circle around the weekend in the diary. The team at Tino Rawa Trust do an amazing job hosting these events & 2018 will be a cracker, I understand there will be over 30 clinkers on show. I’ll be reminding you closer to the date;-)
Also I have some tickets for this weeks On-the-Water Boat Show, so to be in to win – check out Wednesday’s WW post 😉
LADY ALICE
Today’s vessel is the Lady Alice & the photo ex ‘paperpast’, sent in by Nathan Herbert.
A very unusual mix of design features on display, can anyone help out with more detail on Lady Alice? The #957 will be a help.
25-09-2017 Harold Kidd Input
LADY ALICE was a 30 footer built by George Roberts of St. Heliers for himself and launched in January 1940 with 957, her wartime reporting number, on her bows. A later owner (or of another LADY ALICE) was C.K. Edmonds of Allenby Road, Panmure who owned her as late as 1973.
George Roberts later built GAYELLA and GEORGELLA, well-covered in earlier WW postings.
UPDATE 17-05-2018 ex Peter Thorpy-
Auckland Transport, (Auckland city council) have a launch ‘Lady Alice’ listed on their site as being derelict and advertised for disposal.
While at Greg Lees yard yesterday I was advised that a gent that has ‘rubbed-up-against’ some of your best presented classic woodys last week had a very bad oops & has just come out of surgery & ends some help – see below.
A Great Evening for a Great Guy
Sponsored by Dixon Stainless
On Friday 16th September Dale Collins (Greg Lees’ foreman) suffered a bad fall on the hardstand injuring his back which will mean months of recuperation.
To support Dale and his family you are invited to join many who have experienced Dale’s generosity and skills over the years at a dinner evening next Friday – 29th September at 6pm at the SYC Club House. Cost: $80 per head (limited to 30 couples only). First in first accepted basis. Cash Bar
To book your place, contact Rosie Fowler 021 884949 email rosief@xtra.co.nz
A short Auction will be a highlight of the evening with master auctioneer Roger Burrill in action. Auction items will include: Harbourview Cruise, Fine Wine, $1,000 voucher from Evolution Yachts, Magical Mystery Tour
If you can’t make it and would like to support Dale, donations & auction items will be gratefully accepted by Elspeth Wilkins at the marina office.
Port Townsend Classic Wooden Boat Festival 2017 – 80+ photos
Kiwi woodys Jenny and Malcolm McNicol sent me the below photo essay from the Port Townsend 41st Classic Wooden Boat Festival from The Puget Sounds in Washington State USA. They were holidaying in the Sounds and got to enjoy the festival.
The McNico’s are members of The Rotoiti Wooden Boat Association and are the proud owners of Tauraka, which has featured on WW.
Enjoy the collection – sorry if I have ruined your day ……… 🙂
Remember to click on photos to enlarge 😉
Thames Mystery Shipbuilder Launch
The above photo of the launch hauled out was sent in by Nathan Herbert from a (semi) recent trip to Thames. Any of the woodys able to ID her & supply more details?
A Cool Day Out @ Motuihe Island – Sunday Oct 8th
von Luckner Centenary Event – Sunday 8th October
On Sunday 8th October Motuihe Trust is commemorating 100 years since the daring escape of Count Felix von Luckner from the First World War internment camp on Motuihe Island. There will be guided walks and interpretive talks while you stand at the locations where the events happened. You will also have the opportunity to visit the regenerating native forest areas where more than 400,000 trees have been planted and many endangered birds, including little spotted kiwi, plus skinks and geckos and the iconic tuatara have been released and are thriving.
This is a free event but you need to register so we can plan the day.
If you are taking your own boat, register at volunteermotuihe@gmail.com or phone 0800motuihe.
Bring a picnic and there will be a sausage sizzle and ice creams for sale (bring cash) and tea/coffee for a donation. Wear comfortable walking shoes. You need “walking fitness’ and the walk is not suitable for small wheeled pushchairs.
If you wish to travel with Fuller’s ferry to the event book on https://www.fullers.co.nz/events-plus-deals/akl-heritage-festival-motuihe-event . $32 return for adults and $16 for children.
CENTRE FOR WOODEN BOAT – LAKE UNION- SEATTLE
Woody Alan Sexton is currently working in Vancouver, Canada & last weekend he traveled the 3hrs to Seattle to visit the Centre for Wooden Boats, on Sundays the CWB offer free rides/sails/paddles or if you like you can rent a boat. Alan reports its a wonderful facility in a great location. We so need something like this in Auckland………………
The above photo gallery gives as a vicarious visit – Enjoy 🙂
ps you can see/read more about the facility here http://www.cwb.org
Ariki – photo ex J. Prew esq
ARIKI RESTORATION
The 1904 Logan Brothers designed & built gaffer Ariki is currently hauled out at Okahu Bay, Auckland & under going an extensive restoration, lead by master craftsman Robin Kenyon. Yesterday her owners Charlotte & Andrew held an open day to allow the classic woody community to view the project. I understand they have a target to be at the CYA Patio Bay celebrations this year (1st week Dec), that appears a rather large challenge……….. but as they say – many hands make light work.
Prowling around the yard I spotted the classic launch Wanderer looking a little sad – hopefully awaiting a large dose of TLC.
You can see/read more about Wanderer’s past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/08/16/wanderer-ii/
The sunny day saw woody Baden Pascoe break out his recently restored 1929 Riley Tourer, when I say recently, I mean as in on-the-road. The Riley has been in the Pascoe family a very long time & Baden has been working on her on & off for years. Attention to detail is amazing, but I would expect that from Baden 😉
EXCLUSIVE LADY
The photos above from Dean Wright show the game boat Exclusive Lady fishing the Duke Contest in 1984. While the photos are a little ‘grainy’ from the scanning of 33 year old film negatives, the Lady still looks majestic. Thank you Dean for sharing 🙂
Question of the day woodys – what more do we know about her?
The Ultimate Woodys Friend
Ever thought -what’s the name of that boat or who designed her, or who owns her? well if its wood, a classic & the owner is a member of the CYA – then finding the answer is easy – grab a copy of the NZ Classic Yacht Association Register for the ridiculously low price of $15 & you will have access to the ultimate classic woody must have. Fathers Day is fast approaching…….. drop a hint to the partner / kids / grand children 🙂
To grab a copy (or 2 – one for home & one for the boat) contact the CYA on this email link admin@classicyacht.org.nz
Bay of Islands Game Fishing Fleet
Woody Dean Wright was given access to some of Snook Fullers super-8 film that showcased big game fishing in the Bay of Islands. Dean edited all the fish out and made the movie clip below of the wooden boats Snook captured. A very impressive collection of craft.
I assume all (most) of you are able to view youtube movies?– if you are not, drop me an email, I would hate to think a lot of you were missing out. waitematawoodys@gmail.com
I have 2 great Lady Doreen B.O.I. photos from Dean which I will post on Saturday & run a wee promo for the first person to name a passenger in the boat 😉 WW t-shirt for the winner.
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