Todays classic launch needs some serious TLC from someone with the space to park her and a winter of part-time work but come next summer they could have a no cost entry into the classic wooden boating movement.
What we know – 36’ supposedly built in 1965 by ‘Baileys’, she is double planked, and powered by a 120hp Ford diesel (tme listing states 2014, and recently recon’ed).
WANDERING WAYS is currently hauled out in Rotorua, so may have been a lake boat in recent years. (thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up)
There is a fb page titled ’Sitting there rotting, help save me – New Zealand’ most of the posts are plastic boats but occasionally a woody pops up.
Todays woody is one such post – the supporting copy on most of the posts is to the point eg free, be quick back hoe booked.
Yesterdays post was novel reading – reproduced below
FREE Boat. Huge Restoration project.
This Photo was 2015 clean and antifoul haul out, Trying to find more recent photos and will make a trip to take more photos of here current state.
ENGINE HAS BEEN UNDER WATER, Stupid questions will be ignored. MAST HAS BEEN REMOVED
1916 Miller & Tonnage. My Mother lived on her for 26 years. She is being kept afloat by auto bilge pump. Hull is mostly in good condition, Decks and cabin are rotten.
Mums options are, 1: the boat comes home to my property to rot away, 2: Boat is taken to a yard and destroyed… 3: Someone makes a terrible decision and chooses to restore her. <<<Pretty Please I love this Boat
Back in March 2013 we ran a brief story on the classic day boat – MAGGIE, at the time we learnt that MAGGIE was designed and built by Roy Parris in 1982 as a small work boat. Originally she had a large hatch in the foredeck and a doghouse aft-end.
After an early life transporting supplies to & from Kawau Island she was refurbished in 2004 as a small clinker built day boat, being 18ft 6″ overall.
Her stem and keels are heart totara with a hull built of rewa rewa ribs and kauri planks. A Sole diesel engine gives her a comfortable cruising speed of 7 knots at 2100 rpm.
Back in 2013 she was berthed in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour Basin. MAGGIE attended several woody cruises to the Riverhead Tavern.
A change of ownership saw her relocating to Lake Rotoiti in the central north island, where her owners participated regularly in the Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parades for the last 12 years.
A change in personal circumstances saw MAGGIE appearing on tme where she has sat for the last two years – probably a result of the asking price.
Putting the price to one side MAGGIE is a stunning vessel and desires a new owner – hell if I lived near a lake, I’d buy her. Sitting on a top end trailer, you can say goodby to the marina robber barons.
WW has been asked to help locate a suitably woody enthusiast interested in taking her on as a project, that has the time, resources and space to work on her.
A lot of people buy an older wooden boat and do not bother with a survey and subsequently discover they own a black hole that they are constantly tipping money into. SILENS could be the opposite eg you know exactly what you are acquiring and any surprises have been identified.
SILENS was/is great boat and probably just needs a systems upgrade. Do not let a couple of days under the waves put you off – the membership list of the ‘Classic Submariners Club’ is not as exclusive as most would think. Even my own woody has spent time (weeks) sitting on the bottom.
Interested parties to initially make contact via email to facilitate the process re liaising with the insurance company. Contact Leigh-Ann leighann.newton24@gmail.com
Last week WW was contacted by Julie Eccles advising that she was selling her late husband (Ken) classic wooden bridge-decker 33’ launch – YASAWA. YASAWA has appeared on WW several times over the years, starting back in January 2014, link below. At the time we learnt from Harold Kidd that she was built by Charlie Filmer. WW Jan 2014 https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/01/10/yasawa/
More recently John Burland photographed her moored at Motueke Marina – last photo above. In this photo she looks very smart. Below is an excerpt from the Nov 2025 edition of the Motueka Yacht and Cruising Club newsletter.
YASAWA – Yasawa was built in 1952 when bridge-deckers were a very popular style of launch.
The term ‘bridge-decker’ refers to boats with a higher level deck to the fore of the boat that sits over the engine bay. The first bridge-deckers were built in the1920s in the USA and reflect a transition from stern steered sailing vessels to motorised launches.
Yasawa is carvel kauri construction and is 32.8 feet (10 metres) long. Its first owner and builder was Charlie Filmer who lived in Penrose, Auckland. The boat’s history is well recorded in a popular classic wooden boat site called ‘Waitemata Woodys’. For many years it was well known for its varnished topsides, since painted over. Originally the boat was called ‘Doraleen’ and changed to its current name in 1957. The boat’s first engine was a petrol V8 marinised Ford Mercury. It is currently powered by a D-Series 6 cylinder Ford diesel, which was reconditioned with Phil Fry’s help about 5 years ago.
Sadly back in March 2023 during Cyclone Gabrille, LADY GAZELLE ended on the rocks in the Coromandel Harbour, photo below .
We next saw her in August 2023, being relaunched at Clevedon, photo below.
Today thanks to Ian McDonald spotting a tme post, we get to have a gander down below. The rebuild of LADY GAZELLE isn’t completely finished but it would be a great winter project and then you would be boating next summer. Do not normally quote $$ but at around $25k its a bargain.
Todays vintage woody recently popped up on tme with a $1 reserve (thanks Ian McDonald).
Now hush my mouth but the chrome fittings would be worth buying her for. But there’s the bones of a nice lake boat there – 20’ in length, made from mahogany , stored under cover its whole life. Designer / builder unknown.
OFF CENTER HARBOR WEBSITE
Regular WW readers will be familiar with the USA based website – Off Center Harbour, but if you aren’t already a member I would encourage you to subscribe.
A day wouldn’t go by when I do not log in to view one off the 600+ video’s from the back library – for advice, inspiration of just entertainment.
During the week WW was contacted by Jeff Giddens concerning the classic wooden launch – MALUA. Jeff tells her story below –
“We have sort of acquired the above named vessel “Malua”. At this stage make and builder unknown.Story goes……there was a brand new 65 Volvo marine diesel engine fitted in the boat some 25 years ago, it did very few hours, then was put into a slipway cradle and has been on the slipway ever since (approx. 17 years).
Someone may know some history on this vessel. We would love to see this old girl be restored, hull is 98% sound, but unfortunately the decks and cabin sides need work. Be nice to know there is someone out there that wants her. Not free but her price will reflect the buyers commitment to restoring her.”
What we know – approx. 26’-28′ in length and very beamy for her length. Constructed from single skin, most likely kauri planking. 25+ years ago, she was on a swing mooring in Ivy Bay, Paremata, Pāuatahanui Inlet, then she went to Tauranga, then came back to Ivy Bay, Paremata, and has been on the slipway cradle ever since.
From the photos we see that her cradle sits above the water at high tide so this should have helped reduce the ‘drying out’ effect over the years.
If you have room and the passion for a classic wooden launch like MALUA in your life – initially contact Jeff at j.giddens@xtra.co.nz
And it saddens me to add that if we can’t find a new owner, she will face an appointment with a back-hoe…… 😢
Todays woody gets to be on WW because its just so cute – as Harold told me once re classic wooden boats “dear boy do not be under any illusion, it is a beauty contest” .
What we learn from her recent tme appearance is – designed by John Spencer, launched in 1960, 16’ 5” in length powered by a40hp Mercury outboard. I wonder who built her, most likely a home / DIY project.
Home is Kaitaia, Northland so hopefully someone in the BOI buys her.
BUDGET BOAT BLING
There is a secret to buying well on trade me , I have bought ace clinker dinghies for $200 and an embarrassing amount of bronze hardware for next to nothing.
The waitematawoodys Slipway Milford car boot sales are also legendary.
Aside from the clinkers I think this weeks buy is the best to date. A pair of bronze/chrome 1/2 vents for $25. A quick clean up with a scotch pad and WD40 and almost like new. Have I a need for them ? – of course not, but better in my glory box than sold for scrap.
The reason for the bottle of wine in the photo below (size comparison) is when I told Jason Prew what I’d bought and the price, his reply was “I bet they are 1” high and from a model boat kit” if I’m honest I was concerned when the seller wouldn’t answer my question re what size they were (post buying) 🙂
When I get an email that has the boat name MARORO in the subject panel, it gets opened straight away – lots of classic boating history surrounding that name. Turns out todays woody is an ex Otago Harbour Board workboat, that started life as a tender to a OHB dredge.
MARORO was launched c.1942 and she is 30’ x 9’3” x 3’ and built from kauri carvel planks and rebuilt in 1990 and still owned by the family that rebuilt her. Powered by a Mazda 4cyl HA 76hp diesel engine, she has a cruising speed of 7>8 knots.
Home is still Dunedin and she looks like she could handle a sporty weather day + very well fitted out.
Each to there own but the mahogany interior doesn’t get a tick from me – a tad too perfect for an 80 yr old classic. (Thanks Ian McDonald for the tme heads up)
Remember – if you are at a loose end tomorrow (Monday), head down to Westhaven / waterfront to watch the Auckland Ann. Day Regatta – Classic MotorBoat Inner Harbour Racing.
Race start off RNZYS / Westhaven > Orakei and return > RNZYS
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