Back in June 2016, woody Mark Edmonds was cruising around Waiheke Island (ashore) & came across an old launch hauled out at a residence in Surfdale. We did a ‘Mystery Launch’ story on her but never uncovered any more details.
Now out of the blue I get an email saying that her name is Te Haruni & she is for sale on Facebook.
A little digging around & I found the fb listing, the asking price is $1800, she has no motor & would have to fit into the ‘work-in-process’ category.
In the listing it states that it was the sellers fathers working project & now needs a new home. I have a contact ph # is anyone is interested.
Hopefully with a name & the above photos we can ID the old girl.
I have had a long vicarious association with Lucinda, myself & friends used to sit in the Devonport Yacht Club & look out at her moored in what appeared to be the main channel of Waitemata Harbour. I think we even took bets of how long before she sank, then one day Nathan Herbert rocks up, tracks down the owner & buys her. Her extraction & removal of her beard was covered off on WW her at the link below:
Then she was towed to Milford Marina & hauled out for a 2+ years restoration (some photos from then included above). Nathan is an engineer & very fastidious so all the work was 120%. You can view her relaunch at the WW link below:
I do not normally do ‘long’ 4sale features on WW but (a) Nathan is a mate (b) Lucinda would have to be the best presented, best looking, value for money classic woody on the market. For $30k, you will be boating this coming weekend. And for the record, given the extent of the work done on her – I think Nathan is a little low on the asking price, it should be closer to $40k in my eyes.
And the question you are all most likely thinking – “Why is he selling?” – simple answer, he had the opportunity to purchase a classic woody that has been in his family for 100+ years, you don’t pass on something like that, so Nathan is back in the restoration mode.
My advice to anyone interested in her – buy her & quick, unlike most classic woodys, she will not be on the market for long.
Below is her story & details on the restoration project.
Lucinda was built in 1930 in Auckland by LC Coulthard and has a beautifully sound single skin Kauri hull with solid kauri cabin. With the help of classic boating experts, I completed a 2.5 year restoration/rebuild of her that saw her stripped back to bare hull and cabin sides, fully checked over and all other components rebuilt/replaced. Lucinda has covered over 1000 miles since relaunch in 2016.
She is a good looker from every angle, is extremely roomy for her 27ft and uses very little fuel with her relatively modern diesel engine.
Lucinda is very seaworthy and with her high bow and V-bottom hull shape she barely rolls and rides over waves well. She is easy to manoeuvre and with her 2ft 6” draft it is easy to find safe anchorage close to shore!
All of Lucinda’s gear is built to last and top quality.
Hull
Stripped bare inside and out and repainted in Altex system.
Kauri carvel construction with copper fasteners.
Large pohutukawa knees throughout with extra large kauri knees in the bow area.
All sawn frames re-fastened.
Both bulkheads replaced, with extra sawn hardwood frames added in these areas.
New solid Jarrah engine beds fitted.
All keel bolts replaced with large custom-made copper bolts.
Keel is solid kauri with no hogging.
Decks
Foredeck (bow area) stripped back to original laid kauri deck. Some planks replaced, then whole deck ply covered and fibre glassed over.
Side decks excellent condition kauri planked with solid pohutukawa belting. Stripped bare and laid over with new fibre glass.
Cockpit roof completely replaced with treated plywood and fibre glassed over. Other cabin roofs are sound, and fibre glassed already.
Cabin sides
Solid Kauri sides stripped bare inside and out and repainted in Altex system. Windows all removed and resealed with sikaflex.
Drivetrain
c.1990 Perkins Prima 50hp diesel rebuilt (new pistons, rebuilt block, crank, valvegear, head) by Taylor Automotive in 2017.
Borg Warner velvet drive 2:1 hydraulic transmission.
Solid bronze shaft. New custom- made 4 blade propeller to match.
Steering gear
New marine grade stainless steel rudder. Teleflex cable steering.
Solid bronze shoe from keel to rudder pintle
Practical and unobtrusive Garmin GPS/fishfinder etc.
Interior
All upholstery replaced, with double V-berth in bow and two singles in saloon area.
Sink and solid kauri bench / seating in cockpit. I have always used a portable gas stove and a portable compressor fridge for simplicity, which are not included in the sale.
Full headroom in the cockpit and bridge (very tall interior in bridge) and about 5’5” in saloon area.
Marine toilet located underneath a lifting section of the for’d berth to starboard.
General fittings
Solid bronze cleats, bow roller, electric anchor capstan etc etc.
Manson Boss anchor with 16m chain, spliced to rope, very safe system.
Full-height varnished hardwood Samson post for anchoring.
Oregon mast on bronze tabernacle.
Varnished hardwood grab rails.
Top quality fitted cockpit covers.
Automatic deluge-resistant ventilators on foredeck.
Now this wee ship (she is a ship) has been on WW before but she is such a honey & now for sale so she deserves an encore 🙂
Skacen measures 36’ with a beam of 10’7” & draws 4’11”. Zoom zoom comes from a 5LW Gardner (of course).
She was built by Salthouse in 1973, with a carvel kauri hull. You will see from the above photos she is very well fitted out with lots of character.
In the photos you may have picked up something strange – on the port side her name is Skagen & on the starboard its Skacen ?
As Ian McDonald commented when he sent me the trademe link – not many boats of her size have a walk-in engine room.
She would be perfect for a couple wanting mooch around the NZ coast in almost any weather, as she spent over 10 years in commercial fishing on New Zealand’s East Coast.
Woody – David Glen has advised that she was moored in the Whangapoua Harbour, off Matarangi Wharf, for the best part of the last 20 years. She was owned by a local resident who worked in the local forests. She caught David’s eye at Matarangi in 1990’s and she appeared to be well maintained, but seldom used.
And speaking of David Glen, he sent me yesterday the photo below from Amsterdam of this lovely, what I assume is a hire boat. Loving the top & down windows.
Anyone looking for a low entry cost woody project?
I have been contacted by Phil Gilbert concerning Wairuna a 28’, c.1938-40 Bailey and Lowe launch.
Wairuna has had one owner for the last 30 years, who sadly is now deceased, & the vessel has been sitting on a mooring at Tryphena for a bit.
She is now in Westhaven & will go on trademe next week with a reserve of $500 unless a keen woody wants a bargain.
She is powered by a 90hp Ford diesel, including hyd box.
The hull has been re ribbed, and appears in good nick, no visible electrolysis, top is glassed, original foredeck under the ply and glass. Hull extended
under boarding platform, bigger fuel tanks, no water tanks, and galley has been removed as it has only been used as a day boat for many years.
To quote Phil ‘her bones are great, but the makeup has run a bit’ – all offers considered.
Would be great if we could find a new home & return her to Auckland’s classic woody fleet – or even Lake Rotoiti 🙂
Two classic woodys have recently come on the market – one best described as a ‘rolling restoration’ & the other a ‘turn-key’ craft. The asking prices reflect their for presentation.
Lady Noeleen is a 32’, 1952 Dick Lang built bridge decker that now sports a small-is flying bridge. I nice boat for someone looking for a not to hard project. If I bought her I’d be borrowing Jason Prew’s tungsten tipped chainsaw & removing you know what 😉
Waiari is a 36’, 1962 Owen Woolley seden cruiser, just screaming out for someone looking to go classic boating – now ! Her owner has moved up to a much bigger woody.
Woodys – read below & please take the time to send a submission, we all need to record our concern at this intrusion of our water space – its very simple – see blue section below. Submissions close 8 October 2018,
In accordance with the Resource Management Act 1991 the above-mentioned application will be advertised in the New Zealand Herald on Monday 10 September 2018 and the submission period closing on Monday 8 October 2018.
Should you wish, you may lodge a submission in support, neutral or opposition to any part of the application. If you make a submission, you must serve a copy of it, as soon as reasonably practical, on the applicant at the address for service stated above.
The submission must be dated, signed by you and include the following information:
Your name, contact address, telephone number and email address (if applicable);
Details of the application in respect of which you are making the submission, including location and consent application numbers;
Your reasons for your submission;
The decision you wish the consent authority to make; and
Whether you wish to be heard in support of your submission.
Viewing the full application:
For full details of the resource consent application, including plans showing the exact location of the work may be viewed:
on the Auckland Council website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz in search field type in ‘notified resource consent applications open for submission’ and in results select this heading and then look through list which is by location.
at Auckland Council Service Centre, 35 Graham Street, Auckland Central
at Auckland Central Library at 44-46 Lorne Street, Auckland City
If you have any queries regarding these applications, please contact 09 353 9356 (planning helpdesk number) or emailmooringdolphin@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
The above 26’ launch has just popped up on trademe (cheers Ian McDonald) details are a bit sketchy – she was built in 1960, possibly a Roy Harris design, using wooden carvel plank construction.
The engine is a BMC Captan diesel (unknown hp) & needs some work i.e. she was towed into Half Moon Bay marina & is now for sale on behalf of the owner.
The starting price is $1,000 & no reserve – so someone could pick up a good project boat.
I’m amazed that Tom the Torch hasn’t swooped on it & re-listed it for $10,000 🙂
Each year for the last 5 years in February I have attended the Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Parade, each year there are always several boats that ‘ring my bell’, one in particular is – Te Whara, the 32’, 1916 Bailey & Lowe built launch. Te Whara is not your typical lake boat, in my eyes she needs to be on the Waitemata & she could be – she is for sale. Firstly some details.
Te Whara was built by Bailey & Lowe at their yard at Sulphur Beach, Northcote in January 1916 for the Drummond brothers of Whangarei. Her first engine was a 10hp and probably a Sterling for which Bailey & Lowe were the agents. In February 1916 she was sailed up to Whangarei where she was based (always kept under cover). Originally flush-decked, Te Whara was taken back to Bailey & Lowe in the 1920’s where the wheelhouse area and companionway to the top deck was altered. She has the first rack-and-pinion steering ever fitted in Auckland. In 1972 she was refitted with the current 6 cylinder 106hp diesel which pushes her to around 10 knots. Owners Bruce Stewart and Andy Coupe purchased this launch (sporting a very rough paint job) in March 2005 for $40,000 and, after sailing her down from Whangarei harbour, spent a month sanding and repainting her at Orams in Auckland. After a short few months interlude in Auckland, Te Whara was launched at Lake Rotoiti in June 2005 and is now moored at Gisborne Pt. When searching for a launch, Bruce and Andy wanted a rear wheelhouse so that the helmsman and fisherman could be together. Of particular appeal was the elegant saloon, which runs from the engine bay to the bow. Te Whara still has the original interior fit out, including the porcelain ‘head’.
In 2013 Te Whara was lifted out of the lake and taken for a $25,000 re-paint and re-fit. The original canvas waterproofing on the decks was removed and the decks glassed. All other hull and deck timbers are original and in good condition. Unfortunately, being on a mooring and exposed to the weather takes it’s toll on Te Whara. In addition, Bruce and Andy are getting older and are beginning to find it more difficult to manage, and it is for these reasons that Te Whara is offered for sale for $35,000, or swap for a smaller classic launch.
I took the above photos of Te Whara at the 2015 & 2018 Parades. Come on woodys, lets bring her back to the Waitemata or alternatively she is a very cheap floating bach at the lake 🙂
15-09-2021 UPDATE – photos below sent in by Bill Upfold, whose client Grant Faber has one of Bill’s launches – Te Whara V, named after his grandfather, the original owner of Te Whara. Grant has named all of his boats Te Whara. The b/w photos show Te Whara with Cape Te Whara (Whangarei Head) in the background. The photos are mounted on Grants saloon bulkhead.
The launch Cygnet has just popped up on trademe (thanks Ian McDonald) & while the listing makes no reference to her past, given the location of Motueka, one would have to assume that she is the ex Mokau River work boat, previously featured on WW (photo below), with a lot of work done to her.
Details – she is approx. 30’ in length, made of kauri carvel construction in c.1960s. Her zoom zoom comes from a Lombardini 87hp diesel that pushes her along at a cruising speed of 8.5 knots, max 10 knots approx.
In her previous appearance on WW, Harold Kidd commented that she was built in Auckland and shipped down to Waitara for Sjolund of Mokau in July 1913, She was described as “on the tunnel style” 34ft in length, 7ft 6in in beam with a draft of 12 ins unloaded and 18ins with a two ton load. No hint of builder but Baden Pascoe thinks she is by T.M. Lane and Sons and that seems entirely likely. She was meant for the then flourishing Mokau River trade. Sjolund had several launches.
You can view / read more on her at the WW link below.
Aquarius has been mentioned on WW before – link below . To remind you she is a 38′ ex big game fishing boat built / designed by McGeady/Supreme Craft and she was the first boat worked on by Ben Hipkins when he started his apprenticeship in 1955.
This time she appears as an SOS. I have been contacted by Murray Smith who has been looking for a project boat for some time and came across Aquqrius advertised on trademe. Murray has viewed the boat but she is a bit small for him, so on behalf of her current owner Phil Tarr, he has asked that we do a shout out on WW to find someone to take her over.
Currently she is sitting up on the hard in a storage yard on Waiheke. Phil pulled her out to renovate her (2012?) and has lots of the interior cabinetry safe n dry under his house. He has brand new fuel tanks ready to go back in then everything else should slot in. Sounds easy but this gives the new owner the chance to build the interior how they want. The engines have not been started for a few years and condition is honestly described as seized, more likely just reluctant to turn over, as Phil has had them overhauled prior to loosing focus. Sadly she is showing the signs of neglect one would expect, but her heart is sound.
A little history – she had been built for and was working in the B.O.I. and has been owned by many big names including Lofty Blomfield and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s mum.
I’m told the trademe photos are very poor & do not do her justice , also that the owner is very negotiable on price.
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