A 48’ CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORBOAT – BUT WHERE WOULD I KEEP IT
The 48’ Lidgard built (1948) motor launch RANUI is quite a ship, her interior layout is reflective of an apartment, it is just so spacious and being varnished, oozes traditional character.
Boats of RANUI’s size are normally a challenge to find a home for eg a marina at a reasonable cost. Well woodys RANUI’s owners wants a sale and are prepared to include the 14m Bayswater marina berth in the $210k asking price.View more of RANUI here https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/07/08/ranui-a-peek-down-below/
Historically we have ordered bulk stock and had it printed / embroidered with the WW logo, this results in a significant upfront outlay of $$ and also we end up with a collection of odd sizes that do not sell.
So for the 2024/25 Season we have turned the process upside down. You tell us what you want and we will order and deliver. You don’t have to pay until we despatch the item/s. This new process also allows for all sizes from XS > 5XL
CAPS – Cotton, embroidered logo – 3 colours – black / camel / mushroom – $42
BUCKET – Wide brim, embroidered logo, light/mid weight cotton + chin strap – colour = Dark blue – $45
BURGEE – cotton, screen printed 2 sides $45
T-SHIRTS s/s – DARK BLUE – $39
NOTE: In the last 12>18mths everything has increased in cost – printing and embroidery has almost doubled and post/courier charges are up 50%+ – We do our best to keep prices down but there are some small increases.
Todays wooden launch – AMANDA LEE fits into the spirit of tradition category by way of her 1978 launch date. Built at Greg Lees Boatbuilder, Sandspit to a Lidgard design.
30’ in length, carvel planked and powered by a 120hp Perkins diesel engine.
And that woodys is all we have learnt from her tme story (thanks Ian McDonald)
The marine canopy company that did her canopies and solar tower didn’t do the boat any favours or maybe her owner is 7’ tall ………… 🙂
Can we learn more about her past
RSVP TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT ON THE BEST WOODY DAY OUT OF THE SEASON – just need – your name, boat name & approx # crew – email to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – TANTALUS – A Peek Down Below
THE 36’ Classic Wooden Launch- TANTALUS made a cameo appearance on WW back in late Dec 2021. The top photo above I took then, now today thanks to a recent tme appearance and Ian McDonald’s hawk eyes, we get to have a gander down below.
What we know about her is that she was designed by Tim Windsor and built c.1963 by Tim Wilson and Jack Taylor at the Shipbuilders yard. Construction is kauri plank, her beam is 9’ and she draws 3’3”.
These days her forward motion is from a Ford 120hp diesel engine.
READY TO UNWIND THIS SUMMER – CLASSIC MOTORBOAT – VANESSA TICKS ALL THE BOXES
Get first glance you would think that the 49’ motorboat -VANESSA , falls into the converted ex-workboat group. But not this girl, she is a purpose built spirit of tradition woody. Designed and built in 2005 by Devonport boat builder – Rob Roberts as a custom passage maker. Her hull has two layers of 15mm ply over 150×150 mahogany ribs, and laminated kauri stringers, then glassed .
Powered by a Caterpillar 3160, 210hp diesel engine that was reconditioned in 2005, the Cat will see her comfortably cruising at 8+ knots and she slips 8L an hour, very impressive for a 20 ton wooden craft. Combine that with 3,200L of fuel tankage + 1,600L water, she really lives up to the passage maker tag.
In the interests for low maintenance , long haul cruising – her systems are very ‘old school’ i.e. no turbo, no ‘blackbox’ engine electronics etc. But no money has been spared on her navigation and house systems.
VANESSA has just returned to the water after her annual maintenance work (photos below) and is now for sale and presents in hop on > sail away condition.
A wonderful craft that visually has all the feel good vibes of a classic boat but with the low maintenance benefits of a 2005 build date utilising the best materials and construction methods.
Interested parties to initial contact the Wooden Boat Bureau at waitematawoodys@gmail.com for more details
09-11-2024 UPDATE – Video below of VANESSA docking at Sandspit Yacht Club today
CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT – PATINA (Le Reina)A Peek Down Below
The 39’ wooden launch PATINA, built in 1913 by Ernie Lane in Picton has made several appearances on WW but we have never had a decent gander down below. Today thanks to Ian McDonald and tme we do .
I have included a link below that will give you a summary of all the previous WW stories.
Built from double skin kauri, when launch she was named LE REINE.
The forward motion is via a Yammer 54hp Diesel engine.
When a classic woody has had the same owner for over 50 years, not a lot of people have popped their heads down below, today we get to do that.
The 43’ yacht Tuahine was designed and built in 1957 by the Dickson family, lead by Roy Dickson’s father (grandfather to Chris Dickson). Dickson senior along with Roy and twin brother had all sailed on Ranger with Lou Tercel and got many ideas from Ranger – longish with narrow beam (9’).
Stepping aboard Tuahine is like entering a time capsule being almost unaltered from new, always a sign that the designer / builder got it right first off. Tuahine even has the original Crown Lynn dinner set and on her bulkhead the pennant / decals recording her off-shore races (1977 and 1979 Auckland > Lautoka).
Home for most of the last 40 years has been the Bay of Islands, where she still resides, upstaging her plastic neighbours in the bay.
Her owners have followed a regular maintenance schedule that has included – recently removing the teak decks and plywood substrate laid and the deck relaid. The windows have also been removed and re-sealed. Other work has included the installation of a new Lombardini engine, new stove, new batteries and new main sail.
If the above sounds like an advertisement, it is – the Wooden Boat Bureau has been tasked with finding the next custodian of Tuahine. Her owners are motivated to sell so if you are looking for true blue classic with one of the best pedigrees in the fleet – contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com for more details on Tuahine, and then make an offer.
Todays 30’ wooden launch has made a recent appearance on tme – at first glance you would have to assume that a previous owner has been an automotive glazier and had access to low cost windows. There is a lot of glass action going on. Forward motion is via a BMC Commander diesel engine.
The hull looks a tad modern so maybe I’m being too generous in the use of the ‘classic’ term. Home is Picton
WHANGAREI MARITIME HERITAGE FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND
Hopefully as you read this I’ll be pointing the German peoples car north and visiting the Whangarei Town Basin for the festival. Expect lots of photos on Monday.;-)
Back in Jan 2023 (linked below) we shared some photos of the 40’ Keith Atkinson designed / built wooden launch – SHANGO anchored in Little Oneroa, Waiheke Island. Today thanks to Ian McDonald and tme we get to have a gander below decks. Construction is stripped plank kauri. Built c.1970’s.
SHANGO is powered by a Ford 200hp 2728T diesel engine that gives her a 9 knot cruising speed. At some stage in her ownership life someone must have done some serious cruising her her – she has 1000L fuel capacity.
CAN CLASSIC VESSEL – VECTIS BE RESCUED + Details On Labour Weekend Woodys Happenings at Kawau Island
At the recent Woodys weekend cruise to Clevedon I ws chatting dockside with Jim Lott and he alerted me to the plight of the 1929 Bert Woolacott Keeler – VECTIS that these days resides on San Francisco Bay, USA. I’ll hand over to Jim to tell the story –
For the past 45 years, VECTIS has been sailing the waters of San Francisco Bay. Her current owner, Louis, has lavished TLC on her after a major restoration of the cockpit and aft deck. He now says his racing days are over and he is looking for someone who will appreciate and look after this fine little ship as she turns 100.
Louis has not found anyone in the Bay and has asked me to see if there is some way she can come home to where her life began in 1929.
“VECTIS” is 31ft plus bowsprit and 9ft 6in beam displacing seven tons. She is planked with 1¼ inch kauri over bent ribs, with every 4th rib sawn pohutukawa. She is fastened with copper rivets and treated with red lead, the well-tested standard at that time, and has bronze keel bolts. The deck was laid kauri, fore and aft over diagonals, and caulked with cotton and tar. Coamings and bright work are mahogany, with oregon spars.
She was built in 1929 and was probably the first Bert Woollacott keeler built in New Zealand. While the Registration Certificate named Percy Vos as the builder, other sources credit her build to Woollacott. Unlike Bert Woollacott’s later designs, she had a spoon bow and a bit of a counter aft, and was masthead cutter rigged.
She was well known around Auckland with owners including the Colebrook family and Alan Doull who was the manager at the RNZYS. She competed in one Suva race.
Karin and I bought her in 1970. At that time, a 32’ (9.5m) yacht was considered the ideal size for ocean sailing. The survey showed some areas of decayed timber in the deck, coamings and carlin just forward of the cockpit.
The deck was cut away exposing more extensive decay than expected and we also decided that the Morris petrol engine would need to be replaced with diesel. The cockpit was wider than the cabin trunk, so with the rot removed, it made sense to carry that width forward and incorporate a raised doghouse in the style of later Woollacott designs, giving more room below and some shelter at the forward end of the cockpit. We also added a small amount of headroom in the forward cabin, but left the original athwartships coaming in place just abaft the mast.
After a voyage in the Pacific, we sold “VECTIS” in 1975 and a few years later we heard she had been sold to San Francisco.
Simon Smith, who was tragically killed during the 2023 ‘Coastal Classic’, recalled happy times sailing on “VECTIS” as a youngster. He introduced me to the current owner, Louis who is delighted with “VECTIS”. He purchased her in a run-down state and undertook a two-year restoration , which he detailed. He describes the hull as like new, in spite of the past 95 years.
Louis is realistic about the value of VECTIS and is mainly interested in ensuring she goes to the right person. Getting her to New Zealand is a challenge, but she is very capable of making the voyage where fair winds can be expected along the route.
Even for such a historic yacht, finding the right owner is more of a challenge and we all know the cost of keeping a vessel in Auckland.
I am in touch with Louis and anyone who can help or be involved can contact me jim.karin.lott@gmail.com
Labour Weekend Just 20 Days Away – Join Us At Kawau Island
Commencing this year the Kawau Boating Club are celebrating the start of summer with the SPRING SPLASH REGATTA. A weekend of fun and friendship on and off the water. KBC are holding hands with Ponsonby Cruising Club to run the on the water sailing events – full details in the Notice of Regatta at this LINK WW encourages all yacht owners to consider participating in the Regatta.
The main reason for todays post is to confirm that WW has been working with KBC and PCC to involve the classic launch fleet and classic cruising yachts in the weekends activities. Aside from enjoying the overall ambience of Kawau Island and the recently renovated clubhouse which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner on all days, we have two events for woody boaties.
1. On Saturday 26th waitematawoodys invites classic boat owners to gather ashore at Lidgard House (deck) at 4pm for a meet up – BYO
2. On Sunday 27th waitematawoodys will be mustering classic vessels to convene off KBC wharf at 11am for the Classic Woodys Parade ,a circuit of Bon Accord Harbour. As with all good WW gigs there will be plenty of booty to be won – eg longest travelled boat, best dressed boat, etc + spot prizes and all classic boats flying either a WW burgee or KBB / PCC burgee will go in the draw for a complimentary haul out (3days) at the Slipway Milford yard. More details on Saturday afternoon.
With WW life is simple – no entry forms – just turn up on the day and enjoy the company of the classic wooden boating community.
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