Category Archives: How To

Lock-down Treat ~ Free Access To The Worldwide Classic Boat Show

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A LOCK-DOWN TREAT – FREE ACCESS TO THE WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW


Our friends over at Off Center Harbor have been orchestrating a new gig on the classic boat scene – a virtual worldwide classic boat show. Its been live now for 10 days and only available via purchasing a ticket (US$5) – now woodys to help us kiwis (and the WW overseas followers) during CV-19 lock-down – the show is now free.

See below instructions on how to visit the show. 

You can use the globe / map to see an amazing collection of vessel around the world + locations of museums & trade folks – but the real gem for me is the daily video presentations from some of the worlds leading lights on the classic boating scene – sailors, teachers, photographers, event promoters and boat builders. You will be addicted so I apologise in advance for ruining your day/s – but, you’re supposed to be in lock-down 🙂

If you only watch one presentation – make it the legendary Tom Cunliffe presentation – you’ll find it on Sat Feb20th under the heading ’Seas of Northern Europe’ – do not be put off by the boring title – its a cracker, the mans one of the best storytellers around, you’ll be glued to the screen for 2 hours. ENJOY THE SHOW 🙂

How To Get Your Free Ticket:

1. CLICK HERE to get your free ticket (here is the full link if you need it: https://classicboatshow.com/product/one-free-ticket-for-full-access-to-the-worldwide-classic-boat-show/ )

2. Checkout for free, and your username and password become your ticket

3. To login, go to ClassicBoatShow.com, click login in the top right corner to get full access, and enjoy the show!

If you have trouble getting your free ticket, you can always email the show’s crew for help at crew@classicboatshow.com.

If the show turns out to be an enjoyable and valuable experience for you, they have a voluntary “tips/donations” button on the top of the screen where you can contribute.

Jack Logan Would Be Happy

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JACK LOGAN WOULD BE HAPPY
Back in November 2020 we reported that Lake Rotoiti boatbuilder Alan Craig (Craig Marine) had taken on the restoration of the 1956 Jack Logan built 17’ clinker cabin run-about – Sea Spray. The WW link below will show you the boat as Alan received it.  https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/11/14/sea-spray/

I can report that Alan’s yard are well under way with the project, as you can see in the above photos, once the reciprocating saw comes out there’s no turning back. Alan commented that most ribs were repaired and structure added. Her shape was pretty bad, had a chine in it almost. A few planks to replace on the bottom then into the cabin. Looking forward to following this project – just need to keep reminding Alan to send in the updates 🙂

A Woody Christmas – A Time For Giving

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A Woody Christmas – A Time For Giving

I have an ask today – one of wooden boatings coolest and most deserving organisations urgently needs help – relax, you don’t need to do anything other than put your hand in your pocket – more on that later. But first let me tell you about the New Zealand Traditional Boatbuilding School – it was started back into 2005 by a group of visionary wooden boat enthusiasts. I have rubbed up against it a lot over the years – during the re-birth of the classic wooden launch movement we used their facilities for social gatherings and seminars. I have even done boat maintenance workshops and built a woody tool box (under close supervision)If ever there was something that deserved its place in our maritime community – it’s the NZTBS, more so than a lot of other questionable entities that live off rate payer handouts.I won’t bore you today with the day to day challenges the current trustees have keeping the doors open – just trust me when I say – to survive the short term they need help, mid term hopefully they will be able to secure sponsorship.


Today’s WW story is an example of the amazing work the school does – last week, trustees Olaf Wiig (classic launch – Lady Margaret and Alan Hooper (spirit of tradition launch – Katherine) ran a pilot course for one they are hoping to offer in the future. In a joint venture with Taikata Sailing Club, Drowning Prevention Auckland and Coastguard Education, NZTBS ran a week long course for a group of 9 year olds, building a pair of John Welsford Scraps dinghies. The whole week was a great success, resulting in two cool little boats being launched on Saturday. Just check out the looks on the kids faces – you don’t get that from playing on an electric device. The kids all made a name board for their boat and then voted for the best names and then Moonlight and Rose Gold were christened and launched – so cool.

Special thanks to James Hutchinson and Olaf Wiig for the photos
HOW CAN YOU HELP

The NZTBS is a charitable trust – donations are eligible for a tax credit and its so easy – click on this link and invest in the future of wooden boating in New Zealand. And do you know what?, you’ll feel good about it 🙂

https://givealittle.co.nz/org/nztbs
Merry Christmas & Thank You. alan houghton – waitematawoodys founder

Haunui Restoration

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HAUNUI – RESTORATION
In between the CV-19 lock-downs one of Auckland’s most beautiful classic wooden motor launches changed ownership – the Colin Wild designed and built 1948 launch – Haunui was sold by Owen Cashmore. In a previous life Haunui was owned by Harry Julian. Haunui was almost immediately hauled out at a private yard and master wooden boat builder Paul Tingey was engaged to return Haunui to her glory days. I showed her new owners over her ‘cousin’- Trinidad and they accepted the challenge to equal her presentation. 

As can happen when dealing with 72 year old wooden artifacts, on close (pulling boards off) inspection the old girl had a few issues, so the decision was made to undertake a total refit, including engine. Haunui is single screw, but has a smaller auxiliary engine > shaft > prop on the starboard side. I believe an electric unit will replace the small diesel. The Gardner sadly is coming out, fyi – prior to going into Haunui, rumour is it came out of a Sydney Harbour > Manly ferry, so was very run in ;-). Her owner has told me they will restore the engine over time but the process involves utilizing a foundry that will have to custom cast the parts that are needed. In the meantime Haunui will receive a new heart transplant. 

As you can see from my photos above, the refit is on a rather grand scale, but Mr Tingey is the man for the job.
We will follow this project and keep you updated. As always, click on photos to enlarge 😉

The photos below are dated 2014, ex Rod Marler, and show Haunui hauled out at Orams yard in Westhaven. 

One Man’s Trash – Another Man’s Treasure

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ONE MAN’S TRASH – ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE
Yesterdays boat boot sale at The Slipway Milford was a cracker. Of course I took nothing along to sell, I’m a collector, but I do give stuff away 🙂

 Above is a snap shot of some of the goods on offer. Big thanks to the team at the Slipway Milford – Cam and Jason for hosting the event and providing the BBQ.

Bargain of the day – the very impressive search light, already converted to LED

Best shopper – telephone ‘bidder’ – Peter Mence for a piece of art – a 28Ib bronze anchor to grace the bow of Eileen Patrica.  

Best Seller (the most stuff) – Jason Prew, I thought I had it bad, he is worse, for every item he sold, he bought something else 🙂
I can see this becoming a regular event 😉

Big Wooden Launch Gets A Face Lift

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Big Woody Gets A Face Lift

The 1965 Salthouse built woody – Trinidad is currently tucked up in the Greg Lees Boatbuilder shed at Sandspit getting some botox i.e touch-up coats to the coamings and wheelhouse and a re-paint of the topsides.

Yesterday, the brains trust from the yard + Akzo Nobel (AWLWOOD MA & International Paints) + AWLWOOD MA Guru (Uroxsys founder) David Waddingham met to discuss the upcoming work on Trinidad, she is a bit like their in-house model. It was interesting to be a fly-on-the-wall and hear about the latest thinking on application / thinning / primer techniques and their newish line extensions eg the Multi-climate gloss finish. The product has come a very long way in the last few years.
You can see from the last two photos that the GL’s boys only just manage to get the doors closed when Trinidad visits, very cozy.

While there, foreman Dale Collins, flipped the covers on his recently completed clinker dinghy (photos below) – stunning and woodys its 4sale 🙂

WOODYS LUNCH CRUISE TO RIVERHEAD TAVERN – TIME TO RSVP

If you are planning on joining the fleet for the cruise up the Riverhead river to join fellow woodys for launch on Sunday November 8th – drop me a quick email with boat name and approx crew numbers waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Out With The Old – In With The New

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Out With The Old In With The New

Nathan Herbert’s 1917 Joe Slattery built launch – Pacific, had a serious Jenny Craig session yesterday at Milford – out came the 2758 Ib. Lister (Freedom range) diesel engine, to be replaced with a brand new 992 Ib. 100hp FPT / Iveco (Italian) 4 cylinder diesel. That is a saving of over 800kg, thats like asking the All Black forward pack to get off your boat. I suspect the waterline will need an adjustment 🙂 

As always Jason Prew and The Slipway gang were on hand to help, with expertise and the loan of their Hiab truck to collect the new engine. We look forward to seeing the completed installation and relaid wheelhouse. I suspect we will not see Pacific at the Woody Stillwater picnic next Saturday (26th).

Arethusa’s New Woody Wheelhouse

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ARETHUSA’s NEW WOODY WHEELHOUSE


Back in late 2019 Arethusa’s Bay of Islands owner Dean Wright, a professional photographer by trade, and well known to WW readers gave me the heads up that the 1917, 33’ Bob Brown built, ex gaff rigged cutter, was in for a treat – a new wheelhouse. Since then I have been pestering Dean on a regular basis for photos, even threatened to drive up and take them myself 🙂 Problem was, the mans a perfectionist and didn’t want to send anything in to WW until it was all shipshape. Well woodys as you can see from the above, its very shipshape, in fact in my eyes – perfect. Well done to the team. I asked Dean to tell use about the project, so I’ll hand over to him. Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them – Enjoy 🙂


“Over the years we’ve got keen on changing Arethusa’s wheelhouse to be more in keeping with her age, so at 102 she’s undergone some cosmetic surgery 🙂

We lost 8″ inches of headroom in wheelhouse when we installed the Gardner, so we’ve gone up in height 6 inches and forward 8 inches and gone for more traditional upright windows fw’d.

Boat builder John Gander did the job in his Waipiro Bay workshop. He started by taking patterns off the existing wheelhouse and fw’d cabin top. He replicated the curve of the fw’d cabin top in ply and built the new wheelhouse around that in six sections. He also laminated the new wheelhouse roof, allowing for a good eyebrow fw’d and a smaller one aft.

John learned his trade at Roger Carey’s yard in Picton in the 60’s and 70’s, where beautiful work boats with great looking wheelhouses were the order of the day. John built one of my favorite Carey designs, Hinewai for his own boat and we’ve replicated her fw’d opening half window on Arethusa. 

Once the wheelhouse was complete, we hauled Arethusa at Ashby’s in Opua and got to work with the skill-saw. In no time we’d reduced her to a convertible. We were lucky for Northland’s drought everything stayed reasonably dry and also that we got everything closed in and back in the water before Covid shut the yard down.

I’m in awe of how boat builders can build something like this away from the boat, then fit the pieces with a minimum of shaping. Fitting and gluing the six sections to the existing house went really smoothly.

The wheelhouse is built from 2″ Iroko. This is the first outside varnish we’ve had on Arethusa, we hand brushed 2 coats of Cetol as a base and six coats of Schooner Yacht Varnish.

Over lock-down, the apprentice made new interior joinery, gone are the Warehouse plastic drawers and chipboard frame 🙂 Moved the batteries under the new bench unit so we can now stand at the wheel. John laminated me up some lovely curved trim for the front of the oven unit. Our old manky plywood dash got an upgrade to kauri and the old wheel got a fright with a good scrub and a varnish.

Outside we made nav light boxes and dorade boxes.  We had to move the aluminium framed front hatch fw’d, a more traditional looking one in Iroko is on the to-do list. The liferings also got a birthday.

Here’s some before and after pics and also some that I hope will give some idea of the process. Thanks John for all your incredibly skilled design and build work, we’re really stoked with it.

We’re always keen to learn more of Arethusa’s history, especially the 1955-2000 period in the South Island. If you have any stories we’d love to hear them.”

Links to previous WW stories on Arethusa
https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/12/11/arethusa-new-wheelhouse-project/
https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/12/31/restoring-installing-a-gardner-in-arethusa-revisited/
https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/11/01/arethusa-winsome/

RSVP waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Woody Speedboat – Help Wanted

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1930’s Speedboat – Help Wanted

Serious woody boat restorer, Peter Murton contacted WW with an update on a recent boat shed find, I’ll let Peter tell the story – he is also on the hunt for some ‘bits’ to complete the project.I have posted two photos below of a 1895 fantail clinker work boat / launch that Peter restored, it had spent 25 years as a garden feature before Peter saved her – proof that the mans not afraid of a challenge 🙂

“We pulled the old girl above out of a shed in Ngakuta Bay in the Sounds. She is 18′ x 5’, probably late 1940’s, but there is talk she could be as old as the mid 1920’s. Have been told she was built in Dunedin, she is all kauri. She is very lightly built with canvas covered decks, planks are all 1/2″-12.5mm thick, frames are all 5/8-16mm thick. Seam battens on all planks and under decks are all copper riveted. Her frames are brass screw fastened with 1/8th 3mm iron brackets to brace the chine joint and one bolt on the vertical frame into chine rail deck framing. Has 1/8th- 3mm iron brackets holding some framing members in place, rudder is iron. Shaft is stainless steel with a thrust bearing mounted on the inboard end, shaft is stepped at the bearing and a iron bracket supports it on engine beds. She would have been direct drive, she has two shaft holes forward one is oldest. The aft shaft hole has been hacked in very roughly done. Looks like she had a re-power and had to shift the shaft aft to accommodate new motor.”

Wanted to complete this project

• Kauri Planks 8×1 for planking and frames

• Flathead V8 or flathead or straight 6 with or without gearbox 

• Windscreen hardware crome center and side brackets

• Rudder is transom hung we are missing the steering pulleys that mounted on each side of the transom to guide the cables on to the rudder arm

06-09-2020 Input from Peter Krans – Peter sent in the photos below of the speed boat Miss Waikawa which Peter commented that while nothing confirms Peter Murton’s shed find is Miss Waikawa, they are a similar size and shape… Peter M may be able to tell if his boat once had a dickie seat.Peter K thinks that Miss Waikawa was built immediately after the war, she was sold about 1958 to 1960 after the family head passed away. Possibly sold to the Fishburn’s at Drydans bay.There is quite some story attached to her, but all those who had first hand knowledge are no longer with us. The second shaft outlet is a bit of a clue, story goes that there was a hunger for speed, and a pair of post WW2 trainer aircraft were purchased from Woodborne, and one on the engines was fitted. Miss Waikawa had her own boat shed by what is now the old rowing club. The aircraft sat in a paddock in Waikawa bay for a number of years next to what is now Findlay Grove. Peter Beech who has commented on here may also have some recollection.

RSVP waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Is It A Boat – Is It A House

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Is It A Boat – Is It A House

Some doozies have recently popped up on the web – the top photo I had to treble check to make sure it really was an actual boat. Would get very ‘interesting’ in anything over 2 knots of wind. It does win the WW competition for the boat that most resembles a block of flats award 🙂

The 2nd photo is a boat converted to a land based dwelling.

The last is an architects (I use the term loosely) attempt to include a ship into a new build.

Take your pick woodys 🙂


AROHA Weekend Cruiser Build
Our friends over at Off Center Harbor have just given us a heads up that the Brooklin Boat Yard in the US have purchased an Aroha kit and will be filming OCH (& BBY) guru Eric Blake setting up the kit. Should make for a very interesting video series.


Also in the OCH news, is the Aroha build by John Pratt, the photos above are from John’s home workshop in North Carolina. Below are two photos taken by Dean Wright of the ‘mule’ for Aroha – the kiwi designed and built – Whio. Dean took the photos in Deep Water Cove, B.O.I. in 2014.
You can read more about Whio and Aroha here + details on purchasing her building plans / kits https://www.offcenterharbor.com/plans-och-aroha/