Category Archives: Launches

Venture – Where Is She

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VENTURE – WHERE IS SHE – WW cap Up For Grabs

Todays WW story started last week – I’m standing in the queue to catch the Waiheke Island > Devonport ferry and the lady (Penny Ericson)  behind me asks if I’m from Tasmania, now it was Friday afternoon and I had been to lunch so the brain took a few milli seconds to engage. I was wearing an Aust. Wooden Boat Festival t-shirt and the logo was plastered over the back of the shirt. I explain no I’m not, and then Penny tells me she is off to Tasmania in 7 days time for a holiday, so being the nice person I am I give her my ’Things you must do / see in Hobart’ speech. I then open the photo gallery on my iPhone and back the story up with photos. She comments that there are a lot of boat photos and I explain why and tell the waitematawoodys story. 

Snap – she knows the site and was in fact about to email me concerning her grandfather > fathers launch named Venture.

After that long led in I’ll let Penny tell her story – 

“This is Penny , I met you on the Waiheke ferry the other day and we discussed the fact that I would love to know what happened to my father and grandfathers boat that he used on the lakes in Rotorua as a charter fishing launch . 
I think that it operated out of the fishing camp on the Ohau channel , and the Harvey family lived in a house on Lake Rotorua on the other side of the channel .
As you will see from the above photos the launch was called Venture, and the Log book below begins in 1937 and finishes in 1941. 

No one in the family knows what happened to the boat but I had a feeling someone thought it may have been sold to someone in Auckland .
I was delighted to meet you and you sounded so positive that you may be able to find the boat for me .
In the bottom photo my father John or “Jack” Harvey is on the left . He was distinctive as he had a wooden peg leg having lost a leg on the western front in WW1. All his life despite his disability he was a marvellous fisherman and boatman. I grew up in Torbay so was always in boats as a kid, Dad building many dinghy’s for us .

Thank you Alan , I would greatly appreciate finding the boat and maybe the original logbook needs to be reunited with the boat”

So woodys can we help Penny in her search for the launch Venture and along the way learn more about her and what became of her.

17-03-2023 INPUT ex HAROLD KIDD – VENTURE was bought by K H Wilson of Rotorua in 1947 and fitted with a 52hp Graymarine engine. He kept her until at least 1955.

I’ll reward the woody that is the most helpful with a WW cap.

VENTURE LOG – Might be a familiar name featured

LATE WOODY SUMMER IN THE BAY OF ISLANDS

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LATE WOODY SUMMER IN THE BAY OF ISLANDS

Todays Bay of Islands photo gallery comes to us from Dean Wright and we have from top to bottom:

• Stella Maris coming through the Kent Passage

• Taree, Volantis and Zaca all in Pipi Bay

Volantis looking rather majestic after a recent dose of TLC.

TE UIRA RELAUNCHED

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TE UIRA RELAUNCHED

Ian Smith from the Sydney Wooden Boat School has just aired a new video he shot during the recent Aust Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart. Its titled ‘Around the Boatyards Ep2’ – and focuses the Cygnet Wooden Boat yard and we get a great overview of the recently relaunched 1896 C&W Bailey (NZ) built 45’ yacht Te Uira.

Also an overview of other CWB projects recently completed or underway. Enjoy.

Special thanks to Andrew Christie for the heads up on the video

Lots of background on Te Uira and photos of the restoration at the links below

Previous 2015 WW story https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/07/15/sos-1896-chas-bailey-yacht-to-be-broken-up/

Previous 2019 WW story https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/05/19/restoration-of-te-uira-begins/

Woodys On The Northern Wairoa and Kaipara Harbour

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#1
#2 SWANEE
#3
#4 RONA W

Woodys On The Northern Wairoa and Kaipara Harbour

Todays collection of craft comes to us from the Kauri Museum at Matakohe via Diane Wilkinson’s fb.

From top to bottom:

1. Unknown launch – can we ID her

2. Swanee – featured on WW in 2015 – link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/29/swanee/

3. Unknown launch – can we ID her

4. Rona W – possibly this boat – 2021 WW story https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/04/15/could-this-be-rona/

Three Minutes Of Wooden Boat Porn

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3 Minutes Of Wooden Boat Porn

Last month I bombarded you with a several photo galleries of the 2023 Australian Wooden Boat Festival.  As part of the wrap up of the festival, the organising crew have pulled together a 3min short film that utilises a lot of aerial film footage. The video gives us a wonderful overview of the festival, the Hobart harbour and waterfront – if there is any saw dust in your blood – Hobart February 2025 needs to be circled on your calendar. As festival director – Paul Stephanus says “This festival is one of a kind” . And its the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and surprise surprise woodys – its free, no charge – we like that.

Find a comfortable chair and prepare to be wowed.  

TIP: To enlarge screen size – scroll over the screen above and click on the icon I have highlighted below

RSVP (boat name & approx crew #) TO waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Mystery Launch + Woodys Stillwater Picnic New Date

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Jack Brooke Mystery Launch

Todays woody is only a mystery because the seller didn’t disclose the vessels name 😦

What we know is she is 36’ in length, with a 10’ beam. Built in kauri utilising carvel construction and launched in 1962.

Powered by twin Ford 65hp Diesel engines, cruises comfortably at 8>9 knots.

Anyone able to tell us more about the boat – name, builder, history etc 🙂

WOODYS STILLWATER / WATERFRONT PICNIC – NEW DATE – APRIL 15TH

Lady Gazelle On The Rocks

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LADY GAZELLE (GAZELLE) On The Rocks

It saddens me to report the demise of the launch – Lady Gazelle (formally Gazelle), designed and built by Jim Young c. late 1950’s. During the recent Cyclone Gabrille, Lady Gazelle was put on the rocks in the Coromandel Harbour. Owners Mitch and Cathy Edwards commented that she had been struck by another drifting boat and cut from her mooring.

While she will no doubt be written off, the Edwards hope that the four years they spent restoring her has not all gone to waste and that someone will tender for her and hopefully repair her.


Princess – Lake Taupo 

Ian McDonald also reported in that the launch Princess was blown off her mooring in Acacia Bay, Lake Taupo. Hopefully re-floated – can anyone advise.  Previous WW story on the launch here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/01/05/princess/

Corinna

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CORINNA

WW was sent the above photos of the launch – Corinna, by John Burland. John was mooching around the marina at Havelock.

Corinna is an unknown to WW so very keen to learn more.

INPUT EX TRACY & ALAN GILDER – She looks similar to Kokoru. Definitely a Jack Morgan design / build. There were 6 Jack Morgan vessels built in the fleet along with Kokoru, her being the last. We saw Hawaiki on the hardstand at Waikawa Picton Feb 2020 (photos below), looking very forlorn and neglected.

INPUT EX DICK HALL – Hawaiki was the first of Jacks design about 1950.The others being Gerola (only one with focsle head & now called Kiwa),Safari Queen, Siren (aft W/House) Corinna, Kokoru.. Pania was built to the same design but I think 2ft longer. Corinna built new for the Teece family and I think still in their ownership

POLL – LAUNCH CRUISE TO PAEROA HISTORICAL MARITIME MUSEUM AND PARK – INTERESTED ? To help with planning for a potential Easter Weekend cruise up the Waihou River to the – Paeroa Maritime Museum & Park. Link below to last years cruise. Can we ask that you complete the simple poll below – THUMBS UP = Interested THUMBS DOWN = Not Interested Many Thanks 🙂

2022 Cruise Story https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/04/19/woodys-classic-launch-easter-river-cruise-to-paero

Alibi – A Peek Below

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ALIBI – A Peek Below

In early Jan 2023 we featured the 42’ Mason Clipper – Alibi, entering the Sandspit shed of Greg Lees Boat builder. That story generated a great inside into her past, link below to that story.

https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/01/02/mason-clipper-alibi/

Today thanks to the ‘Mason Clippers’ group and Lew Redwood’s fb we get to see her interior. The photos show her almost unchanged in 42 years with the original upholstery still in great condition. 

Looking forward to seeing what Alibi well look like after the Greg Lees team have rubbed their magic over her. (Nudge nudge Greg)

Woodys Stillwater Picnic + Next Event Announcement 

Sadly Saturdays waterfront picnic was postponed based on weather forecasts and sea state. The right decision on Friday night and probably the wrong one at mid-day Saturday. There will be announcement later in the week re a new date. But moving on – the next Woodys event is a long overdue lunch cruise to the historical Riverhead Tavern.

See below flyer – but quick overview – Sunday 26th March – meeting at 10.am off Lucas Creek / Herald Island.

RSVP with vessel name and approx. number aboard to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Rata – A Peek Down Below

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RATA – A Peek Down Below

The launch Rata is 35’ in length, has a 9’ beam and draws 3’.

Rata was built in 1926 from Kauri, carvel method by Dick Lang in St Mary’s Bay.  Powered by a 85hp Ford Lees Marine diesel, giving her a 7 knots cruising speed.

And that is all we know, lots of craft named Rata on WW but this ones a newbie. Was hauled out on the hard at Waiheke Island for an extended period. Thanks Ian McDonald for the heads up.