Category Archives: Launches

CLASSIC EX WOODEN WORKBOAT – ZORA AK71 – A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC EX WOODEN WORKBOAT – ZORA AK71 – A Peek Down Below

Earlier in the year Ian McDonald advised the 1936, 50’ Lidgard built ex workboat ZORA was looking for a new owner, at the time the asking price (350k) was a little steep given the market but it appears she sold. They all do, it’s only a matter of price.

ZORA last appeared on WW back in Aug 2018 , lots of photos and details from her past at this link  https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/08/08/zora-a71-workboat-wednesday/

ZORA is a fine woody and appeared to be very well maintained and presented. What we learnt:

• Built in 1936 by Lidgard Bros as a Seine fishing boat

• 15.2m LOH  x 4.45m beam x 1.8m draft

• Powered by a Gardner 6L3B 150hp, cruises at 8 knots

• Carvel planked, with some of that ’thick plastic’ coating applied 😦

• All the bells and whistles for extended cruising + 5000L fuel tank

Keen to learn where ZORA resides these days .

MYSTERY LAKE TAUPO MOTOR LAUNCH c.1950 – – OKATAINA

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MYSTERY LAKE TAUPO MOTOR LAUNCH c.1950 – OKATAINA

Crazy day celebrating xmas in November – overseas family visiting, so just had to do it………….

So woodys when I saw late yesterday that Ian McDonald had sent in the photo that appears above, I was so happy. Was probably the closest I’ve been to missing posting a story.

So the photo is tagged “An unidentified motor launch on Lake Taupo”. William Barbour Beattie for NZ Herald, 1950. (Luck Lib Heritage Collections)

I’m expecting one of the Drake Brothers to ID her and possibly say they own or owned her 🙂

INPUT EX GREG PHILPOTT – OKATAINA – Built in 1938 by Sam Ford in 1938 for the Beamish-Whites at Lake Okataina. Sold in 1939 to the Government’s Internal Affairs Department who were looking for a boat to “serve their ranger work on Lake Taupo as well as on occasions carry distinguished guests”. They required a boat that “could handle rough weather and give fair speed”. Hence the official flag.
Later owners on Lake Taupo included John Henry Kay and Peter Redwood.
The boat ended up in Auckland in late 1989 / early 1990 in poor condition and then found her way to Thames where she remains today.

24-11-2025 INPUT EX PAUL DRAKE – We, the Drake Brothers, were quite besotted with OKATAINA when Peter Redwood owned her, and before we owned ROMANCE. In 1975, OKATAINA ‘s Chrysler Ace petrol engine ended up in ROMANCE. Legend has it that in 1939, at the start of WW2, OKATAINA was put in her float-in shed at the Taupo Boat Harbour and the door locked, not to be opened until 1945. She didn’t fare too well and required fairly expensive rot repairs, so it is said.

26-11-2025 INPUT EX PAUL DRAKE – Photo below of OKATAINA at Taupo (late 1960s) when the young Drake brothers were besotted with her. These days she has rather more structure (flying bridge) and is painted – white. But back then, she had class! To our young eyes, anyway. 

Proof of the feast and the reason I was so unmotivated to punch the keyboard 🙂 And guess what, we will be doing it all again on Dec 25th 🙃

CAN WE HELP IDENTIFY THIS RUMPTY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH

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CAN WE HELP IDENTIFY THIS RUMPTY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH

WW was contacted recently by Guilford Bonehill regard todays wooden launch. The vessel is owned by a friend of Guilford’s and has been resting in their yard for 10+ years.

The owner believes it previously came from the Cleveland area, and the Wairoa River.  Although there is no name on the launch, they think it was named PRINCESS ALOHA and built a century ago.

The understatement in Guilford’s note was ‘the condition of the launch is not good’.

Any help in identifying the launch and her past would be most appreciated.

26-11-2025 INPUT EX GUILFORD BONEHILL -Laurie Webster (deceased) had the boat in Pukekohe and for the last 8 years up high n dry near a wool shed in Te Kohanga

CHAD THOMPSON TRIBUTE SPRING RALLY

Yesterday was the start of the CYA – CTT Spring Rally (year 3) Photos below of the start line – entrants were down 50% on last year…………  Reminds me of the Albert Einstein quote: Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results.

WHO’S BRAVE ENOUGH TO PAY $1 FOR THE CLASSIC LAUNCH LADY FAYE

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WHO’S BRAVE ENOUGH TO PAY $1 FOR THE CLASSIC LAUNCH LADY FAYE

Sixteen months ago we ran a story on the 32’ wooden launch – LADY FAYE, that at the time was needing a new custodian. Link below to that story. https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/07/25/lady-faye-can-we-save-this-classic-wooden-launch/

Fast forward to November and the vessel has gone even further down hill – and not surprisingly has a starting price of $1. And even at that figure no ones bidding.

What we know – built in 1948 by Des Donovan and Fred Steele of 20th Century Boats for Fred Steele’s own use. The current engine is a 60hp Fordson 4 cyl. diesel, condition unknown.

While her current presentation looks very intimidating – if you view it like an old house and put a dump bin at one end and just shovelled everything out, you could have the bones of a nice classic rebuild project. The photo below could be our inspiration 😉

CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS IN PICTON HARBOUR

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CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS IN PICTON HARBOUR

Several months ago todays woody photo popped up on Lew Redwoods fb feed and I filed it away and for got about it 😦

Fast forward to yesterday and I was dong a file search on the word PICTON and up popped the image.

Aside from being a rather good b/w photo – the interesting thing tome is the number of smallish classic wooden launches moored.

Its a long shot but anyone able to dare the photo and possibly ID any craft.

And while on the subject to old images, I was reading a copy of the NZ Classic Yacht Association –  Oct 1996 newsletter. Even though it was called ’The New Zealand Classic Yacht Quarterly’ the handle bar moustached sailors back then hadn’t swallowed the Kool-aid and were happy using generic terms like OLD BOAT 🙂

MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH ON THE MOVE 

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MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH ON THE MOVE 

Todays classic wooden launch looks vaguely familiar but the WW brain draws a blank.

The photo comes to us from Bryan McMurtrie via Maurice Sharp. The photo was tagged  – Burnside Bros, Papatoetoe – International truck traveling from Papatoetoe to Tamaki River. In the photo the rig is rounding the bend on Mt Wellington highway on the outskirts of Mt Richmond Domain in Auckland.

Can we ID the boat – please tell me its not a Vindex………..

INPUT ex ALAN SEXTON – She is a 32′ Vindex, originally named Pai Rawa Atu, very skillfully home built by boiler maker Des Gray (he was a foreman at Steel Tanks and Structures) over a 5 yr period at their Papatoetoe home, double diagonal kauri hull powered by an upright T6.354 145 Perkins. Launched early 1972. I know all this because she was berthed beside us at HMB when my father owned Tarata. She is still around, has been re-engined and renamed, I believe lives at Gulf Harbour these days

02-02-2026 INPUT ex CHRIS MCMLLEN – Built by Des Gray of Panmure

CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS AT SANDSPIT MARINA 

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CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS AT SANDSPIT MARINA 

Today we have a report in from Mark Newcomb who was stooging around Sandspit Marina and the Club hardstand over the weekend. 

The first classic woody above is one we normally see at the Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade – its named RURU was possibly built in 1935 by Lidgard, 19’ in length.  https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/07/22/ruru/

In the second photo we see JUANITA, the 32’ , 1951 Allan Williams designed and built classic launch, getting some serious pre-summer TLC. https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/03/21/the-rebirth-of-juanita/

In T he third photo we see LADY MAY, a Salthouse 37, spirit of tradition classic. If its the same launch I spotted at KAWAU ISLAND over Labour weekend , I think is is running a Hamilton Jet unit.

Lastly we have the 36’ , 1922, Dick Lang built launch – LADY ADELAIDE looking like she is about to be hauled out. https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/11/22/lady-adelaide-a-peek-down-below/

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON RESTORATION UPDATE #2

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON RESTORATION UPDATE #2

WW has been following the restoration of AVALON the 24’ 1954 Sam Ford built classic wooden launch since late 2021.

Owner Tobias Forsyth has been juggling the project in between family life and a profession that sees him ‘off-shore’ for extended periods of time. I have linked the previous AVALON WW stories below – lots of historical photos.

Late 2021. https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/11/29/resurrection-of-avalon/

May 2025. https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/05/12/classic-wooden-launch-avalon-restoration-update/

Today Tobias has shared with us a gallery of work undertaken in the last 6 months. The size of the project is lofty but when its a one owner family craft you tend to disregard budgets and hours work.

Tobias commented that  he had “made some good progress with interior build, cockpit, side deck glassing, loads of sanding and painting. Also finally finished the forward windscreen mahogany after deliberating on exactly how it should look for a while so I can order the new glass soon. I refurbished the original helm whittled by my grandfather in Manuka from the family farm in Beachaven, finished before he had even commissioned Avalon, I just had to replace the mahogany trim pieces that were made of a veneer and the diamantés”. 

The next phase is a new cabin top and some basic systems installed then final top coats of paint and varnish then she’s good to go. The plan is she will be kept on a trailer making AVALON a very user friendly woody.

CLASSIC LIDGARD LAUNCH MONTEREY GETS A BIRTHDAY

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CLASSIC LIDGARD LAUNCH MONTEREY GETS A BIRTHDAY

The 1946 Lidgard built 32’ classic wooden launch MONTEREY has been a regular member of my boating inner circle over the last 20 years of classic boating. 

MONTEREY changed hands last year and over winter has been getting a refresh down below. Relax the above photos may appear a tad ‘refrigerator’ in colour but most of the timber trim and furnishing have been removed so the next photos we share she will look smarter.

Monterey is currently hauled out at the Slipway Milford for a Jason Prew Paint Job (JPPJ) and removing the decades of built up antifoam from her bottom. While out some of the systems and thru-hulls will be upgraded.

Very happy to see MONTEREY getting the TLC she deserves and hopefully more photos soon.

Two of my favourite MONTERY photos from the past below ❤️ (The stern signage was ex me having a quiet day in the studio)

UPDATE – Final coats of the Jase Prew Pint Job

WHAT BECAME OF THE CLASSIC EX GAME BOAT KITTY VANE 

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WHAT BECAME OF THE CLASSIC EX GAME BOAT KITTY VANE 

Back in July we ran a story on the 42’ classic ex game launch – KITTY VANE (link below), at the time her owners were seeking to find a new custodian to complete the restoration project https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/07/31/legendary-ex-big-game-wooden-launch-seeks-passionate-new-custodian/

From previous WW stories we learnt that KITTY VANE was  launched in 1956, designed and built by T.C. (Ces) Watson, Laurie Going (father of Hugh Going) worked on her as well. She is named after Katherine (Kitty) Airini Vane, a famous artist from Northland.

She was based at Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club at Tutukaka for many years, under the ownership of the Going family.

Yesterday I was contacted by woody John Dawson who sent in todays photos from her past.

We have two questions :-                                                                                                   # 1 Did KITTY VANE find a new owner and if so can we get an update on the project. # 2 Is the last photo from her launch day