Category Archives: Launches

Marline Back In The Water

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Builders son – Ken Warne at the helm
Post launching – photo ex Max c/o The Slipway Milford

Marline Back In The Water
Back in mid September we reported that the 35′ Leone Warne built – Marline was tucked up in the shed at The Slipway Milford getting a top-chop and the biggest dose of TLC ever. You can read and see photos from the process and lots of historical photos here https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/09/14/marline-gets-a-top-chop/


Last week Marline was quietly slipped back in the water looking rather cool with her back to the past make-over. I have seen a photo of her looking like Huia Falls after being hauled out after a brief – “have we got the waterline right” dip. But she went back in and 24 hours later the flow had abated. Below photos show her as launched and prior to the haircut.

16-05-2025 UPDATE ex CMC DESIGN – MARLINE out for some TLC prior to her 75th birthday later this year. As covered before she was built by Leon Warne in 1950 and to this day remains in the Warne family ownership.

Mystery Napier Launch

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Mystery Napier Launch

Today’s photo is another from the lens of Dean Wright, taken on a Napier marina walk-about. Looks familiar but I can not put a name to her – anyone able to help out?

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – This boat was called the Graham John when first purchased by the current owner Mark Parvin. Talking to his father Peter, he was told the boat was built by a farmer in Motueka around 1947. Originally 36 feet long it was extended aft to 43 feet when converted to a scallop dredger, hence the appearance of a somewhat droopy stern. Currently powered by a 170 hp Isuzu. Mark has completely overlaid the hull with a ply and glass.

Woodys On The Catwalk

Well almost – Karen Walker in a collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has just launched a range of merchandise celebrating this extra special season – A-Cup and 150th RNZYS Anniversary. WW have supplied woody items – clinker dinghies, model yachts etc to support the collection in Karen Walker stores.

Check out the range here  https://www.karenwalker.com/nz/collections/squadron

Rocky Bay Woody Weekend – CYA Launch Race

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ROCKY BAY CYA LAUNCH RACE
Saturday was one of those days that started out looking good, turned crappy (on lots of fronts), got better and then finished average. A gallery of photos above – launch race and in the bay, not a great day weather wise for good photos.
From a launch view point, it was the first launch race in the CYA’s summer racing series and excuse the pun – it got off to a rocky start e.g. start boat broke down and had to call Coast Guard for a tow. Jason Prew deputised me into starting the race, only 4 boats so that was easy. Then 3/4 of the way into the race I got a call from the CYA finish boat, “running late, won’t be there to take finish times”. Bet they weren’t late for the yacht finish…………. Alan Good on Lucille was given the job of recording the times and these were relayed to Jason Prew who calculated the handicap results. All that aside Lucille, Kumi, Ngaio and Meloa all  played well together and crossed the line in that order. 

Handicap results were 1st Kumi – 2nd Meola-  3rd  Lucille (& 1st cross the line)

As a woody treat for the launches WW arranged with Waiheke residents Tim Evill and Mark Stratton to secure access to moorings in the bay for the night – thank you Mark and Tim 🙂 Several more launches cruised down but conditions in the bay were ‘unpleasant’ so they and it would appear a large % of the yacht race fleet, either went else where or headed back to the city.

Along with the mooring access came an invite to attend Happy Hour/s at the Rocky Bay Memorial Cruising Club, with a 3pm start time it was perfect timing for a catch up before the CYA prize giving in the village hall. The club rooms are perched on/over the western end of the bay and a pleasant time was had by all. The club has a very cool, new t-shirt – details at link below
https://www.rockybaycruisingclub.co.nz/for-sale


We had to be back in the city later in the evening, so departed the club around 6pm, collecting CYA secretary – Joyce Talbot, who also needed to be city-side. Trip back was very average but the company was good.
SCORE CARD Weather – 4/10 Organisation – 2/10 On-The-Fly Recovery 11/10 Hospitality – 10/10

RBMCC photos below

Too rocky (rolly) for Centaurus – did a drive by and headed off for a quieter bay 🙂

Mystery Napier Launch

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Mystery Napier Launch
Bay of Islands woody – Dean Wright, recently escaped the winter-less north and has been mooching around the Napier marina. Dean spotted the very streamlined looking launch above, can anyone tell us about the boat?

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – its called Phoebe (Imp) and appeared on WW back in 2015 https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/22/phoebe-imp/


Dean also snapped the photo below of the Napier Sailing Club’s patrol boat – someone has a very good idea for fitting a boat out , well done, she is a looker.

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – The Watchman was built in Dunedin around 1955 especially for the Napier Sailing Club. She has conducted patrol duties ever since. A club stalwart, she received a well earned makeover a couple of years ago.

TUI – Clinker Steam Boat

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SS TUI – Kauri Clinker Steam Boat
It thought that Tui’s 15’ kauri clinker hull was built c.1920, then as part of her transformation to a steam boat the hull was restored where necessary and the exterior was fully clad in f/glass.For the steam boys I have reproduced the mechanical specs below from her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald):

The boiler is of the Ofeldt type with a 6mm thick steel central drum and has 12 1/2″ copper coils surrounding it. The boiler is fast steaming, reliable and safe. Stainless steel cladding and stainless steel funnel. The steel firebox with adjustable dampers runs on char, coal and wood.

The 2hp engine is by Wayne Larsen and is single cylinder double acting 2.5″‘bore x 2.75″ stroke. It has a balanced crankshaft and semi balanced slide valve, with Stephenson’s reversing gear, twin boiler water pumps and a vacuum pump with exhaust steam passing through a feed water heater and keel condenser to the stainless steel hot well. The propeller is 14.5″ x 23″

An auxiliary boiler hand pump and is fitted with an electric water pump as a backup. A Stainless steel top-up water tank is in the transom with a stainless steel hot well placed just in front of the Boiler. A Steam bilge ejector is fitted for removal of any bilge water.

She is fitted with a Windermere Kettle to allow the crew to make a hot cup of tea/coffee on the run.

Muratai II

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MURATAI II

I received an email yesterday from Peter Grant and as I started to read it I was thinking – this is a doozy and I’m sure Harold Kidd will be able to shed some light on the the history of the boat and the accuracy of the tale.


Recently Peter was working at the Queenstown boat shed and I was asked to look at the Muratai II, tied to her jetty. His online search for information only came up with one photo (b/w above) ex the Hochen Library at the University of Otago.
Peter mentioned that the current Kiwi owner of three years now lives in Switzerland and has never set foot on the boat and is disillusioned with the supposed refit progress and the boat yard in Invercargill is tired of waiting for it to be sent down, so have washed their hands on the project.

The previous owner who has owned her for 28 years and where she is still berthed, wants it gone of course.
Prior to his ownership she was a passenger launch on the lake in the company of another 36 footer Moana, powered by a Ford engine of some type.


Apparently the Muratai II was built in Auckland, or somewhere northward, for the then King of Tonga (edited) who wouldn’t settle as he was unable to enter into the vessel due to his size.
Muratai II is 42′ LOA, kauri, and fitted with a very tidy 3 cylinder GM of 65hp which was installed in 1946.


So Mr Kidd and other woodys, can we tell Peter any more about this vessel and her history?

Harold Kidd Input – HMMMMMMMM. King of Tonga??? Which one? MURATAI is wrong. Way back she was MURITAI (correct Maori) then SOUTHERN STAR. My guess is that she was built for the passenger trade in Lyttelton by Chas Bailey 1911 (he built the yacht ONELUA for King George of Tonga shortly after) and gravitated to Lake Wakatipu by 1922. A Trade Me ad recently said she was built for the King of Tonga in 1924. The monarch at the time was Queen Salote. Tourist BS I think.

What Price Provenance – 100 Year Old Game Fishing Wooden Launch

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What Price Provenance – 100 Year Old Game Fishing Wooden Launch

The legendary sport game fishing launch Alma G has just popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald) , without doubt one of the world’s best known and successful game boats.
Presented in better than new condition, with a 270hp Hyundai engine that sees the 36’ hull topping out at 20 knots. 

Built in 1922 by Collings and Bell, there is a big birthday coming up and she has already had the face lift in anticipation.

So woodys, I guess at a reserve of $275k your not just buying a classic woody boat but a 100 year old business / brand (she is still in survey). 
Photo below c.1950’s, shows Alma G on the left in the photo + link below to previous WW story / details https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/11/05/alma-g-alma-g-ii/

Harold Kidd Input – ALMA G was launched in October/November 1922 and took part in the Russell Regatta in December 1922 (see Auckland Star 28/12/1922)

https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/12/01/wooden-boat-bureau-advice-for-buyers-and-sellers/

Ruapani

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RUAPANI
Woody Dean Wright uncovered the above photo of Ruapani that appeared in a book on Lake Waikaremoana and that woodys is where the track stops. A quick google search tells us Ruapani was a chief of the Māori in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa in the 15th and 16th century. 

Given the life raft, maybe she is in charter on the lake.

Any southern woodys able to enlighten us on this rather fine looking launch?

Harold Kidd Input – Built by B.J.L.Jukes, Balaena Bay November 1929 for the Tourist Dept with a 40hp Thornycroft (Empire Preference) petrol engine.

Mystery Launch at Whau Creek

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Mystery Launch at Whau Creek
The photo above of the very unconventional launching of a 26’ cabin cruiser in the Whau Creek , New Lynn is big mystery. The people in the photo appear youngish and a tad nervous  🙂

Photo is an old press clipping ex Lew Redwood’s fb, but no dates. We do know she was built by Mr L Knaggs of Sandringham for a Mr J. Harvey of New Lynn.There was mention on the press clipping that the launch was built to an American design.


Anyone able to ID the vessel?

Input below from Nathan Herbert

Miller and Tunnage – Double Ender – Fisher Lassie

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Miller & Tunnage – Double Ender – Fisher Lassie
If you spend as much time as I do stalking wooden boats on-line you will have noticed the growing trend for work boat conversions, you either love them or not – me I’m in the love them camp. We do not know a lot about todays woody, thanks Ian McDonald, other than she was built by Miller and Tunnage in 1922, out of kauri, is 40’ in length, has a 9’ 10” beam and draws 3’7”. A Gardner 3LW 150hp diesel pushes her along at a comfortable cruising speed of 7 knots. Appears to be very well fitted out.


Can anyone put a name to this woody ?

18-11-2020 Input from Mark Erskine – I was interested to read about the above Miller & Tunnage Double Ender. I agree it’s a real nice boat and was interested to read about her Gardner 3LW engine.

Depending on the fuel and governor / rpm settings, the 3LW engines produce between 36 to 53.5HP from their 4.184 litre capacity.

Dimensions

The “Gardner 150” badge on the Miller & Tunnage control panel is for a 6-cylinder 6LXB Gardner (127 to 150HP) or possibly the 8-cylinder 8LXB (150 to 200)

Gardners are great engines and although the whole range are all low on HP for their considerable size, capacity and weight, they all produce a lot of torque at low rpm and are very reliable.

Although 36 to 54 HP seems a bit low for the size of the boat, I’m guessing the 3LW is a good match for a double ender hull because torque turns the prop rather than HP and the 3LW should also be very economical to operate at 7 knots.

24-11-2022 UPDATE ex Steve’s Coffee Cart – Steve sent in the photos below of Fisher Lassie below, hauled out at the Waikawa hard stand. Check out the new look, it is not often we see people ’taking away’ as compared to adding on. Well done to the owner.

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