Category Archives: Launches

Mystery Launches at Whangamumu 

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1928 Whangamumu

Mystery Launches at Whangamumu 

Today’s photo ex Lew Redwood’s fb shows the whaling station at Whangamumu & is dated March 1928. From the number of barrels of oil in front of the factory, a visit from a freighter must be due.
Anyone able to ID the launches at anchor? The bridge-decker on the right shouldn’t be too difficult given the design, oval ports on the cabin & twin masts?
Kairangi Out at Gulf Harbour
Photos below ex Ken Ricketts hauled out at Gulf Harbour for a spring spruce up

Taranui

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TARANUI

Taranui was built in 1963, so just slips into the classic category, helped by the Strongman design & built with a pitched pine carvel by Sam Ford in Lyttleton.

She measures 32’ 9”, with 11’ beam & 3’6” draft. Power comes from a 80hp Toyota B4 light truck diesel, converted to marine.

Taranui is for sale on trade (thanks Ian McDonald) & currently called Havelock Marina home.

Do we know any more about where Taranui has been for the rest of her life?

Woody Has Lucky Escape in Milford Marina

Woody Murray Deeble, keeps his lovely ‘spirit of tradition’ woody – Waikiore (pictured below at Riverhead Pub) , berth at Milford Marina on Auckland’s North Shore. I have been ribbing Murray that Waikiore is long over-due some TLC (5 years between haul-outs) so out of the blue he hauls her out at the Milford Cruising Club slip. Next day a ‘new New Zealander’ has a wee parking oops & ends up in the water in Waikiore’s berth.

Some would say Murray was very lucky – others would say bad luck i.e. would have been a nice insurance claim 😉

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Tide In

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Tide Out

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The Rudder Cup – A Celebration of Classic Launch Racing Dec 14>15 2018

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The Rudder Cup – A Celebration of Classic Launch Racing Dec 14>15 2018

Now woodys, if I had $10 for everything woody launch owner that has told me they are entering the 2018 Rudder Cup launch race, I would be a wealthy man.
But guys, we are very fast approaching the stump up or shut up stage – entries close on 23 November, so if your going to be on the start line, we need to hear from you.
Remember entry is by invitation, so send an email off to Jason Prew at     2018ruddercup@classicyacht.org.nz
& he will send you an invitation, entry forms, notice of race etc etc.
Numbers are looking good & the standard of entrant is very broad – its not just the zoom zoomers that are entering, & in case you forgot its a handicapped race, so everyone has an fair chance of taking out the #1 prize.
If you would like to read more on the history of the Rudder Cup,  click the WW link below. Also Harold Kidd has just published an article on the 2018 race in the November edition of Boating NZ magazine – it is titled ‘Old donks, young hearts’ & is a great read – its out now in good bookshops & supermarkets.

Thanks for all the kind words & emails yesterday – I couldn’t do it with out your help 🙂
CYA Rudder Cup 2018 flyer

Waitemata Woodys hits 4,000,000 views and celebrates with a gallery of over 100 classic wooden boat photos

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If you think being passionate about wooden boats is niche – think again, there are a lot of us out there. Waitemata Woodys has just passed 4 MILLION views and we celebrate with over 100 classic wooden boating photos

Never in a blue moon when I started this site could I have seen it becoming as popular as it has. Along the way the site has morphed to also become an awesome information source for just about anything connected to wooden boating. Some facts:
4,000,000 views
370,000 people have visited the site, most of them come back – some daily, some weekly, some just when they need to know something
2,469 stories
20,000+ photos published
A 50,000+ photo library
It wouldn’t have happened without in the early days a few fireside chats from people way more worldly in the wooden boating community than myself. The list of people that have shared their family photo albums, stories and knowledge with us is huge and  the site just wouldn’t be what it is today without these people.
I’ve made so many friends, and been fortunate to rub shoulders with a lot of you in person.
So where to from here?, I would be a lier if I said I had not considered pulling the pin a few times, its a big ask publishing a wooden boating story 365 days of the year, but for every one dark day when I’m questioning why I do it – I have 100 days where someone tells me that the first thing they do every every morning is check out Waitemata Woodys, or that they print the stories and once a week when they visit grandad they read them to him, because he is nearly blind, or when we uncover the provenance of someones boat, or when we find someones long lost family boat etc etc
Aside from thanking you all for your support and asking you to keep following Waitemata Woodys – I only have one request – please keep sending us your stories & photos – you may be thinking they won’t mean much to us, but at some stage, someone will send in something and SNAP, they match & we have the makings of a great story. Email them to   waitematawoodys@gmail.com
The following link takes you to a Waitemata Woodys story that epitomises all that’s good about the site – you wouldn’t find content like this anywhere else – it’s gold
And in answer to all the emails re when I will be doing another Waitemata Woodys t-shirt run – the answer is before Christmas, so start saving your pennies. I’ll do another post soon re taking orders 🙂
Again many thanks to everyone. I hope you all still enjoy the site as much as I do pulling it all together. Shortly I will be sharing with you some exciting news on how WW will become even more relevant to wooden boat owners, but for now I have pulled together a random selection of 101 woody photos that have appeared on the site – enjoy 🙂
Alan Houghton – founder
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Mystery Boat – Wairoa District

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MYSTERY BOAT – WAIROA DISTRICT

Today’s photo comes to us from one of Bruno Redwood’s old fb posts, sadly Bruno (brother of Lew) passed away recently.
The photo shows a group of day trippers, possibly on Lake Waikaremoana c.1880’s
Anyone able to ID the boat & confirm the location?
Harold Kidd Input – KAHURANGI, built for the Goverrnment Tourist Bureau for use on Lake Waikaremoana by Logan Bros August 1903, 36ft loa 10hp Union engine.
The photo below was sent to me yesterday by woody – Tim Evill, Tim was out fishing in the middle of the gulf between Rocky Bay and Maraetai & spotted a bouy in the water (11m depth) on closer inspection there was a yacht attached to it – anyone able to tell us what was at the end of the mast & how it got there?
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Woody on tour at Opua, BOI

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Christina

Leilani

Donna Maree

Woody On Tour at Opua, Bay of Islands 

Woody Ian McDonald was recently in the winterless north & popped down to the boatyard at Opua, in the Bay of Islands & snapped the 3 woodys above.
The first photo is Christina, a big heavy woody – obviously a workboat in her previous life, & set up for game /tuna/charter.
Then we have the very pretty Leilani, out for a spruce up. WW link here
Last up is Donna Maree, featured on WW as Donna “Marie” with a Dean Wright photo & an article entitled “Some days are just made for a wheelhouse” (link below). She has a very beautiful hull.

Boat or Block of Flats?

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Boat or Block of Flats?
Its been a while since we had a contender for the ‘Boat that looks like a block of flats’ award – the above, shoots to the top of the list. And that is sad because someone has spent a lot of money on this spirit of tradition vessel, in all the wrong places.
Some details – build year is 2006, her specs are 52.5’ in length, with a 14’9” beam. And yes – she is wood. Her zoom zoom is via a Fiat Iveco Aifo 220 hp diesel that will see her cruising at 8.5 knots.

Beverlene

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BEVERLENE

Beverlene was built in 1968 by Owen Wolley & measures 39’, has a 11’9” beam & draws 3’3”,  & has a kauri planked hull.

Zoom zoom is from a 120*hp Commer diesel engine that sees her cruising at a comfortable 8 knots.

* trademe listing (thanx Ian McDonald) also states 140hp

Home is Tauranga so she is off the WW radar – can anyone tell us more about here?

 

22-06-23 UPDATE – photo below ex tme listing June 2023

Nevada

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NEVADA

Nevada was built in 1942, measures 32’ & is built with split strip kauri planking. Her first role was as a cargo boat for Tauranga Ports, later on she was converted for commercial long line fishing, before being retired for pleasure fishing.
Her zoom zoom is a 135hp Ford Lees diesel.
Home these days is Helensville on the Kaipara & her owner according to the trademe listing (thnx Ian McDonald) was also born in 1942 & the up keep on Nevada is just too much, thence the sale.
Her interior is crying out for some love – for the right price this has the bones of a goof project.
Had a stunning Labour weekend cruise around Waiheke Island, very few woodys out & about, I suspect with the greta forecast, a lot would have headed further north e.g. Kawau Island.
Had the misfortune to get rammed by a rather large vessel that drifted anchor in Man O War Bay on Saturday afternoon – observers say he had very little chain out. A few bumps & scratches, he did come over later on & supplied contact details. Not major damage, just a pain-in-the-ass to have to fix.
Unbelievably I did not take the camera out of its bag the whole weekend. Enjoyed some great hospitality, afloat & ashore. Sunday nights dinners (at the family of good boating friends waterfront island house, was to die for – multiple bbq’s + a smoker = slow cooked beef, chicken & smoked beef spare-rib brisket. Carnivore heaven 🙂
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Four Winds

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C1975

Below Photos c1977

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FOUR WINDS

I was recently contacted by Stuart Windross in regard to the 30′ launch Four Winds, built c.1936 by Dick Lang. At the time Stuart promised to send in a selection of photos from the 1970’s, when they  owned her. I have to say I was blown over when I received the email – what an amazing history of the woody. Its a great tale – I’ll let Stuart tell it. Enjoy 🙂

My Mum and Dad and I  (Shirley and Alistair – now both decesased- and Stuart Windross) owned Four Winds from 1975 to 1979. We bought it in close to sinking condition from the previous owner who we understand had a very rough trip back from Barrier and pretty much walked off her.  There were dirty dishes in the sink and a healthy dose of mould on all surfaces when we purchased her.  There was water up to our knees in the forward cabin.  She was very close to both sinking and having water through the engine.  Luckily we got to her just in time.  When we towed her off her pile moorings in Panmure she left a health dust trail from nearly a metre of trailing mussels etc.  
Once restored she was a lovely sea worthy vessel with its original Dick Lang – built dinghy that fitted the davits exactly.  The Mk3 Ford Zodiac petrol engine (shudder) was reliable and cruised at 2000rpm at 2.5 gallons per hour.  The rumble of her exhaust was fairly noisy though!.
Her layout was original except for the galley and a superb use of space (see pics) with: 
  • copper fuel tank across the stern
  • helm to  port aft at the front end of a seat/locker (with its excellent horizontal wheel well placed to rest feet on when sitting on the hatch edge). The steering worked via the vertical shaft, heavy duty rack and pinion, and two rods connected by a idler quadrant in the aft quarter.
  • Galley with fridge and cooker starboard aft.  Remarkable were the ‘Rovers Return’ style hand pumps that supplied water to both the sink and the handbasin forward. They delivered a pint at a time as the brass and porcelain handle was pulled to 45 degrees. 
  • Saloon with full length berths/seating ea side that could be converted to bunks (canvas and steel pole to support the back squab). Forward of each bunk was a cupboard/locker. The starboard one was for crockery, etc with captain’s locker underneath. The port one housed exhaust, header tank, tools, spares etc. Water tanks were under the bunks. The decorative panels around the port holes in the cabin sides were a burgundy style textured type of linoleum in a pebble motif. The squabs initially had their soft brown leather covers but need replacing due to water and mould damage.
  • Engine forward centre in the saloon with tilt-up sides creating a table. The engine was a Lees Marine conversion cooled by both keel tubes and a large brass heat exchanger fed by a Jabsco sea water pump. The pulley for this was corroded away to shaft level when we got her indicating the level of the bilge water. The gearbox activated by a hefty lever at the helm was a 2:1 reduction ‘Paragon’. 
  • The forward cabin was separated by a sliding door forward of the engine and had full headroom for the first metre or so. It housed a double berth to port and a beautiful kauri dresser and wardrobe to starboard. The chrome fiddle rail can be seen in the pics. Under the berth were batteries, switchboard, and massive storage. A chart rack was above between the deck beams with a fascinating range of charts showing the Four Winds had travelled far afield in her heyday.
  • In the bow were an anchor locker aft of which was the heads (copper funnel with outlet to starboard – no holding tanks then) and a handbasin tucked port side (again with porcelain pint pump). Flush (and deck washdown via the overhead hatch) was by a water puppy pump and hose, very effective. The windlass was powered by what I believe was a Spitfire starter motor and a massive reduction box. I recall lifting the stern well clear of the water when trying to free a stuck anchor off the Needles in Onetangi. The head/basin was closed off from the other cabins by yet another Dick Lang masterpiece, a three panel folding kauri panel door similar to that between the cockpit and saloon.
  • The four large chromed ventilators (supplemented by a sliding window in the front of the tram-top, gave the vessel both good airflow and a classy look. The dodger on the rear cabintop was both a fine back rest for those topsides and great shelter from spray for the helmsman in heavier conditions. The flair on the bow was such that Four Winds was a very dry boat.
  • The original mast (which took a steadying sail) and railings added to its balanced look.
For a 30 footer she offered more usable and functional space than many much larger vessels..
We sold her pending my marriage in November 1979; house purchase beckoning.
We re-discovered her in the Weiti River about five years ago. Sadly she was minus her original dodger and railings (replaced by unflattering stainless ones) and was sporting ugly square windows cut into her cabin sides in place of her aft (saloon) portholes. She then appeared on trademe for sale and last time we checked was not visible at Stillwater.
No doubt she is still around and hopefully receiving the care and use she deserves.
Incidentally my Aunt (Valmai Windross – nee Strongman and brother of Merv) took me as a child to visit the elderly Dick Lang in Palm Beach Waiheke. He also built a 12 foot dinghy for my Grandad c1956 which the family used for many years at Onetangi and Howick.
I am happy to be contacted should you have any further questions.  Somewhere I have a log that covers off some of Maughan’s use of her.  If that would be useful I can hunt it out.
Regards Stuart Windross
I love these old sale & purchase agreement 🙂
Four Winds Sale Jordan to Maughan
14-08-2019 Update ex Stuart Windross – Stuart advised her current location is Ngunguru and he uncovered the photo below on line,  the photo is credited to a Arty Green, not sure if he is the owner or just the photographer.
Four Winds Ngunguru Harbour ctsy Arty Green