Category Archives: Launches

Seacraft Woodys

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SEACRAFT WOODYS

I was recently contacted by Chris Laird & his first words were “are you guys interested in small woodys?”. My answer was ‘if its wood, its good’ 🙂

The above photographs show two dinghies that Chris restored  a couple of years ago. The 12ft 6in Seacraft Tuna has been stripped back and had new rib sections, one or two splines to cracked planks, seats, foredeck trim and beltings before being painted up to original Seacraft colours with original badging.

The varnished 12’6″ Brin Wilson has been stripped back, seats  etc removed, some rib sections scarfed in, several splines to cracked planks and varnished / painted up to original colours.
Chris commented that it is a lovely boat to row.

Also included are photos of a 6hp Norman and original cone clutch that is in a 16′ Seacraft cabin boat that Chris is currently rebuilding. I have asked Chris to send in photos of that project.

OOPS THAT IS EMBARRASSING
Over the Anzac weekend a lot of the classic fleet headed north to Kawau Island. Anchoring room near the Kawau Boating Club is always at a premium on long weekends & no one likes a long row in the dark……….. but even the old salts can get it wrong – the crew on the  1905, Logan Bros, ex pilot boat ‘Ferro’ must have been in a hurry to make the KBC as they anchored rather close in. As it turned out, too close in – the below photo was 1/2hr before low tide & mid Sunday morning – would have been a long / embarrassing day waiting for the tide 😉

Ferro @ Kawau April2017

Valsan

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VALSAN
Recently on ww one of Valsan’s previous owners, Shirley Colthart reached out to her current owners Ian & Carol Nicholson & made a very generous offer to pass on a collection of blue blazers that had been custom made for Valsan’s crew (refer photo above)c1995/6. During the process Shirley mentioned that she had a collection of old photos from during their ownership, which  appear above. Below I have reproduced Shirley’s note (edited) to me that accompanied the photos. The collection is a wonderful snapshot into a period of Valsan’s history.  (As always click on any photos to enlarge) Enjoy.

“I have sorted through a few photos of when Valsan was in our care that may be of interest. When we sold to Hans Otto in 1998 we left a full history onboard including a home movie of her 1938 launch and letters between ourselves and the original owner’s daughter Valerie Harvey and it would be nice to know all was still intact for Ian when he took possession.

We added a dining table and elevated the seating area around the dining table so as to have a view out the windows as the original seating was very low, and due to our cooler climate in the south we also added the diesel burner.

We and our family loved Valsan and only sold to acquire a vessel with more accommodation once our daughters became older and wanted their friends to stay.
We purchased her in December 1988 from Jobe Hollander in Auckland and my husband and friends, with a professional skipper onboard, cruised her down to the Marlborough Sounds, quite a mission as they had to carry two 44 gallon drums of additional fuel in the cockpit and along the way encountered a couple of big storms where she well and truly proved herself to be a very seaworthy vessel indeed.

Early 1993, my husband, with a crew, brought her down from the Marlborough Sounds to Lyttelton where she was used as the after-function venue at the Banks Peninsula Cruising Club for our elder daughter Anna’s 21st celebration”.

Below are copies of Valsan’s Certificate of British Registry and the NAPS booklet from a 1943 Smoke Concert. For reference also below is the first page naming the NAPS ships.

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Feb 1940 – Whats The Event?

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Feb 1940 – Whats The Event?

Rather an impressive collection of woodys in the above photo, the image is dated Feb 1940 & is from the NZ Herald / Auckland Library collection via Harold Kidd via Lew Redwood.
Harold commented that with that date, the wartime reporting numbers on display would have been recently issued & given the ‘families’ on board there must have still been petrol readily available.
Lew’s thoughts were that gathering could possibly have been to welcome HMS Achilles home.

So woodys can we confirm the event &  ID the boats? – some will be easy & some not – to help I have posted a photo below with each boat numbered 1>9.

AUCKLAND FEB 1940 copy

Lane ‘Bridge-decker’

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LANES BRIDGEDECK LAUNCH

Given the recent debate on ww as to what constitutes a bridge-decker, today’s boat has the potential to have a major identity crisis 🙂 But if we park the owners trademe description & just take the boat on face value, she a pretty looking classic wooden launch.

Built by Lanes Boatbuilders in 1915, she is 30′ in length & built with carvel kauri planks & her decks are plyed / glassed.
Her owner has had her for 20 years & uses her regularly. Back in 2000>2003 she had a total refit (refer above photos).
Zoom zoom is via a Standard 23C engine, which is an early (1958) 35hp Massey Fergusson 4 cylinder, 2200cc. This easily sees her cruising at her hull speed & 7 knots is a comfortable speed without pushing anything too hard.
I like this classic & at $26k she would make a very affordable entry into classic wooden boating. Spend a few dollars & she could be made very special.

Sorry no name – so the question, as always 😉 woodys is, who is she & what do we know about her?

Bondi Belle – Relaunched

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BONDI BELLE – Relaunched

A couple of days ago I was alerted by Baden Pascoe to the recently relaunched Bondi Belle, ww readers may recall that back in February 2014 Baden alerted us that her owner at the time Ted Carter was looking to sell the old girl. Well she was bought by Dan Abernethy, the photo below of her resting on the poles was taken on the day Dan bought her from Ted at Sandspit.

I’m pleased to be able to report that she has undergone a very sympathetically rebuild at Pine Harbour & looks wonderful. Dan asked that I give a special mention to his brother-in-law’s father, John Waterman, seen in one of the photos above. John’s has spent numerous hours on the boat doing all filling and fairing and spray painted the boat. Happening this week will be the addition of her mast 🙂

Bondi Bell was built as S.S.Whakapara, at Whakapara (North of Whangarei) by Charles Bailey Jr. for the Foote family who were saw millers at several Northland locations . Launched in 1901, initially she was a steamer and was converted to diesel in the 1920’s. You can view / read more details on her past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/02/17/bondi-belle/

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15-11-2024 UPDATE – photo ex John Sloane below of her hauled out at Half Moon Bay marina for some TLC

Primadonna

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PRIMADONNA

Primadonna is a 36′, 1905 whale chaser built by Lanes for a family with a farm in Tory Channel. Was used as a whale chaser until the end of the whaling era and then became a farm transportation boat for the same family who owned her till her current owner bought her.

She is built out of double diagonal kauri and powered with a 72hp Ford. Cruises at about 8 0r 9 knots at 1500 revs. She has accommodation for 2 and a small wheel house which you can steer from inside of the weather goes bad. Currently 4sale on trademe- thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up.

Harold Kidd Input
There’s a bit of manufactured history here. Ernie Lane didn’t come to Picton until 1907 and doesn’t appear to have built PRIMA DONNA. Most authorities say she was built by Alf Baldick between 1910 and 1915 for himself and Derbyshire as a whalechaser to compete with the Peranos. She remained in the ownership of the Baldick family until at least 2001.
She’s been on WW before; see https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/02/27/welly-woodys/

PS the “second generation” of whalechasers used by the Baldicks were SUSSEX and PEERLESS, in competition with the Peranos’ CRESCENT, BALAENA and CACHALOT. Ernie Lane built SUSSEX and PEERLESS for the Baldicks in 1916. Lane built the Peranos’ CRESCENT and BALAENA but CACHALOT was built in 1916 to a design by Chas. Collings by Kensitt at Picton. She was the THIRD generation of whalechaser and had a 130/150 hp Van Blerck, typical Collings’ concave-convex hard chine planing hull.

Update 24-05-2020 photos below added ex trademe listing

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Wairangi

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WAIRANGI

Wairangi has appeared before on ww (link below) but has recently had a big dose of TLC. The above photos are a mix of some taken by owner Owen Foster (via KRickets) while anchored at Rakino Island & mine that show her over Easter anchored in Man o War Bay, Waiheke Island. The newly varnished cabin/wheelhouse looks stunning & combined with a lot of other work, she looks very special – in fact I would be happy to call her mine 🙂

Also looking very smart in one of the photos is Safari, her owner Neil took the below photo of Raindance during the Sunday afternoon squall that hit the bay mid afternoon – rain, hail, wind = boats dragging their anchor all over the bay – fun & games but no damage.

Wairangi – heads north

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11-08-2018 Update – Photos below taken by Owen Foster using a drone, while at anchor at Oneroa, Waiheke Island. emailed in by Ken Ricketts

Update 19-07-2019 ex model maker John Whyte

Back in February I was contacted by John Whyte seeking info on Wairangi, John was doing the drawings of Wairangi for model maker Paul Berntsen (Havelock North). Earlier today John sent me the photos below of Paul’s finished model. John commented that the wharf behind it is a 1.34 scale model of the Opua wharf which measures just over 6 metres in length. John plans to build a lower wharf for the pilot boat with a ladder coming of the higher wharf.
The boat measures around 450mm long and 110mm wide.
Paul is obviously very talented, I struggle maintaining my own boat – building  something like this would be a recipe for disaster for me 🙂
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Moananui

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MOANANUI

Moananui was launched in 1950, is 28′, carvel built from kauri & powered by a 1970 60hp Ford (Ebro) diesel. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe heads up 🙂

Anyone able to supply more details on her?

Lady VIE

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Lady VIE

The above photos were sent in by Nathan Herbert, along with the questions – who is she & who built her – not often that Nathan draws a blank so keen to ID this launch & learn something about her past.

Once again Auckland was spared the worst of the weather predicted from ‘Cyclone’ Cook, there are some +’s to the high rates we pay. Must be time to go boating………. well maybe soon.

Update – Thanks to Ken Ricketts sending in the below photos (c.1939) from the Tudor Collins collection (Auckland Museum) we now know the boat is the Lady VI, so now woodys – who built her & where is she today?

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Woody On Tour – Havelock Marina

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Woody On Tour

Ross Dawson sent in the above collection of woodys from the Havelock Marina. In Ross’s words he is “currently touring around the Mainland, and taking any opportunity (when Mrs Tourist is otherwise distracted) to mooch about marinas and wharves to take pics of ‘interesting’ wooden boats.”
Great to see Gleniffer again – click link to see/read more about her, particularly Harold Kidd’s comments https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/04/11/glenifer/#comments.
Can we ID > provide more details on any of the other boats?