Category Archives: Launches

Maka Maile + Waitematawoodys Hits 3,000,000 Views

Posted on by
12
Maka Maile-7

Drunken (Isslington) Bay Dec1938>Jan1939 – Aft hand = Eric Clay

Maka Maile-13

Drunken Bay 1938 – Speed = 10 knots

Drunken Bay, Rangitoto – 1938
Eric (TUT), Aruther (ARTY), Bob (Skipper), Colin (Totsy) – Whangarei 1938/39
Eric Clay (Forward hand, Navigator, Barman) Whangarei 1938
Aruther,Les,Bob,Col,Eric – Kamo Mineral Springs Dec 1938 > Jan 1939
Eric Clay, Aruther Parker
Whangarei Harbour Dec 1938>Jan 1939
Maka Maile-11

Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island

Maka Maile + Waitematawoodys Hits 3,000,000 Views

Today’s photo essay on the 1937, Sam Ford built, Maka Maile to me is what makes WW so special – out of the blue a comment gets posted on WW by Perrin Reilly advising that he has a collection of photos of Maka Maile that belonged to his Grandfather-in-law, one Eric Clay. Eric crewed on Maka Maile in the late 1930’s. When launched Maka Maile was 41’ in length, with a 10’5” beam & powered by a Chrysler 77 petrol engine that pushed her along at 12 knots.

Perrin emailed the above photos to me & now instead of gathering dust in some one’s bottom draw, they can be shared with the classic wooden boating community. You can read more about Maka Maile’s past on this link   https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/04/19/mako-maile/

Waitematawoodys.com Milestone – 3 Million Views

When I started this weblog I never imagined that it would grow into the site that it is today, with just over 2,000 stories & followers/viewers from almost every corner of the world. Obviously NZ tops the list with the USA & Australia 2nd & 3rd, after that its everywhere. As always with sites like WW, it would be nothing without the input of people like Perrin Reilly who take the time to send in their stories & photos, so to all of you –  many thanks for sharing. And on that topic, please keep sending in content – whether it’s old photos / stories, restoration projects or just you enjoying your woody.

I would like to slip an apology in – in the first 6>12mths of WW, I only really had 6>8 people who sent me content, I can tell you it was a real challenge doing a daily story back them, now I get over 100 emails a day. So the apology is for not always being able to answer your emails, it’s not that I’m lazy or rude – just busy working on the tomorrows story 🙂

Enjoy today’s WW story & remember there are over 2,000 more in the back library 😉

Alan Houghton

 

Lady Eileen Launch Day + Classic 4 Sale

Posted on by
1

Lady Eileen Launch Day

Lady Eileen Launch Day

Another great launch day photo ex Harold Kidd from the Tim Windsor collection. This shows the 1947, Shipbuilders/SupaCraft bridge decker – Lady Eileen post sliding down the rails. Lady Eileen has made frequent appearances on WW – check out the clicks below to view her past & current restoration it owner, Hylton Edmonds Bay of Islands property.

https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/05/22/lady-eileen-3/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/06/08/lady-eileen-2/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/12/23/lady-eileen/

Woody 4Sale

MontereyHoughton

One of the CYA’s most iconic classic woodys ‘Monterey’ is for sale.  The bridge decker was launched in 1946. She is Lidgard designed and built. I have spent a lot of time aboard & her layout makes her an ideal family cruiser for the Hauraki Gulf and beyond.

Built of 2 skin kauri with glassed cabin tops and decks she is ready for the summer season. During owner Mark Edmonds ownership, her hull was professionally stripped down to bare timber, filled, fared and painted. Power comes from a 130hp Ford Dover engine, reconditioned 470 hours ago by Moon Engines.

Monterey cruises at 8-9 knots. Will suit a passionate classic wooden boat enthusiast. Marina also available for sale or rental at OBC.

Specs: 33’6” ’x 10’6” x 2’7”

Interested parties can contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Watch a very short movie of Monterey under way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZPZYA8lyGw&feature=youtu.be

monterey

Monterey

Monterey Boat Const. Photos 003 (2)

MONTEREYc48

Christmas 1948

MontereyRudderCup

Monterey & crew enjoying the Rudder Cup race

Resolute Update

Posted on by
2

Unknown

Unknown-2

Unknown-1

RESOLUTE

Resolute’s new owner James Patterson sent in the above photos of her hauled out recently getting so TLC to the exterior. Next project is the interior – having been aboard prior to James purchase I can say that will be a rather big job 😉 but as they say ‘the bones’ are all there.

To read (a lot) more on the past of this 1937 Dick Lang classic – check out this link    https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/08/10/resolute/

James has assured me he will keep us updated when the interior work begins.

 

Unknown / Mystery Boat 20-07-2017 + Woody Homes

Posted on by
6

Unknown-5

Unknown / Mystery Boat 20-07-2017

I was sent the above photo by Ray Morey, Ray is hoping to be able to ID the vessel.  It was on the Waikato River in the mid 1950’s operated by ‘Henry’s Sand Co.’, until being replaced by the steel tug “S.P.”  – Ray has no idea where she came from nor where she went.

Can any of the woodys help out with any details?

Woody Homes

Woody Brett Evans sent me a link to a feature on a sleepy seaside village in France with a small fishing port, a population of less than 3,000 and some very peculiar-looking houses. At a moment’s glance, they could almost appear to be an unfortunate pod of beached orcas, but look again carefully at those unusual roofs. Yes, those are boats … upside down! Local fishermen of Équihen-Plage have lived under scavenged boat hulls here for over a century and today, many of these upturned vessels now serve as a unique holiday accommodation for travelers visiting the French coast. Very cool idea. You can see more at the link below.

Postcards from a Seaside Village of Upturned Boat Homes

Unknown-1

 

The 1946 Launching Of Mahara

Posted on by
9

MAHARA535

The 1946 Launching Of Mahara

Harold mentioned on the Mahara ww 2015 post (link below) that he had an upcoming article on the Shipbuilders Ltd’s SupaCraft launches in the August issue of Boating NZ magazine. Included in the article is the above great photo taken in 1946 of Mahara being launched. The photo came from boat builder, Tim Windsor’s collection. Thanks go to Harold for sharing Tim Windsor’s photo, its superb quality & showcases what a stunning wooden vessel she was / is.
Check out the link for more photos & details.

Mahara

Woody Winter Weekend

Posted on by
14

Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 7.26.52 am

Version 2

P1250206

P1250224

P1250237

Woody Winter Weekend

Given the weather in Auckland last Friday you would struggle to believe the above photos were taken over the weekend. I escaped the Principality of Devonport early Saturday morning & headed down to Waikehe Island. Did not even stop on-route to the marina for supplies. The forecast said variable so I was planning on dining ashore.

Well for once all the forecasters got it right – Saturday was a stunner. After a few months of cleaning oil out of the bilge several times & numerous repairs I was very much in the “bugger this old boat gig” mode. We are a shallow lot – one good day / night & I had the bug again J

If you do not like crowds – winter cruising is the way to go.

Coming back on Sunday afternoon I rubbed shoulders with the magnificent ship Felicitare & the 1927, Colin Wild built, Lady Margaret – both looking stunning & doing the same as me i.e. slopping off for some R&R. I was sure Felicitare had featured on ww before but my search showed nothing – what do we know about her?

Great Workmanship

I own several dinghy’s from classic clinkers to what Harold Kidd once called a ‘Baby Riviera’ – he was referring to my American built Walker Bay dinghy. I bought her 2nd hand & have owned her for 10 years – towed behind a woody, she is pig ugly but without a doubt the most stable tender I have come across.

She was looking very sad & the inflatable tube patches were out numbering the good areas. So had to make the big decision – take the tubes off & just have a normal dinghy or order replacement tubes from the USA (US$850). Enter Terminator Boats (Kevin Tomlin) in Albany. They said they could manufacture a new set of replacement tubes, I was a little hesitant about the final look, but went with it & as you’ll see in the photos below, they have done a brilliant job, in fact better than new. I highly recommend them https://www.terminatorboats.co.nz

Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 4.51.17 pm

 

A Big Parris

Posted on by
1

Screen Shot 2017-07-14 at 3.29.57 PM

Screen Shot 2017-07-14 at 3.35.13 PM

A BIG PARRIS

To the best of my knowledge there were not a lot of big Roy Parris launches built, was there a reason ? shed size?. This one was built in 1960 & is 36′ & made of kauri. Zoom zoom is via a 120hp Ford diesel that comfortably pushes her along at 8 knots @ 1750 rpm.

She has been a very lucky classic woody in that as well as having the same owner for the last 20+ years, she has also been moored in a boat shed during this period.
Do we know anymore about her past?

She is 4sale on trademe, I can’t make out her name, but one of the woodys will recognize her 😉 Appears to be a lot of boat for the money.
As always – thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up on the listing.

Where Is She Today?

Posted on by
2

Lost Runabout

WHERE IS SHE TODAY?

Today’s boat, isn’t a mystery boat as we know that it was owned by one of the Allen family (owners of the launch Tiromoana & the C class yacht Tuirangi in the later 1940s-50s) & was probably belonged to Henry Allen’s son in law Joe Coggan.
The photo was taken in front of the family’s business premises at that time in Manukau Rd Epsom opposite Epsom Girls Grammar. Photo emailed in by Ken Ricketts.

Can we put a name to her to & what became of her ?

Lady Ellen Restoration

Posted on by
11

LADY ELLEN RESTORATION

The plight of Lady Ellen has been documented on ww in the past (link below). We were able to happily report that she had been purchased by Bruce Mitchinson & 6 weeks ago transported north to Russell in the Bay of Islands.

Lady Ellen

A few days ago Bruce gave me an update on the restoration – read below.
“Restoration work underway with removal of rotten timber around cabin, decks and bulkheads. Much of the interior has gone to the tip. Under the foredeck canvas, near perfect Totara decking, which is drying out ready for a sand and some fibreglass.
Next up, replacing the rotten timbers with old kauri before new side and aft decks go down.
Engine is back together, almost, and Ken Jaspers is sorting out new mounts, gearbox seals and couplings down in Whangaparoa”
Bruce has promised to keep us updated on the project.

27-09-2017 Project Update ex Bruce M

Starting to look like herself again.

Glassed plywood cores for  cabin sides ready for timber finish inside and out.
Slight adjustment made to the rear windows, which always looked a bit odd, but still trying to retain that McGeady look.
Rebuilt coachroof over the aft cockpit to remove the v-shape combing and modified structure so that corner posts are no longer required.
Narrower aft deck now provides enough room for continuous seating around 3 sides of the cockpit and storage.
Galley has gone, including the floor, to make way for a new under floor water tank, raised floor and new galley fit out.
As you can see there is still a lot of work to do.
Unknown-3
Unknown-1
Unknown-2
Update Jan 2018 – The focus over the last few weeks is to get topsides ready for finishing by the end of the month. A lot of work has gone in to re-fastening and frame repairs to pull everything back into shape, and as you can see the Lady Ellen has plenty of shape. Thanks to our boatbuilder, Brett Avery, we now have a very sound vessel. Main saloon is now completely stripped out, including the old steel diesel tanks and de-greasing the bilge and engine bay is next up, while removing the last of the antifoul underneath and cleaning up the diesel soaked planking. New rudder tube is in and Brett has made a start on framing up the floors so that we have some work space inside to start on the interior work next month.
Unknown-3

UPDATE 24-02-2018 More restoration photos here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/02/23/an-update-on-the-lady-ellen-restoration/

Mystery Launch 13-07-2017

Posted on by
2

MYSTERY LAUNCH - WARKWORTH RIVER (2)

MYSTERY LAUNCH 13-07-2017

Today’s ww post shows an unknown launch anchored in the Warkworth River, date unknown also. Given the location I suspect it could be a Tudor Collins photo. Ken Ricketts who emailed me the photo thought it could possibly be a lost sheep from the Allan Coggan photo collection.
Anyone able to ID her & supply more details?