Category Archives: Launches

Strathmore > Rahemo

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strathmore rahemo

strathmore rahemo

STRATHMORE (Rahemo)
details ex Harold Kidd
Strathmore featured on ww back in August 2014 when she was for sale, the other day Nathan Herbert pointed me towards a collection of photographs from the marine photographer Tudor Collins . The two photos above of the 1936 Dick Lang built Strathmore are in my eyes stunning, she certainly was a very smart launch when launched. Lang built her at  St. Mary’s Bay, Auckland for R.W. Butcher of Hamilton. She was 42’x10’9″x3’6″ and powered with twin 90hp Chryslers. In 1938 she was bought by the Todd family of Wellington and motored down via Tauranga and the east coast in December 1938. The Todds renamed her Rahemo. She was in NAPS out of Wellington in WW2 as Z76.

For more details & photos from her past & ‘today’ click these links

Rahemo #1 Post

Rahemo #2 Post

Look What The Postie Delivered Yesterday

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For a long tome I have been a little envious of the classic launch owners that had a NZPBA/AMYC burgee. These club pennants were flown by owners of the oil launches that were becoming popular in the 1910-20s. The club was called the NZ Power Boat Association & founded in 1905. The name changed to the Auckland Motor Yacht Club in 1939 and then morphed into the RNZYS in the 1960s. The jewel in the crown of the AMYC was its sponsorship of the Kawau Island Yacht Club and the facilities at Smelting House Bay. There is a sign on the workshop wall at Greg Lees Boat shed at Sandspit (below), that supports the Kawau link.
The AMYC burgee was identical to the NZPBA’s.

The sender of my AMYC burgee was Rick McCay (Luana). Rick has uncovered a cache of these burgee’s which are available to classic aficionado’s owning a vessel of appropriate age. $59 + $5pp. Applications for purchase including vessel details, initially via email to me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Note: Unlike the Classic Yacht Association which allows its burgee to be flown from anything & by anyone – the supply of these pennants will be tightly controlled & policed 🙂

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KUPE

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Kupe 2a

New Kupe 4a

KUPE
photos & details ex Rod Prosser

Kupe started life in 1962′, built by the Auckland Harbour Board in their workshop as a vessel for cartography & routine sounding. Was used extensively around / in the construction of the Westhaven Marina area.
She underwent a complete restoration in 2007, by Wooden Boat Workshop cabinet maker Simon Ventura. Rumour has it around $80>90,000 was spent on her restoration, so as expected she is in very smart condition.
Her 30hp Lister Petter LPW3 diesel engine (2007) has no problems pushing the 18′ hull along.

Currently owned by the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust but now surplus to their needs, so they keen to find a new owner for Kupe, she would make a perfect lake boat or a yacht club support vessel for mark-laying, race escort, towing etc. The asking price of around $12,000 is very realistic & reflects the trusts desire to find Kupe a good home.

Read more about her here http://www.classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/trust_boats.htm?boat_id=12

Anyone interested in learning more in regards to possible purchase can make contact via this ww post.

waitematawoodys.com hits Two MILLION Views + a Great Prize

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ww mystery

waitematawoodys.com hits 2 MILLION Views + a Great Prize 2 be Won

Yesterday saw the waitematawoodys site hit 2 million views, something quite amazing for such a niche topic. As  stated in the site masthead, waitematawoodies was founded upon a desire to tell the stories & a need to archive the history of our classic wooden boats, the craftsman who built them & the characters that owned & crewed on them. A lot of people thought we would run out of content to write about in a few months, well that has not happened & given the size of my email in-box won’t  🙂

One of the things that differentiates waitematawoodys from traditional media is the ability for readers to interact with the site & with each other. So far there have been over 1,500 stories & 10,000 comments posted on the site, if you are one of the many that comments – thank you for your contribution, if you have not commented, maybe its time you did. Everyone has at least one good story to tell 😉

While at the start it was not the intention to create a reference library on classic wooden boats, we have ended up with one & its pretty awesome – I have Harold Kidd to thank for giving me a wee ‘fire-side chat’ about striving to get accurate data on the site. These days you can search by vessel name, designer, builder, year, length, category – launch/yacht/work boat, boats for sale & a lot more. Again if you have not tried the Search Box on waitematawoodys – give it a ago.

Cheers Alan Houghton

WIN – Now I’d like to offer up a very cool prize to mark the 2 million milestone. Regular ww readers will be aware that Robert Brooke recently published his book ‘Beautiful Boats’. Robert has been collecting classic yacht designs for over 50 years, amongst his collection is work from our most talented & recognized designers – Arch Logan, Chas Bailey, Charlie & Alex Collings, Colin Wild, Bert Woolacott, Bob Stewart, Des Townson, Alan Wright & Robert’s father – John Brooke. From his collection Robert has chosen 50 & redrawn each design, tracing off the original drawings to present them in a similar format. To add to the wow factor, Robert used the drawing equipment & ships curves that were once used by either Arch Logan, Charlie & Alex Collings or his father. The 105 page, A4 size book allocates 2 pages to each vessel with specs & photo/s on the left & the drawings – hull lines, profile, half breadths, sections, diagonals & sail plan on the right hand page. We have given away 4 copies of the book on waitematawoodys over the last few weeks, in addition Robert donated a framed 380mm x 300mm rendered print of one of the featured boats. Sample below
SO WOODYS – TODAY’S PRIZE IS YOUR VERY OWN FRAMED PRINT OF THE BOAT OF YOUR CHOICE FROM THE BOOK – BEAUTIFUL BOATS.

LJ

How to enter & a few t&c’s
1. The first woody that can supply the name, designer, builder, year & photo location of the large yacht on the right in the photo above wins the print.
2. Entries must be in the ww comments section & have all 5 answers correct. You can enter as many times as you like.
3. The judges (thats me) decision is final & no correspondence will be entered into.
4. The winner must collect the prize from Auckland.
5. HDK you are excluded – you have already got one 🙂
THE BOOK
If you would like a copy of the book – visit Boat Books at 22 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven, Auckland & grab a copy for yourself, cost is $60. For out of towners or those who refer the web – copies are available on line at https://www.boatbooks.co.nz/
ps I have also held back posting this on ww until 7.00am to give all woodys (not just the night owls) a chance to win 🙂

Cover
Rainbow

Cherokee – 4sale

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Cherokee  4sale
photos ex trademe
Today’s boat is a nice example of Roy Parris’s work. It’s what I would call a transitional classic. She measures 31′ 6″ & was built in kauri & launched in 1965. Powered by 120hp Ford diesel she has a good turn of speed for an old girl – cruises at 8 knots with a max of 14 knots. From the photos she looks to be very well cared for.
Home port is Blenheim, Marlborough so she is fitted with a diesel heater so a very comfortable cruiser. I understand she is for sale at $39k so in my eyes is a very good buy. The broker obviously doesn’t want to sell it, he has done the usual trick & tried to hide  the name of the boat. Must be sad to be that insecure in your job 🙂
Anyone know her name & anymore details about her past?

12-05-2019 Update ex Robin Smith (current owner)

Robin was the slip master at Bay of Island Boat club and owned and restored the 100 year old log tow launch Huia prior to moving south Marlbourough (boat moored at Moetapu Bay – Mahau Sound), and purchasing Cherokee 3 years ago.
In the photo below of Cherokee, getting a beach for a scrub (seems they can still do it without the greenies catching them). Robin was given the ‘old’ mast and stays by the previous owner and the deck head of the cabin still has the wiring and strong base for the mast. Also the mast stay dead eyes are still on the deck. Robin commented that the mast just doesn’t look right on the boat with the flybridge now so it is fitted to his house with a red duster flying. He also has the original dorade ventilators that the previous owner changed to the plastic ones 😦
Fingers crossed that maybe one day the chainsaw will come out and Cherokee will return to a sedan top.
Robin also commented that there seems to be some evidence of another set of engine mounting holes in the engine bearers. 
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11-07-2020 Input from Kelly Ellis – Photo below of the Roy Parris 1957 Cherokee owned by Robin and Lesley Smith spotted in the outer Pelorous. Rob brought her down the East Coast from Northland
Cherokee 2020

Mystery Launch on Waiheke Island

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Mystery Launch on Waiheke Island
photo ex Mark Edmonds

On a recent cruise to Waiheke Island, Mark & Sue Edmonds (MV Monterey) spotted the above launch high & (sort of) dry at Surfdale. One of the island woodys must be able to enlighten us on details ?

Make sure to check back into ww this afternoon, I have a 2nd post today – this ones involves a classic woody owner & the new on the water Nazis – the Dept of Conservation. If you own a boat, you need to read this story 😉

Lady Thelma

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lady thelma stern

Lady Thelma – I wonder what happened next?

In the above photo of Lady Thelma it appears as if things are about to escalate, the crew have a look that says – someone has just shouted very loudly that things were not as they should be 🙂
The photo below show a much more relaxing day out – I suspect this was taken before the top photo.
Location – Wade/Weiti Rivers, Warkworth?

To view / read more about her here, click the blue link below. Remember to check out the Comments section as well;-)

Lady Thelma


Both photos are from the Auckland Museum’s Tudor Collin’s collection.

lady thelma

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Kenya > Mataroa

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19-06-16

Kenya > Mataroa
Its not a mystery post as I know the boats name, the photo was taken by Tudor (Washington) Collins, 1898-1970, a well known marine photographer.
Any woodys brave enough to put a name, or names (there’s a hint) to the launch?

Further to the comments on yesterdays post re Coulthard boats, Rosemary Robinson(granddaughter) has sent me more photos from the family album. When a get a moment I will post.

On a sad note – the 63 year old missing sailor lost overboard from the yacht Platino, north of New Zealand was my neibour at Bayswater Marina, his yacht being moored next to Raindance. Steve* was a larger than life guy but one of the friendliest & kindest boaties I had the pleasure to know. He always offered a hand when I had that ‘I need help’ look. He had great taste in classic cars & I will miss his friendly face & voice on the marina. *I’m not sure if his name has been made public yet

Doraine

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Doraine (a)

Doraine (b)

DORAINE
photos & details ex Rosemary Robinson

I get lots of emails at ww, which is great, but when I get one that starts off “Hi  Alan, I am the granddaughter of L.C. Coulthard, boat builder of Onehunga.” I get a little excited.

Rosemary went on to tell me that while sorting through her elderly mother’s possessions recently, she came across the original plans of a Coulthard launch, the ‘Doraine’ plus a few photos. Doraine was 26′ in length with a 8’3″ beam & was intended to be the prototype for a ‘reasonably priced family boat’.
Now according to Coulthard’s daughter Elaine (now 93) this launch was last seen on Lake Taupo about 20 years ago.  Rosemary would like to know if Doraine still exists (maybe under a different name?) and whether the current owners would like those plans and copies of old photos?
Apparently her grandfather altered her for a subsequent owner to extend to approximately 28′.

So woodys what do we know about Doraine? L.C. Coulthard launches have been robustly discussed on ww before – click the link below to view/read.

Lucinda

Now woodys you would have been disappointed with me if I had not also asked Rosemary the question “Do you have any other photos?” well I did & the answer was yes – so over the next week I’ll post some more 😉

Doraine launch day

Victory

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VICTORY
photos & details ex Paul & Roger Drake

Saturdays  post on the Kinloch Woodys prompted Paul & Roger to dig out at their collections of old  Taupo postcards. The brothers uncovered some great photos of Victory from the 1940>1950 era. Also read below Paul’s comments on Victory.
The first photo above shows Victory on the beach at Waihaha with her skipper on foredeck – Ernie Taylor, son of builder Jack Taylor.

The second photo shows her hauled out at Nukuhau, where she was built. Probably in the 1940’s, when she was quite new. Now she has a larger wheelhouse, but is not much changed apart from that.
Boat in foreground is Ahuriri – an ex surf boat from Napier.
On the other side of Victory is Romance, then Lady Pat – well documented and discussed on WW.

The photo below is dated 1959  shows Victory on the other side of the Waikato river sporting her original wheelhouse. It was altered some time later.
Behind her with bow showing only is the Logan Ponui also owned by the Taylor’s at the time.
This side of the river at the breastwork is Rangatira (Otehei) on the left  and El Alamein (Ranui) 4th from left.
Boat Harbour Taupo

Details on Victory ex Paul Drakes comments on last Saturdays ww post

“VICTORY is very much a lake boat. As Colin says, she was built at Taupo by local boat builder and charter boat skipper Jack Taylor.  She was launched, I believe, in 1942 or 1943. It is said that no power tools were used during her construction. Kauri planks on jarrah ribs with totara  floors. She was built to replace ROMANCE (Bailey and Lowe 1914), who was sold by Jack in 1943. VICTORY became a very busy and popular charter boat. The Taylors sold her in 1982. Although it is said that Jack often wished he had never started building such a large launch (40 feet), assisted by his wife, – his two sons were away at the war – he must have enjoyed her immensely once finished. She was a big step up from the 26 foot 6 inch ROMANCE. VICTORY was perfect for the four or five day charters which were very common in the day. VICTORY is a Jack Taylor design, built from a model which Jack towed behind ROMANCE as he refined the shape. She is of shallow draft – a useful attribute on Taupo  (no tidal rise and fall) – as it allows access to beaches where the drill is to put the bow on the beach and disembark via a ladder (in VICTORY’s case a rather long ladder). She did spend a few years in Auckland (Pine Harbour) during the 1990’s, but for 90% of her 70 plus years she has been at Taupo. She is well looked after and nicely appointed internally.”

Victory June 2016 at Kinloch

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Kinloch Woodys

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Kinloch Woodys
photos ex Scott Taylor

Scott was down at Kinloch, Lake Taupo, over Oueen’s Birthday weekend and snapped a few woodys. And another glass Logan 33 replica, seems there are as many of these launches on lakes as on the sea.
One looks like a Shipbuilders but we are unsure about the rest. Victory the big bridge-decker looks very salty for a lake boat so there must be some history out there on her previous life.

Photo below of the marina – it doesn’t get much better than that 😉

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11-06-2016 Input on Victory ex Paul Drake

VICTORY is very much a lake boat. She was built at Taupo by local boat builder and charter boat skipper Jack Taylor.  She was launched, I believe, in 1942 or 1943. It is said that no power tools were used during her construction. Kauri planks on jarrah ribs with totara  floors. She was built to replace ROMANCE (Bailey and Lowe 1914), who was sold by Jack in 1943. VICTORY became a very busy and popular charter boat. The Taylors sold her in 1982. Although it is said that Jack often wished he had never started building such a large launch (40 feet), assisted by his wife, – his two sons were away at the war – he must have enjoyed her immensely once finished. She was a big step up from the 26 foot 6 inch ROMANCE. VICTORY was perfect for the four or five day charters which were very common in the day. VICTORY is a Jack Taylor design, built from a model which Jack towed behind ROMANCE as he refined the shape. She is of shallow draft – a useful attribute on Taupo  (no tidal rise and fall) – as it allows access to beaches where the drill is to put the bow on the beach and disembark via a ladder (in VICTORY’s case a rather long ladder). She did spend a few years in Auckland (Pine Harbour) during the 1990’s, but for 90% of her 70 plus years she has been at Taupo. She is well looked after and nicely appointed internally.