Category Archives: Launches

Malihini + Anniversary Woody Weekend

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MALIHINI + Anniversary Woody Weekend 
photos ex Pam Cundy

Today’s post is a slight mystery – we know the name but that is about all. Pam took the photo in Jan 2016 at Great Barrier Island. Anyone able to enlighten us on her?

19-01-2016 Input from Doug Brown (owner)
Malihini is kept at Gulf Harbour & powered by a 210 hp Cummins and cruises at 14 knots , top speed 19.
She is double diagonal kauri built to a very high standard by Brin Wilson in 1976. The previous owner for 7 years was Roy Patterson.

Q: Where Do You Find The Most Wooden Boats In One Spot On One Day?
A: Auckland’s Anniversary Weekend

So woodys, get the pencil out & put a big circle on the calendar for the weekend of Jan 29th > Feb 1st . Its Auckland’s Anniversary weekend & that means one of the best classic boating periods all year.
For the launches & cruising yachts the weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Mahurangi Regatta & for the keen finishes back in Auckland on the Monday for the Anniversary Day Regatta. For details on the yacht racing & all events see below.

Remember folks the BYO BBQ, band & prize giving  on Saturday night at Scotts Landing (6.30pm>) is the biggest gathering of woodys in one spot this side of the black stump 🙂 All welcome, you do not have to be a CYA member or regatta racer, just rock up with your goodies – BBQ’s provided.

Bugger

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BUGGER

The 1921 classic Arch Logan launch Ngaio got a little close to the eastern end of Flat Island (Gt Barrier) on Monday. She hit just after high tide and given the angle of the ‘dangle’  must have been going at a good pace. I understand the hole(s) were patched and she was floated off on the next tide. She is built like a brick shite house so one can imagine the only major damage would have been a few bruised egos 😉 Click photos to enlarge, sorry crappy photos, mobile phone at a distance.

I for one can not comment – a mooching speed & a big powerful runabout nearby, were my saving grace (different bricks) 🙂

15-01-2016 Owner Report

Luckily Ngaio  was only traveling at 5 knots when she hit and it happened at full high tide. As the tide dropped, Ngaio came to rest almost fully supported along her keel. Salvage operators had her refloated 3 hours before the next high tide. The only damage was to the stem plate which covered the pohutakawa stem underneath, and the sacrificial keel plate. No boards were sprung, no water was taken on, and no other damage. They don’t build boats like that, these days.
The next day she returned to Auckland from Gt Barrier, without missing a beat..

Maybelle

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MAYBELLE
photos & details ex Bryce New

Today’s post is an attempt to track down Maybelle, Bryce New’s  grandfather, Harry (Henry) New (ex Coromandel / Kawakawa Bay) old launch.
Maybelle is 36′ & was built c1959/60 by Ken Turner in Coromandel. Ken Turner named her after his grandmother & built her for drag netting. She may have been designed by Dick Laing. Built from heart kauri & powered by a Lees 6 cyl. Ford diesel.

Harry New purchased her from an ‘Evans’ in Coromandel in the late 1960s/early 1970’s & sold her in c1975 to an unknown person. She was moored at Kawakawa Bay before the sale.

Bryce’s parents spotted her anchored in the Bay of Islands in December ’92 but her name had changed.

In the above photo (Jan 1975) of her at Tryphena wharf, the people in the water are – (L>R) Bryce, Lois New (his mother) & sister Jacqui.

Bryce would love to know what has become of Maybelle – anyone able to shed some light on her whereabouts / past?

Mystery Launches 13-01-2016

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Mystery Launches
photos ex Harold Kidd

The two photos above are of the same place and probably taken at the same time period (if not consecutively). We have the 1942 Vos built, ex NZRN (ML410) ship La Reta* alongside in one, can we ID the location & the other boats?
The wee clinker with the Seagull is very cute.

* to read more on La Reta link this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/20/6468/    there is a great tale there from her later years when she was operated as a day fishing excursion vessel from Princess Wharf launch steps 🙂

1966 Holiday’s on the Waitemata

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1966 Holiday’s on the Waitemata
photo ex the Gordon Miller family archive, sent in by Adrienne Miller

I have been sitting on this photo for a few weeks – aside from being a very cool photo, its a hoot because it shows two very well known boating people in the photo. The pic was taken in the Christmas 1966 period & shows two Mason Clippers. One person is easy to ID – in the background we have Tony Mason and his family on their Clipper.

The question of the day is – who is the ‘lad’ in the foreground snoozing on the stern of the Clipper ‘Diana’?

ps I’m in hiding – I might get a clip on the ear for posting this 🙂

MoanaLua

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Collings & Bell 1935

MOANALUA
photos ex Philip Hamlin

Sadly for a lot of folks today signals the return to the office, so I thought I would try to brighten up the day with a rather special post.

In early December Helena & Philip Hamlin, the owners of the magnificent 1935 Collings & Bell launch MoanaLua, sent me this amazing photo essay of Moanalua’s past. Philip & Helena would like to acknowledge the generosity of their friends & previous owner of MoanaLua for sharing this collection compiled by Allan Keane.

Where possible I have captioned the photos & remember you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it. Enjoy.

Input from Allan Keane – past owner
Fantastic – great to see that this history is not lost and there is no safer site than WW. I hope people enjoy seeing boating as it used to be.
Seeing crew on the bow reminds me that when we bought her there was no deck access to a huge anchor locker. This locker originally had a large header tank to give pressure water, including to the bath aft. Graham Watt who used to cruise on her told me his first job each day was to pump up water to the header tank—how things change! So all the anchor rode was carried on deck.
We built two good hatches to rectify having to pull everything out over the front berth, and of course the bath is long gone.

1930’s

1935 Launch Day
After launching
Christmas 1935 Cruise. Monowai (ex Razmuk) in background
New Year 1935 Cruise
Northern Cruise 1935. Note extra fuel on board
New Year Cruise 1935
New Year Cruise 1935
Northern Cruise 1935
Underway
Taking snaps 1935
Opua Wharf 1935
Atau Crew – Barry, Cuts & Dolci Boucher
Original interior
Easter 1935 on-route to Kawau
Northern Cruise 1935
Easter 1935 – Uncle Pip,Bill Boucher,Cuts,Mrs Boucher,Aunty VE,Dulcie,Bob
1935 – The Skipper – Bill Boucher
1935 – The New Skipper
1935
1935 North Cruise – Russell
1936 North Cruise. Fueling at Auckland
1936 Nothern Cruise. Russel
1936 Northern Cruise. Opua Wharf
1935/36 – in Matiatia
Christmas 1937. Mansion House Kawau
Christmas 1937. Muriel,Dulcie,Ken,Bob
Christmas 1937. After big storm
Jan 1938 Cruise. Ken,Irene,Sam
Christmas 1938. Alice,Betty,Loris,Irene
1939. Rewa wreck
With cockpit dodger,flybridge & bow rail
Christmas 1939. Muddy Bay Kawau. Te Rauparaha (fwd)

1960’s

c.1969 – Mansion House Wharf. Owner Ken Burroughs

1990’s

Coromandel 1993. Owners Broadbent & Keane families
c.1994/95 – 9>10 knots
1994/95
1999 Refit at HMB
1999 Refit at HMB

2000’s

Schooner Bay, Great Barrier 2001/02
2010 – Patio Bay, Waiheke Is.

27-04-2016 Input from Graham Watt

I am the Graham Watt referred to by Allan Keane as the Lad who had the onerous morning duty of pumping up the water header tank. Moanalua was owned by Denny Bishop during the late 50’s and early 60’s, and his best mate,my father Colin Watt ,plus family made up the regular crew. I believe Denny purchased the boat from the Boucher estate.
She was moored on the piles ( pre marina ) at Westhaven and our regular cruising was to the “bottom end” and Kawau ,with Christmas to the Bay of Islands and as far as Whangaroa.
To clarify the comments around engine, at that time it was a Petrol Kermath Seafarer Special along with a wing motor with its own shaft. Another feature was the R.T. , ex army ZC 1, a massive multi dial affair whose only purpose was to call Auckland Radio to get a telegram away to a mate giving instructions on horse racing bets..
Both Denny and Colin were builders who figured that by cladding the cabin with this latest Formica product they could get a permanent finish without the varnishing. Not a good idea with the benefit of hindsight.

Captaur

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CAPTAUR

Another launch photo from Rocky Bay, Waiheke Island. She appears to reside there permanently.

Each to their own but her lines appeal to me, all the angles work, even the cockpit canopy 🙂

What do we know about her ?

ps Anyone know what the 3 rectangular ‘things’ are on her topsides?

Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing

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Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing
photo ex Historic NZ Photos

I may have posted this before, but do not think so, there are a lot of similar images around from c.1930’s of motorboats moored to watch a power boat regatta held in the upper reaches of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.

Russell Ward commented that the launch on the left is Little Tasman, which given how good-looking she is would have to be correct.

Anyone able to ID the launch on the right & supply some details on the wee racer Peggy?

12-01-2016 Harold Kidd Input

It’s pretty clear to me that this pic was taken at the NZPBA Regatta at the Whau Creek/River on Saturday 18th February 1928. TASMAN was an entrant in the race for “fast cruisers” and PEGGY in the Burns Gold Cup for outboards.
The starters in the fast cruisers race were TARUA (scr), TASMAN (3m), ROMANCE II (5m 45s) and LADY MARGARET (8m40s). TARUA carrying number 18 won from TASMAN carrying 82. I think it’s possible the mystery launch in the above image is TARUA (photo below). While the hull details in the above image generally match, the strake forward is absent and she’s painted quite differently. What do you guys reckon?
If not TARUA then she’s a spectator launch and there’s no record of those for this event.

Tarua

Fiesta

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FIESTA

I spotted the above launch anchor in Rocky Bay on 30-12-2015, wind & tide were never my friend so I did not get to see if she had a name on her stern.

She does look familiar – possibly owned by an Alloy Yachts employee & kept in the Viaduct for a while 12>24 months ago ???

Anyone able to shed some more light on her?

Andrew Pollard advised she is called Fiesta & was built by ‘Laing’, powered by a 120hp Ford & moored at Panmure.

Harold Kidd Input

AYA records show FIESTA was built in 1962 by “Lang”. She was 31′ x 10′ x 3′ and had a 100hp Fordson diesel. The first owner appears to have been K.R. Buchanan of Arney Road, Remuera who may have sold her to J.J. Lenwood of Balmoral Road in 1973, although I think there may have two FIESTAs at the time.
So was it Dick Lang who built her? He would have been 74 in 1962 but I’m not sure he was still building that late in his life. He died in 1972. Her hull is sweet enough to be by Dick, not too sure about the tophamper though. The strip plank construction doesn’t sound like Dick. There were other Langs/Laings/Langes about in the 1960s, including Philip Lang, who favoured strip planking and he could be the one. Anyone know anything about him?

23-01-2016 – Update – the photos below are ex Baden Pascoe. Baden has advised that she was built by Philip Lang in 1964 (confirms Harold Kidds thoughts) & is currently owned by Gordon Love.

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Raira

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RaIra

photo ex Brian Fulton

Brian took the above photo in Woolshed Bay, Coromandel over the 2015 Xmas / New Year period. She is called Raira & is based at Panmure.

Interested to learn more about her.

Harold Kidd Update

RAIRA was designed by Charles Collings but built by her first owners, the McLeod brothers, Ted and Ray, and J. Verran, at Bayswater and launched in February 1915. She was 38′ x 38′ x 9′ x 3′ and was originally fitted with a 3 cylinder 30hp heavy duty Twigg, built in Auckland. She usually cruised with AUMOE after Alex Foster (of Fosters) bought her in 1919/20. The bridgedeckerisation was done by W.G. Lowe & Son in 1937 when owned by N.J. Campbell.
Her lines were published in the N.Z. Yachtsman magazine in 1914.

Photo below ex Jason Prew (Wairiki) of Raira crossing the Firth of Thames on the 27-12-2015

08-01-2016 Input from Jonathon Aston

Raira has been our family launch for the last 13 years and have many great memories. In 2009 we put Raira onto a large shed and over the next 3 years completely re-ribbed, refastened & re-corked her hull with thousands of copper nails & roves just like the McLeod brothers did when building her all those years ago as well as replacing all her keel bolts with new silicon bronze bolts. The stern deck was added in the 70’s & the bridge was added in 1982 by a local boatbuilder while based in Tauranga. She was brought back to Auckland in the early 90’s & has been based at the Panmure  Yacht & Boating club since.

Original lines & recent photos ex Jonathon Aston