Category Archives: Launches

Capri IV

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CAPRI IV
photos & details ex Michael Fann

Danger – Alert – Not A True Woody 😉

Today’s post breaks one of the fundamental ww rules, it has to be wood………….. but sometimes rules need to be broken (not too often).

Capri IV is a Mason Marine Clipper 24 built in the early 1970’s & if you believed the company hype back in those days “the finest powerboat in the world”.
In recent weeks I have had the pleasure of sharing some time with the her present owner, Michael Fann & her previous owner, Tim Evill. Both gents are wonderful, passionate classic boaties but I understand that it was the owner prior to Tim, a Taupo resident who painstakingly restored her.
Capri IV is 24′ long with a beam of 8′, these days she is powered by a Volvo Penta 5.7L V8 that has her comfortably cruising at 22>24 knots & topping out at 32>34 knots -thats quick for a boat of her size. I imagine that Michael is on first name terms with the the fuel jetty jockey 🙂

I have dropped a copy of the May 1971 boat test from Sea Spray magazine into a slide show for viewing, see below. Click to pause & enlarge.

When launched the Clipper 24′ had a quite a revolutionary launching set-up with a sliding cradle trailer (see photo), further proof of the build skills of the team at Mason Marine, Capri IV is still using the same trailer today – thats over 40 years later.

Some of the sales advertisements make amusing reading, as do the features on Tony Mason.

Enjoy.

Sea Spray – May 1971

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Remember to click images to enlarge 😉

 

 

Rawhiti MV

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RAWHITI

Rawhiti was designed and built by the Strongman Brothers in Coromandel in 1962, originally as a fisheries inspector vessel. She at some stage moved to the Kaipara where she was used as mother ship for a mullet fisherman.
She is a very capable sea boat with a fine entry forward, generous hips amidships and a flat run aft. She has a nice flair and a tumble home transom. At 28′ x 8.5’. Powered by 49 hp 4108 Perkins she cruises comfortably at 8 knots.

Her present owners have had her for 12 years and taken many trips to the Great Barrier, Bay of Islands and fishing north of the Poor Nights.
Her owners are boat builders & had planned to remove the cabin and replace with something more flattering to her hull quality. However they preferred to invest the money on beer and bait 🙂 The cabin is functional with full height headroom forward to the galley and steering station. The above photos were taken recently when hauled out at Snells Beach.

I understand she was / is for sale. Any woodys able to expand on her past?

ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER WW T-SHIRTS BEFORE XMAS

Remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

 

Mystery Launch 27-11-2015

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Mystery Launch 27-11-2015
photo ex John Wicks

The above launch has just been hauled out at Hobsonville Marina (the old/new Westpark). Now in some eyes she is a bit of a potpourri but there is a honey of a hull there. As John commented, the shape comes down from Norse / Viking craft & later on whale boats.
Would not take much to drive her along a hull speed & above 😉

Any woody able to expand on her?

Update from John Wicks

“Today I was able to interrogate her owner. Had to inflict considerable pain – you know how reluctant boaties are to talk about their boats 😀
She’s “Florence” (not to be confused with the larger double-ender now known as “Florence II”). Her current owner has been restoring her for a couple of years and she’s about to get wet for the first time in a while. He believes she was built by Miller & Tunnage back in the early 1900s and was originally an inshore fishing boat. She’s had other commercial uses, apparently including being a line handling boat round shipping wharves – Port Chalmers?
I’m sure some other WW-er will know more of her history. HDK???
At any rate she’s now looking spick ‘n’ span and it’ll be good to see her out and about.”

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER WW T-SHIRTS

Remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

WW Logo Brown (1) copy

Mystery Location 26-11-2015

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Mystery Location 26-11-2015

The photo view is looking out to the bay, taken between two large macrocarpa trees on the beach front. A ferry can be seen in the bay heading south as well as a yacht & 2 launches. Taken in the early 1900’s. Anyone want to have a go at ID’ing the location & if your really good the launch on the right.

Remember you can enlarge the image by clicking on it 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

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Bonita

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BONITA
All ww knows about today’s boat Bonita is that Ken Ricketts took the photo in Feb 2013 at Lake Taupo. So woodys can we shed some light on her?

Harold Kidd Input

According to the “HIstory Site for Boats of Taupo” she was built c1959 by Rogers Jones for himself to a design by Ted Herd for use on the Manukau. She’s 33′ x 11′ and has an 85hp diesel. There’s a full history of her there, but the Drakes probably know far more.

26-11-2015 Input from Paul Drake
From the publication “Boats of Taupo”.

She arrived at Taupo in the mid 1960’s. Roger and Joyce Jones ran her commercially. Built by Roger’s father (a professional boat builder) in the late 1950s. He purchased two large kauri logs and had them milled (those were the days).

There have been three sisters built to the same Ted Herd design.

Used as a patrol boat for the Manukau Yacht Club. Also used for fishing trips up and down the West Coast, outside the Manukau bar.

I believe she is still in survey, but seems to be little used. She is, however, well maintained.

Update from Paul Walsh 05-06-2018

The Bonita is currently owned by my father-in-law, John Hunter (former head vet at the Taupo vet clinic), and is used regularly for fishing trips by him and the rest of our family. (I have also just painted a Chorus cabinet on Acacia Bay Road that features the Bonita moored in front of the Karangahake Cliffs)

 

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

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Royal Saxon

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ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.

Royal Saxon

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

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Arohanui Relaunched -4sale

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‘Fiona the Owner’

AROHANUI RELAUNCHED – 4sale
photos ex David & Barbara Cooke and Greg Lees

UPDATE: 4SALE – All enquiries to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Yesterday was a one of those special days in the classic wooden boating scene, after what seems like the whole of winter, the 1966, 48′ Lane Motor Boat Co. built Arohanui slipped out of the Sandspit shed of Greg Lees Boat Builder. Her owners Fiona & Rod were very proud owners of the ‘new’ Arohanui.
We have come to expect only the best from Greg Lees & his team of craftspeople & they have not disappointed, again. The standard for workmanship & finish is world class. Speaking with Greg, he made special mention of Dale Colins the yard forman.  Not only does he cut to the chase when directing the work to be done and his expected result,  Dale is extremely talented on the end of a spray gun & the finish Dale gets is 2nd to none in the industry.  Just one of those multi-talented guys that make us DIY’ers look so bad 🙂
Brian Thompson did the new cabinet work matching the existing cabinetry, another true craftsman, but saying that, the whole crew at the yard are pretty special. The classic wooden boat scene is very lucky to have this yard on its back door.

Arohanui always has been a special boat & in the past been gifted with great owners, read more about her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/11/03/9526/

Fiona & Rod have taken her up several levels & she will join the ever-increasing fleet of spectacularly restored big classics that now grace the Waitemata. I can see I have solved the problem of who I’m going to sell my supply of USA brass/bronze polish to 😉

I will post more on her soon. For now I’ll let the photos tell the story. Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them 😉
waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

An Evill Boat

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An Evill Boat

I posted a few weeks ago about a 14′ clinker motorboat, built in 1914 by Miller & Tunnage that was heading north, in fact to Waiheke Island, Auckland.
You can read all about the history behind the boat here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/06/23/classic-clinker-motorboat/

Today post documents its journey to Waiheke Island.

It all started when Tim Evill called me & told me he had bought the clinker off trademe & he was having the boat & her trailer trucked up to Auckland. A few days later Tim & I have borrowed my wife’s ute, she’s a landscape gardener 😉  & Tim & I are driving around Penrose looking for a freight depot. We hook her up & head off to Bayswater to launch her, the plan being to put her on a berth at the marina for a week to take up (been out of the water for 2>3 yrs). You know what they say about plans – ‘if it can go wrong, it will’ – we backed her down the ramp & straight away the water starts p_ssing in – big time, a bucket & a big manual bilge pump could not keep up. So before she sank we started the single banger motor & did a few circles in her & popped back on the trailer.

Time for a team talk, I suggest to Tim if she was mine I would be taking her up to Pam & George at the Whangateau Traditional Boat yard & letting her sit in the back tidal estuary for a few weeks. So Tim heads back to Waiheke & the boats parked on my front lawn.

Next we borrow the ute again & head off on a road trip to Whangateau. We safely deposited her into Pam & George’s experienced hands, then I had a mission dragging Tim away from the shed & Laughing Lady (the boat not Pam). Over the next few weeks Pam sent us photos & trip reports (laps of the bay).
Tim collected her this week on a totally foul day & caught the car ferry to Waiheke Island. Home is now Sandy Bay so keep an eye out her.

Now I’m sick of calling her ‘the boat’, ‘she’ etc – so how about we suggest a few names for her – with Tim’s surname (Evill) it could be amusing – the best one wins a ww t-shirt.
And b4 you say anything Jason P, I have yours on board Raindance & will give it to you at Patio Bay. Just finalizing the logo & will be printing more – details soon.

Bayswater Launching

Love the CYA bucket
Still smiling

Back In Devonport

Dropping Off At Whangateau

Got to love those front towballs
Old Salts

On Holiday at WTB

Collection Day

At Home At Last

Post an application of the magic Houghton bronze polish

 

Sarina

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SARINA (MYSTERY LAUNCH)
photo ex Pam Cundy

Realized today that we have not had a ‘mystery launch’ quiz in a while so here we go – she was berthed in the estuary behind the Whangateau Traditional Boat yard.

When looking for a suitable photo to post this one just jumped out as it also features a rather special boat, the steam ship Romany II. I was gifted the tiller one day by her Captain, Russell Ward, on a misty morning on Lake Rotoiti & I was hooked on steam.

So woodys – who can ID the launch?

L>R – Russell Ward, Murray Deeble , Alan Houghton

Update ex Pam Cundy
Strange coincidence Alan, Sarina is going back in the water at the top of the tide today, see photos below. She’s been out for 8 months having a refit – out with the BMC Commodor and a reconditioned Perkins in as the replacement.
The builder does remain a mystery.  Current owner, Kevin Lawton, took over his fathers boat after his passing. Sarina has been in the family for about 25 years.
Kevin seems to recall mention of Jack Telford building her at Milford around 1961-2. Can any one verify this ?

 

Matira

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Sea-trial

MATIRA – re-powered

The 1956, 46′ Collings & Bell launch Matira has featured on ww previously & extensive details on her can be viewed here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/03/matira/

Matira is a very pretty boat, again one of those designs that look good from any angle & look fast even when anchored. She was for sale on trademe for a long time & I was aware of several people who ‘looked’ at her but were put off by a few things that just were not right. Primary concern was the engines which if I recall correctly were mismatched in hp.
I’m very pleased to advise that she has a new owner, Guy Warman, & work has began on bringing Matira back to the condition that a vessel of her size & provenance desires.
In the last month she has been hauled out at Okahu Bay & the team from Moon Engines have removed the old Ford D series engines & installed twin 110hp Yanmar’s.
On her recent sea-trial Matira comfortably cruised at 9.5 knots with a top speed of 13 knots. I’m told that the reduction in noise & space was worth the expense alone 🙂

Guy is interested in any more history that can be uncovered on Matira’s past so if any woodys can help out , please do.

Matira has joined the CYA launch fleet so we look forward to seeing her attending a few events. She will be in good company with Rod Marler’s Arohanui, due to slide out of Greg Lees Sandspit boat shed this weekend after an extensive renovation.