Category Archives: Launches

An Albatross

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An Albatross
photos above & details ex Greg Lees & John Macfarlane (Boating NZ)

Today’s post features Greg Lees restored classic runabout (she has no name), one of a small fleet of these cool British craft in NZ. In their day these we very chic boats, the owners list was a real who’s who – Prince Rainer of Monaco, Prince Phillip, Stirling Moss & even the bombshell Bridget Bardot.

The story starts back in the UK c.1949 when two engineers, Archie Peace & Peter Hives set up a company named ‘Albatross Marine’ to design & build a small runabout, called the Albatross. They had great credentials with Hives the son of a Rolls Royce director & Peace an aeronautics engineer. Post WWII there was no shortage of aluminum so given Peace’s plane background the chosen build material was alloy.
They initially built two versions  – the Mk1 was a 2 seater sports, powered by a marinised Ford 100E side-value Prefect 1172cc engine & the Mk2 which had twin carbs (SU’s) for more zoom. Later on a Mk3 was launched with even more zoom. A 4 seater, called the Continental was also marketed, powered  Mk1= 100E motor, Mk2 = Ford Kent 1500cc 60hp motor. The last 150 built had a 88hp Coventry Climax engine.
Come the 1960’s that evil substance that starts with F & has the word glass at the end was entering the boating scene & even though they tried other models, the company folded in the mid 1960’s.

The Auckland agent was Campbell Motors & they sold approximately a dozen boats, most as hire boats at the Lake Okataina Lodge.(Rotorua) This was not a great success & the fleet was broken up & sold to other hire operators – Hinehopu (Lake Rotoiti), Rotorua & Queenstown.

Now back to Greg Lees , who owns the very classic friendly boat yard Lees Marine at Sandspit. Greg bought his Albatross in 1990 & the Lees family used extensively her for many years. Fast forward to the year 2000, Greg & daughter Rosie (talented lady – search her name on ww) started a full restoration, including rebuilding the 100E engine. The restoration took a few years (12 in fact) & since then the boat has been doing the rounds of the classic wooden boat lake events – both North & South Island Lake Rotoiti.
These boats are highly collectable in the UK with less than 100 left a float. Greg’s business has also completed a restoration on another Albatross for a kiwi classic boating client.
The photos below I took at the 2015 Lake Rotoiti Wooden Boat Parade (Nth Is.), Greg’s Albatross must be the smallest powerboat to fly the RNZYS burgee 🙂

Juanita

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Juanita

I do not know the name of today’s post but this kauri sedan launch was recently sold on trademe. We do know she was designed and built in 1951 by Allen Williams.

32’ in length & powered by a 100hp Ford 6cyl. Diesel. Asking price was around $35k, so on face value, someone got a bargain.

When sold she was based in the Coromandel, so today’s questions are what is her name, who bought her, where is she now & what history do we know about her?.

Update – she is Juanita & has appeared on ww before so to read more about her, view the Comments section &/or search her name in the ww search box 😉

(classic trademe listing i.e. no boat name featured 😦  ……… when will people wise up)

22-10-2015 Update

Juanita is currently sitting on a swing mooring outside Lees Boat Builders at Sandspit awaiting her turn at the hands of Greg Lees & his team of craftsman.

Evening Star

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EVENING STAR

photos & details ex Jake Hewitt. edited by Alan H

Today’s post features the 30′ Shipbuilders launch, Evening Star. Jake’s father & uncle purchased Evening Star from Half Moon Bay, Auckland c.1987 & paid $10,000 for her. At the time Jake was 10 years old. She was motored immediately to her new mooring at Whangamata. At the time of purchase she was owned by an elderly gent & had been part of the volunteer coast guard fleet in Auckland.
I’ll let Jake tell the story of his experiences of Evening Star. Enjoy 🙂

Within a few months Dad & Uncle Ray dry docked her at Whangamata and straight away set about transforming her tired state. She had an traditional Shipbuilders full length cabin, that was quickly shortened so we could enjoy her transom/aft area for fishing. For some reason the previous owner had 3 house size kitchen benches placed around the interior as well as many pieces of furniture. I do recall she had a majestic formica style table with an map of the entire Hauraki Gulf detailed onto the formica surface. Within 2 weeks she had received a face lift and lost alot of weight with of her overladen interior accessories now removed.
When we first took her out after the refit … she glided along ever so majestically, the 72hp Ford (marinised by Lees Group) now purring rather than previously labouring with all the extra weight aboard.Her triple skin kauri hull now glowed with fresh paint & was alive.

We enjoyed her for 3 seasons of family fishing, taking her too Mayor Island, the Aldermans & Slipper Island mainly. As time past her cabin structure began too rot & deteriorate. She once more returned too dry dock for a refit. Dad and uncle Ray decided too install aluminum windows and do away with plywood, other than fiber glassing plywood for the roof area & forard cabin structure. It functioned well yet I personally missed her classic bridge decker style cabin lines.

After the refit we continued too use her and enjoy her company … yet with a growing family she lay unused too often.

Unfortunately in 1992 her toilet waste hose split & burst & ultimately nearly fully sinking her on her mooring.  Blessed it be my uncle was a local in Whangamata and quickly organised her salvage too shallow water. Sadly our family wasn’t in the financial position too restore her & Dad sold her too a guy in Waihi for a song including her mooring. I was personally shattered,  as I had always visioned purchasing her from Dad in years too come. Naturally Dad was a silent n sore man as well.

I believe she didn’t last long with her new owner before the new owner burnt a valve, he then trolleyed her too waste away at a nearby local property in Whangamata. As Im so passionate about her, my uncle shared with me, that she had been sold too a new owner in Tahuna whom was going too restore her, I quickly went traveling around Tahuna and found her trolleyed on highway 27. I introduced myself too the new owner & cried as a flood of good memories hit me instantly. The new owner was a nice bloke an very educated in boat building … he explained his plans an we spent hours that afternoon talking about her. Sadly I learnt after he had completed the restoration and enjoyed her with a season,  he experienced a bitter divorce and sold Evening Star for a song too a guy in Auckland in 1996 or there abouts.

If any person has any information of where she is today … or any history of her, that would be hugely appreciated. Jake has received numerous potential sightings of her in the Auckland area recently, the places mentioned have been the Wade River, Bayswater Marina & even  Span Farm boat yard. But nothing confirmed.

A Woodys Trip Report from France

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Russell in the red stripes

A Woodys Trip Report from France
photos & story ex Russell Ward

Getting the other-half to go on holiday in France – thats easy, but how Russell manages to sneak in visits to wooden boat yards, beats me. I need some tips 🙂
I’ll let Russell tell the story. Remember to click on the photos above to enlarge 😉

I visited a fellow steam boater in Arcachon and the conversation on steamboats lulled a trifle and we went on to local work boats the Pinasse! Yep, when the French say Pinasse it is rather akin to the technical term for one’s diddle!
They are a breed of double ender peculiar to Arcachon on the coast out from Bordeaux. Arcachon is a rather larger harbour than Whangateau. Golden sands and sandbars abound. Oyster farms are everywhere and the origin of the Pinasse in the area dates from 1900 or so.

The local work boats abound and many have been retired to pleasure duties and some look real posh.
They have a broad beam, some have elongated bow and stem posts to give a Venetian look; bold sheer (as befits a work boat intended for fishing), self draining cockpit fwd, low deck house and aft cockpit.
The engines were marinised automotive engines and many early ones were made by local engineers.
The older traditional boats have a disappearing prop arrangement akin to the American Dispro boats (check out Wooden Boat). The Dispro has a cast tunnel that the prop shaft and prop pivot up into. The Pinasse has a slot about six inches wide from a third of the way fwd from the stern post. The prop shaft emerges at the fwd end of the slot and there is a bronze universal to allow the prop shaft to pivot up when a lever is raised in the aft cockpit or automatically if the skeg scrapes on a sandbar.
The hull form is interesting. They appear round bilge but in fact have a chine on the middle third of the hull.

One boatyard built most of the boats and above  are several photos of the sheds. Makes my eyes go all misty and George and Pam’s will too. They have so much space in there but only a couple of major rebuilds in progress. One smallish burdensome sailing boat of about 16’ and one elderly Pinasse who has a new stem, chines, set of floors and most of the bottom having new planks.
 Six generations of one family worked the yard and it was recently sold to a man and his sister who continue the work.
Lovely place!

There are a lot of references but few specific to our interests. Go trawling!
http://www.dubourdieu.fr/en/history.html

Curlew

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CURLEW
photos ex Thomas Gross, details ex Harold Kidd

Curlew was built by Bailey & Lowe at Auckland for Percy Dufaur and launched in February 1912. Percy Dufaur was a law clerk working for the legal firm Dufaur Fawcett (now Cairns Slane). He owned many yachts in his time but was very fond of the concept of a small, seaworthy cruising boat.
Curlew had a 4hp Auckland-built Kapai auxiliary from new and was a centre boarder. Dufaur sold her to W. Abbott in 1914 and he sold her to H E Chamberlin of Ponui Island in 1918.
In 1919 A T Jamieson of Northcote bought her. He had admired Curlew and had had Bailey & Lowe build him a very similar yacht called Kereru in 1916 although she was a keel yacht. Jamieson kept her for 2 years, selling her to George Lepper of Northcote who used her to transport NZ Herald newspapers to Northcote for distribution every morning, 6 days a week.
W. Keen owned her in 1946 and D J Best 1946 to 1951 when boat builder Dave Jackson bought her (hopefully Dave J can tell us more about her recent history).
K Darrach owned her in 1973 and Bert Knight of Ngunguru owned her in 1989.
From 1946 her registration number was O15.

These days Curlew is owned by Thomas Gross & moored at Bucklands Beach.

ADVICE NEEDED 🙂
Thomas has a question for the woody boaters out there – he is after some guidance on how to re-build Curlew’s rudder that broke in 2 pieces. He has the pieces stored on the boat to bring home and use as form for the new one, but was wondering where to start, e.g. he has read that he should use different sheets of plywood and put them in different directions etc, but was wondering if the ww followers know of more information on this or what other options to rebuild the rudder.

Update – 19-09-2015

Whangateau Traditional Boay yard have been helping Thomas with the repairs – Pam’s words “Lots of good wood still so George decided to make some simple repairs.
New rods with thread and nut to draw it all up tight again”

And for the yachties – todays bonus is a link to Day 4 + Ladies Race photos from the British Classic Week. Enjoy

Day 4, Race 5 & Ladies Race at British Classic Week

Kotuku

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KOTUKU

photos ex trademe

Built in Picton in 1923 by Ernie Lane, 28’ long & powered by a Volvo MD3B diesel engine. She has been for sale on trademe at around $17,000; at that price she would make a nice entry-level launch to get in to the classic wooden boating scene.

She is currently set up as a day boat for the Sounds but the forward cabin could easily be converted back to a double berth.

Any woodys able to expand of Kotuku’s past?

Todays bonus viewing ex Baden Pascoe is a link to photos from the recent ‘Thames Traditional Boat Rally’ – clink to view

Chris Perkins photographs the Thames Traditional Boat Festival

Waikawa AK41

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WAIKAWA AK41
photos & details from Joseph Shanks

The 57ft. Waikawa was built in 1948 at the Percy Vos yard in Westhaven & launched as a fishing boat (AK41). Today her home is Lyttelton, Christchurch & she is owned by James Shanks (Joseph’s father) who has had her for 7 years & almost completed the restoration to the pleasure boat you see above. Joseph has promised to send in photos of the restoration so hopefully today’s post will spur him on 😉

The photos below of her during construction, on her sea trials & as a fishing boat are from Baden Pascoe’s magnificent book ‘Launching Dreams, Percy Vos – The Boats & his Boys’. Copies available from badenhp@xtra.co.nz

Mystery Launches 21-07-2015

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MYSTERY LAUNCHES 21-07-2015
photo ex Harold Kidd

During the recent post on the launch Manana (Raehutia) Harold Kidd sent me several photos of Manana while she was owned by the Seagar family.
Thats her on the left in the photo above – today’s question for woodys is what are the two launches to the right of the wharf ? & while we are at it – the location?

To view / read more about Manana – click link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/07/17/manana/

And to brighten up the day – some stunning yachting photos from the first 2 days of the British Classic Week -click the link below

A spectacular 2 days of Panerai’s British Classic Week in images.

Update from Hylton Edmonds

From Left to Right – Manana (pre Leon / Chris Brown), Albacora (Pat Edmonds) and Lady Doreen (“Snooks” Fuller / AE Fuller & Sons), – and yes, taken at Otehei Bay, hmmm… guessing around late 50’s?. Due to the fact that Otehei Bay had the Lodge and was an official BOISFC Weigh Station Site, a lot of the Big Game boats  would operate out of there,  (as well as their home bases Russell / Paihia ) over a season. A few of them had permanent moorings down there too. Great Photo of a wonderful era.

ACHINAR > Achernar > Betty

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ACHINAR > Achernar > Betty
photos & details ex William Horne

Yesterdays post on Betty uncovered the impressive collection of photos above. I could have just added them to yesterdays post but they deserve their own post.
The photos are from William Horne & from the 1970’s when his father Rod, owned Achinar. If you have read the previous posts you will be aware there has been a degree of name rotation in her past – the link below explains this. It would be nice if at some stage she reverted to Betty again 🙂

William commented that you can see from the photos that she had the Achinar spelling back then so it appears it was spelt that way for a long time. Rod Horne purchased the launch from Dr. Gilbert in Tauranga and the photos show her as first seen by him up the Wairoa River & then later in black & white at her mooring.

William’s family had many holidays on her, in fact William was on the boat before he could walk and it was the first vessel he helmed so his father must have owned her for a few years.

Betty / Achernar / Achinar

Betty (Achernar)

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Betty 1947

BETTY  (Achernar)
photo & details ex Betty Black (Stewart)

Today’s post is an example of what makes ww so special & motivates me to keep doing it. I received the email below last week.

“Dear Alan
 
My son in Sydney was browsing on the internet presumably looking up about his grandfather Bob Stewart, when he came across your blog about Achernar.  I was most interested to read this as I had no idea what had become of the launch “Betty”. It was  requisitioned by the Americans during the war. My grandfather died in 1943  and my father became the owner.   He got it back after the war in an appalling condition.  I remember him saying there was oil all through the bilge.  We had a number of family holidays on it  until the yacht Helen* was built.  The photo was taken by me in 1947 (on a Box Brownie camera).
Kind regards
Betty Black (Stewart)”

To read / see more on Betty / Achernar click here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/10/14/achinar/

*Photos below of Helen (K1) during 2015 CYA Classic Yacht Regatta

Update 29-07-2019 Oct 1939 photo below

Betty Oct 1939

Helen 2015
Helen 2015