Category Archives: Launches

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

Maitiatia Classics

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Maitiatia
photo ex Simon Smith ex the Sir George Grey Collection

The scene above is a wee bit different from life today in Maitiatia at Waikehe Island. The hills look a lot higher without todays planting & housing.
Its not the best of photos in terms of quality but there certainly are a lot of classics at anchor – must have been a holiday weekend.

TIP OF THE DAY

Looking For Info On waitematawoodys ?

You may have noticed that I sometimes repeat post ww followers comments in the main section of ww. I do this because when you use the ww search box the search does not include content posted in the COMMENTS section. If you want to do a full search of the ww site, use google. Just enter waitematawoodys.com followed by the word / topic you are interested in e.g. waitematawoodys.com clinker dinghy & you will see all the content that relates to those words.

The lack of a full search function is the wordpress site administrators doing, not mine, its done to limit excess ‘chit-chat’ filtering into posts.
When content is factual & very interesting (just about anything that Harold Kidd writes) I repeat it.
So remember if you want to view every single item on a subject, use google as I described above.
BUT REMEMBER TO RESPECT COPYRIGHT

As I post this I’m sure Karen Moren is typing waitematawoodys.com mcgeady into google right now 🙂

Manana (Raehutai)

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MANANA (Raehutai)
photo & details ex Gavin Hargreaves

With today’s post we are looking to see if we can join the dots. Gavin sent me a photo of Manana, his Colin Wild launch.  Gavin has owned her for 7 years after purchasing her from Bill Webber of French Pass who owned her for 20 odd years running a fishing charter business. When purchased she was pretty run down with what appeared to be the original interior. Gavin spent many hours and money giving her the love she deserves. The only difference in looks now is she has a fly bridge and a cut in stern leading to a boarding platform apart from that she still looks as pretty as the day she was launched.

Now back in 2013 via Adrienne, Dave Jackson sent in the photo below of a launch that he thinks was Raehutai, that Bill Seager changed the name to Manana.
So the question of the day – are these the same boats? For easy of comparison I have dropped both photos into a slide show.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Harold Kidd Input

Bill and Gerry Seagar got the design from Colin Wild, probably the last he ever did. They got her built at Chas. Bailey & Sons because, effectively, they owned that company at the time. Harry Pope was the foreman on the job.
The two brothers were notorious for their barneys with each other. Bill wanted her called REHUTAI after the two steam launches the family had built in the 1910s but Gerry wanted her called MANANA. She was launched as MANANA.
Photo below of her in Seagar ownership.

Wainui

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WAINUI
photo ex Jason Prew

Photo from Jason Prew’s during his trip up the Tamaki River with Otira to the Chris McMullen workshop CYA visit. Jason photographed some of the many moored wooden boats moored on-route.

Today’s launch is an ‘interesting’ mix of styles…………. I can just make out a shortish name on her stern starting with W, can anyone ID her & supply more details on her past?

Input from Cameron Pollard

“Wainui” 33ft x not a lot x 3ft. Two skin kauri, built around 1900 .
We have owned her for close to 20 years and was the start of our obsession / illness of collecting old boats.
Steamed from New Plymouth to Onehunga wharf after fishing down there for years.
We rescued her as a half sunk hulk at Te Atatu after the cabin had been fitted in back streets behind K’Road by previous owner.
Replaced quarter of her stern. (Counter already shortened by then)
Fitted a 3LW Gardner of course to replace the old ford. (No clapped out Jap import truck engines go in our fleet)
Used her as our taxi up and down the Tamaki river.
Got tired of the 3LW shaking the coke out of the rum so 6 or more years ago we pulled her at Half Moon Bay and gave her a birthday.
Eased up the window shapes that had previously been fitted retaining the main structure tho as room inside is ample for her size.
Removed the 3LW and fitted a rebuilt 4LK light weight high revving (2000rpm) Gardner. Engine very rare ex ww2 midget submarine but that’s another story on its own.
Relaunched and now a very smooth and quiet wee launch.
Due for her 3 yearly tidy up but will always be part of our clan.

21-07-2015 Photos added – Wainui at Onehunga wharf in 1987 after her trip from New Plymouth & 2 showing her out of the water.

Flyer

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FLYER

photos & details ex Darrin Kennedy

Flyer is a 1966 Shipbuilders 26′ launch. Darrin has owned her for approx. 2 years. Previously she was based in Tauranga, owned by Tommy Verran. Rumour has it Verran used to take her  out to White Island in some pretty challenging seas so she must be a good sea boat. Powered by 110 h.p. Ford with a dry stack. At 26′ with a 110 h.p. motor she must have a good turn of speed. Flyer is currently hauled out undergoing a makeover to bring her back to as launched condition. Can anyone provide more details on Flyer & her past?

Showboat

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1926

SHOWBOAT
photo ex Gillian Williamson

Today’s post is of the launch Showboat & is from 1926 when she was owned by Gillian’s father Tom Hollows who was 18 at the time. Must have been something back then for a teenager to own his own motor boat.

What more details can we uncover on her?

Waitematawoodys Trip Report From Overseas

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SOUTHERN BAY 1994 Replica of a 1904 Truscott Mfg. Co Steam Launch. Compromise hull and 33 sq ft. Propane fired vertical tube boiler.

WAITEMATAWOODYS TRIP REPORT FROM OVERSEAS

Today’s photos & story came in from James Dreyer, who along with the extended family currently have Laughing Lady at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard. Jame’s work / travel take him off-shore a lot & in late May he was in the USA & put together a little story on the Southern California wooden boating scene. I’ll let James tell it. Enjoy 🙂

Remember if you click on a photo it will enlarge & you can read the captions. Scrolling over also reveals the captions.

“Back in late May, my father Barry & I headed to San Diego to spend a few weeks working on my Rhodes 33 “Therapy” and to visit the some of the 160 odd small breweries in the County, just to ensure their IPA’s were up to scratch.  San Diego is known as the home of craft brewing, with each brewery having a tasting room and kitchen, or if not, bringing in a different gourmet food truck each night.  Needless to say the hard work sanding and laying Uroxsys/Awlwood in the Southern Californian heat was well balanced with hydrating activities.  And yes, the beer is so good, it was mind bottling (to coin a phrase).

While we were there I got in touch with Ralph Rodheim, the owner of another Rhodes 33 “Madness”.  

I was hoping to head north to his place on Balboa Island / Newport Beach, to take some measurements and hopefully go for a sail.  As luck would have it, the Balboa Yacht Club’s second inaugural Wooden Boat Festival was on during the final weekend of our visit, and Ralph was both an organising Chairman, entrant, and judge.  This was a perfect opportunity to give the worn down finger tips, and high calorie intake a rest, while seeing how economical our rental Prius Hybrid could be heading North on the Pacific Highway to Newport.  We left early, and stopped at a diner on the way for some bad coffee and an overcooked bacon muffin.  This was California after all.

The show was just brilliant. A very Interesting variety of boats, interesting characters and live music.

I bumped into a number of “Rhodes people” and we swapped stories and info about the history of the class and how our restorations were coming along.

Above are some photos of the various boats, some I am lacking much info on, so my apologies in advance.  If anyone wants more info on a certain boat, I am more than happy to respond with what I have, or get some more info from friends.  

I thoroughly recommend viewing the following collection of photos from the event:  http://bycwoodenboatfestival.com/schedule-of-events/  They are beautifully shot and feature a whole lot of boats I didnt photograph, and many of their interiors.”

REVELRY 1951 Stephens Bros. Cruiser 42’
REVELRY
HUMBLE 1902 Thames River Launch 52′
HUMBLE 1902 Thames River Launch 52′
GRACIE 1950 Ed Monk Bridge Deck Cruiser 36’ Monk was a master of streamlining and this little cruiser was just gorgeous, especially with its two wooden kayaks and dinghy. Built for exploring the Pacific Northwest.
GRACIE
MADNESS 1948 Rhodes 33 One Design Philip Rhodes / South Coast Boat Building Co.
MADNESS 1948 Rhodes 33 One Design Philip Rhodes / South Coast Boat Building Co.
LAST CALL 1948 Chris Craft Holiday 24′
CHIEF 1947 Chris Craft “Red & White” Express Cruiser 25′
CHIEF 1947 Chris Craft “Red & White” Express Cruiser 25′
FIRECRACKER 38’ Grand Craft 2003 Replica of a 1928 Chris Craft
SPARKLE A super cute Philip Rhodes designed 17’ Electric Skiff Originally tender to the 77’ Rhodes Motor Sailer SEA DIAMOND Built at Abeking & Rasmussen in 1956.
SPARKLE
HUNGRY BLONDE 1949 20’ Chris Craft Owned by the owner of Hungry Blonde winery. This was my pick of the show.
HUNGRY BLONDE
S WONDERFUL 1939 Chris Craft 19’
FOUR BELLS 1955 36’ Rybovich Sportfish #16 Rybovich boats are the Rolls royce of sport fishers. The first being built for Earnest Hemingway and featuring the first fly bridge and outriggers.
Four Bells
FOUR BELLS aft cockpit steering station. Whoar…
BLAIR BARRY 1926 Fay & Bowen Saint Lawrence River Launch 26′
BLAIR BARRY
JOYFUL Bill Dunlaps beautifully home build, yet to see the water. 16ft Whitehall
A lovely clinker / lapstrake dinghy
AWESOME. Oldsmobile V8, turning an original, custom built 1 into 2 Vee drive gearbox and twin screws.
Awesome
Barry Dreyer posing on the aft deck of the Schooner America Replica.
SOUTHERN BAY 1994 Replica of a 1904 Truscott Mfg. Co Steam Launch.
ONO Dawn Boat Co. 1929 New York Commuter Yacht & Florida Sport fisher Twin Detroit 6/71s
ROSE WILDER 1968 Sparman & Stephens / Canteri Sangermani Sloop Carvel construction, fin keel, skeg hung rudder
A little taste of Southern California: Big trucks offset by Hybrids and Solar panels.
A sweet old So Cal Kustom: