Category Archives: Launches

Where Is She Now? – Lady Ava

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Where Is She Now ? – Lady Ava

A very pretty launch that we need in the CYA fleet, so the question today is where is she hiding these days – the above photo ex Jason Prew was taken at the Mahurangi Regatta in 2006.

I hope I have the correct name – the only reference I have is the yellow pennant on her stern – Lady Ava

+ need details on her please 🙂 thx Harold – amended as below.

Update from Harold Kidd

Its MISS AVA, built by Ernie Lane at Picton in 1931.
I looked at her to buy several years ago and found her quite attractive. She went to Wellington about 1937, owned by Ernie Lamberg. She was in NAPS at Wellington 1942-3 as Z70. Her dimensions are 36’x9’8″ and she recently was powered by a 6 cylinder Ford diesel. There is a nice pic of her in the Boat Harbour at Wellington in NAPS in “New Zealand Naval Vessels” by Bob McDougall on page 105. She hasn’t changed much since then.

Update to the above from Harold

johntwodogs is quite right. Z70 in that image is not MISS AVA. I wish I had checked my copy of NZNV before posting, especially since the entry in my database had an asterisk for a doubtful piece of info. I have only just found it after 3 hours of searching in my library, face down in the wrong place.
NZNV gives only a couple of NAPS numbers for Wellington launches, Z73 for QUEEN CHARLOTTE and Z78 for ROSEMARY M. I’ve filled in a few, eg RAHEMO with Z76. So what is this Z70? She’s a weird-looking craft, quite large. The only Wellington NAPS boat that seems to correspond is KOTUKU, a 48 footer owned by Wm. H Smith about which I know nothing.
The image below is for the Wellington buffs to chew over. Courtesies to Bob McDougall who had no responsibility for my leap in the dark.

PS Of course QUEEN CHARLOTTE is Z72, NOT Z73 as in NZNV.

Boat Harbour1942502

Updated ‘recent’ photos of Lady Ava ex John Wright. click photos to enlarge

John tells me the ‘young lad’ in the wheel house is ‘Captain Buck Rogers’

I’m Homeless

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waitematawoodys needs a new global headquarters

After 6 years on A Pier @ Bayswater I have to find a new home for Raindance. The owner sold the berth on trademe, would have been nice to know it was on the market……. but as the say – you snooze, you lose.

In the ideal world looking for someone wanting to rent a 10.5 > 12m in Bayswater but Westhaven could be an option.

Contact Alan at waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Miss Brett

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MISS BRETT

Classic displacement launch Miss Brett, built for the famous cream trip at the Bay of Islands. 40′ loa, 10’9″ beam, 2’11” draft. Kauri carvel planked, launched 1924, powered by 100 hp 6 cyld Ford diesel.

Must be loads of history out there on this old girl. Designer / builder??

Sorry about the photos, ex trademe & very poor quality 😦

Awatere

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AWATERE

Photos before & after refit ex Alan H, details & older sedan top photo ex current owner.

Awatere 32′ & surprisingly given her classic looks was built in 1980 by Claude Greenwood a boat builder at Whangateau (Leigh) for Mr Arcus who was at that time the ARA (Auckland Regional Authority) Chief Ranger for the Gulf Harbour region. He wanted a reasonably beamy comfortable launch for family cruising. He wanted practical and pretty and Awatere is both.
Her hull was made from a single kauri tree which was, according to anecdotal evidence, one of the last milled by the Whangarei Timber Company and people have mentioned that her lines are similar to some launches built by a Whangarei boat building company. After Arcus, she was for a while in Whangamata (hence the game poles) and shifted to Auckland around 1998.
The cabin sides are teak and she was originally built as a sedan top (refer photo above). The fly bridge was put on, probably in the early 90’s  by Geoff Bagnell, boat-builder of Milford.
She was re-engined by current owner in the late 1990’s and is currently powered by a 135 HP Ford Dover diesel (Moon Engines). Double berth up forward with two single amidships in the main cabin.
In 2013 Awatere underwent an extensive re-fit & included a back to bare wood paint / Uroxsys treatment, she was also re-propped & now cruises at around 10 Knots.

Note: there is comment on ww that Peter Arcus actually built Awatere himself , any info / photos on her past would be great & maybe we can clarify the builder / location issue. Correction – from Nathan Herbert – My wires are crossed. It was his yacht Egret which he built at farm. The wharf photo is at the farm though. Ive seen a photo of the launch new on farm which is what mucked me up

Builders Plate (ex the owner Geoff Steven)

IMG_2594

05-01-2015 Pam at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard sent me the 1/2 model photo below – could this be of Awatere ??

15-11-2017 UPDATE

Updated details on Awatere below. Written by Peter Arcus via Judy Turnbull.

“AWATERE was completely designed by myself.

I wanted a boat that would tow a barge (for transporting cattle) between Tiri Island and Whangaparaoa and that was also a good cruising launch and I wanted the construction to be strip plank concave/convex.

I consulted an expert, Howard Greenwood, (a boatbuilder whose yard was on the Whangateau estuary) and the hull was subsequently built by Greenwoods.  There was a curve built into the bilge shape that was an experiment put forward by Howard Greenwood.   By looking at the hull you can actually see the curvature that acted in the manner of a trim tab but was actually built into the hull.  The water flow under the boat gave it the desired effect.

Kauri was hard to get.  Bob Herman (Whangarei Timber Company) was a comrade from my Airforce days and we went down to the Mill in Whangarei to ask if he had any spare Kauri and I was lucky to get some beautiful timber.

When the hull was built Howard Greenwood commented that she may need a bit of ballast forward and I queried what to use. Howard said you’ve got it right there on Tiri, small flat rocks sealed between two floors – It will stay clean, you will never have to wash it.  It was placed up in the shoulders of the hull, the powerful part of the boat and she was beautifully balanced.  After completion the hull was towed by the “Pacific” to Hobbs’ Flat (now the site of Gulf Harbour Marina) and then towed overland by tractor up to the farm homestead where she was finished off by myself under a covered area.

She was powered by a 100hp Fordson installed by Eric Glavish, an Engineer from Helensvile.  The engine was completely dismantled and rebalanced and she ran like clockwork with a cruising speed of 10 knots and did 14 knots opened up.

She was launched in 1980.  An entry on the website states that at the time the boat was built I was the ARA Chief Ranger for the Gulf Harbour region.  That statement is incorrect.  I was the Farm Manager of the Hobbs Estate at Whangaparaoa prior to its sale in 1972.

The 1st photo in the article was taken just prior to Awatere being sold to Ian Boocock.”

Sybil Francis

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SYBIL FRANCIS

This one might be easy but I suspect not – her trademe listing said she was built in 1935 & is 36′ three skin kauri planked with a 10′ beam. Powered by a 120 hp Ford diesel.
Currently based at Great Barrier Island & been earning her keep as a fishing boat, she has had one owner for the last twenty three years.

Anyone able to shed some light on the old girl?

Kumi

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KUMI

Kumi arriving back in Auckland
Alan H & Haydon Afford
Haydon Afford enjoying a celebratory pint
Kumi leaving Hokianga Harbour
Kumi & Raindance
Mr Afford Snr. & Jnr with the CYA Award
Alan H welcoming Haydon back after 3mths away
Haydons Dad & wife (Linda) welcome him home

KUMI

I received an email a few weeks ago from someone that talked about the launch Kumi – problem was it was not from the owner & I had no idea who they were. They did talk as if they had an interest (past / present) in the boat. I even rang Harold Kidd & asked him if he knew of xxxx xxxxxx, the name drew a blank with Harold also.

So I call Kumi’s owner Haydon Afford & ask him if he knows someone called xxxx xxxxxx – the answer “thats me, I get sick of having to spell my name so for years I have used xxxx xxxxxx for the unimportant things in life e.g. ordering a pizza etc. xxxx even has his own email address…….. which is more than Haydon does, no mobile phone either 🙂

Hayden then realizes that on the email to me he did not say it was from him. I have re-printed the email below.

” Dear Alan. Quiet at work so found all these fantastic pictures on your extremely good website . if you wanted to include Kumi in the  Bailey and Lowe  chapter I wouldn’t mind. brief history?  Launched aug 1905 as ‘Eliza’  for Henry Adams as a lorry to take produce to and from his island Moturoa in the bay of islands. Raced in 1908 rudder cup ;failed to win . The annoyed  mr Adams challenged any body [mainly aimed at line honours winner James Reid with Seabird] to a race for 50 guineas to Russel wharf and back . Kumi beat Seabird more by good luck than boat speed , since in the rerun of the rudder cup it was very obvious that Seabird is a faster hull! Adams  had some bank trouble in 1913 and Eliza vanished  never to be seen again , but fortuitously at exactly that moment ‘Kumi’ appeared built by the same builder to the same design and launched on the same date as ‘Eliza’ .whew. She was sold to other people and in 1928 sold to Whangarei harbour board as a pilot boat and used as such till 1955 .She then went to Whangaroa harbour as a crayfish boat for mr Russ and did this till 1975. It was during this time  that an oyster barge made a mistake in berthing, crushing Kumi against the wharf and sinking her in apparently three minutes. In 1975 she went to a  Whangarei back yard till 1985 where she was modernised. Mr pont of Whangarei sold her to mr  Tercel and she came back to Auckland where her modernisation rapidly deteriorated through several owners until 1999 when  the present owners purchased her in spite of the surveyors comment of “not even any use as firewood, too rotten and wet”. The Affords took her back to their place and rebuilt her to close to 1905ish ; which was lucky because she ended up the same as her launching day photo in the maritime museum which Harold Kidd told us about after  her relaunch. Kumi has had several engines but mr Pont in Whangarei installed a 1963   six cylinder Ford  rated at 80 horse power  and this engine still gives perfect service .Kumi is a fun boat, fast enough [if not a line honours winner] but sea kindly and comfortable and ready for the next 100 years.”

A little more about Kumi – in the summer of 2012/13 Kumi completed a circumnavigation of New Zealand, I have covered this previously on ww but if you missed it, click the link below to read Haydon’s tale. Post the trip Haydon gave a talk to CYA members at the RNZYS, it was one of most entertaining evening I have been to. Haydon & Kumi’s vovage was acknowledged in 2013 with the presentation to Haydon of the ‘CYA Outstanding Achievement Award In Seamanship’ (photo above)

The story of Haydon Afford’s 3 month circumnavigation aboard Kumi his 1905 Bailey & Lowe launch

Recognition – Kumi also features in the CYA Classic Register 2014-15 edition – the link below takes you to the section.

http://classicyacht.org.nz/demosite/wp-content/uploads/Classicreg2014/flipbook.html#p=26

Rahemo #2 Post

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c1948

RAHEMO #2 Post

ww was contacted by the present owner of Rahemo & the information & photos the Rod Turner has supplied deserves its own post, read below
“The Chrysler Crown 125s I replaced were “mirror” or a contra-rotating handed pair. They were rugged and reliable, dedicated marine engines. No change of rotation occurred in the gear boxes. They were supplied and installed by Todds as New Zealand agents, not the Navy. Rahemo never had diesel engines before 1987. The “one family from new” is my mistake as I was not aware of Mr Butchers 2 year ownership. I thought the Todd family owner her from new. The Trademe listing was done by Vinnings Brokers. Rahemo returned to Auckland in the 1950s to be used for deep sea fishing in the Bay of Islands before making a second trip back to Wellington.“

Richard has supplied 2 photos of Rahemo on the hard showing her under-water hull shape & a stunning black and white is of Rahemo and another family boat, the “Maroro” taken in Onahau Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound in about 1948. Maroro is a Chris Craft from about 1932 still in his families ownership awaiting restoration.

Rahemo #1 Post

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RAHEMO #1 Post

Described as a Laing bridge decker & built in 1935, her kauri hull is 42′ long. Powered by twin 4 cyl. Volvo 130hp engines she has no trouble cruising at 10>12 knots. Her 4 sale listing states that she has had one owner from new.

Any one able to confirm & expand on what we know about Rahemo ?

Harold Kidd Update

RAHEMO was built in Auckland in late 1936 by Dick LANG (not Laing) at St. Mary’s Bay for R.W. Butcher of Hamilton as STRATHMORE. 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 and fitted with diesels. One TradeMe recently she was advertised as “one family from new”…………………….. not really.

PS R.W. Butcher sold ALCESTIS/RAIONA to Alf Seccombe when he had STRATHMORE/RAHEMO built and had RAWEA built when he sold STRATHMORE/RAHEMO. When RAWEA was  requisitioned for RNZN patrol work in 1940 he bought RONGO. You can’t keep a good launch man down!

Photo below ex Paper Past – 15 Dec 1938 just prior to departing for Wellington, insert photo i of A. R. Clarke who skippered her.

Strathmore (Rahemo) 15 Dec 1938

Valerie

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Valerie launch day 29 Aug 1929
Valerie 2007
Lady Dorothy (L) Valerie (R)

VALERIE

Photos from Alan H & Papers Past.
Details from Harold Kidd & Robin Elliott

Valerie was built by the Lane Motor Boat Company & launched on 29 August 1929. Her owner was Mr. M. G. King of Whangarei. She is 35′ with a 9′ beam. When launched she featured two cabins & had a 35hp St Lawrence engine.

These days Valerie is kept at Whangaroa Marina and currently owned by John Briers and Jackie Te Hore of Cable Bay. Valerie was for many years owned by the Reynolds family, close friends of the Pickmeres, who owned her up until the late 1960’s. Apart from a short period in Auckland during the 1960’s she has spent almost all her life in Whangarei and the Far North. It is believed Valerie was sometimes used by H. Pickmere when he was charting the far north

In the colour photo above Valerie (r) is anchored with Robin Elliott’s Logan 33 replica, Lady Dorothy (l), off Milford Island in Whangaroa Harbour, Jan 2013.

CYA NZ Classic Register 2014/15 Edition

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CYA NZ Classic Register 2014/15 Edition

At long last its out. Chris Miller & myself craft this book every season. Each year we say “never again” 🙂

Click the link below to view 200+ classic boats – note the link takes you to the CYA website so if you want to return to the ww site you will have to re-log in. Also the on-line addition does not show owners contact details for obvious reasons 😉

http://classicyacht.org.nz/demosite/wp-content/uploads/Classicreg2014/mobile/index.html