Category Archives: Launches

Rosemary II

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ROSEMARY II
Story & photos by Russell Ward
One of my childhood sweethearts. She lay on the piles just off the Squadron Marina.
She was one of the four Shipbuilders SuperCraft boats built in the ’50s: Lady Eileen, Rosemary 2, Rakanoa (yep I know she started off as a Couldry design) and Mahara. They were designed by Thomas (Tim) Windsor who obviously had a very good eye and was American trained. He was still alive when I last heard and I hope someone has taken a history from him.
Hunters owned her way back then and she was always there when I rowed / sailed / motored past.
I took the pictures a few years back when she was up at Whangarei and available. A little down on her uppers, but still great. The old petrol engines had been replaced by the ubiquitous six cylinder Lees marinised fords and the interior scruffy.
I hope she hasn’t sprouted a dodger aft and a fly (hic) bridge. She was beautiful as she was.

Dauntless

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Dauntless

DAUNTLESS

Built c.1927, most likely a Lanes (I can hear HDK now 🙂 “aren’t they all” )50′ in length. Owner looking for more details on her past. Dauntless most likely not the original name.
Currently berth at Milford Marina (the creek).

31-01-2019 Update – Hauled out at Milford Cruising Club yard for some TLC. Photo ex Jason Prew

dauntless @ mcc jan2019

Amakura II

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P1090114P1090116AMAKURA

AMAKURA II
I was heading back up the harbour late afternoon yesterday & Amakura II was sliding down the harbour looking as always stunning. Then I had a flash & thought hell I had not post the two spectacular photos of her taken by Heather Rose, on the CYA Riverhead Hotel cruise.
Update complied with input from Harold Kidd, Russell  Ward & Ken Ricketts
She was 45ft oa when built by Colin Wild for Chas Court in 1936 and had a single 350hp Lycoming petrol engine. Court had Wild lengthen her by 7ft in 1938 when she was fitted with twin Buda diesels of 220hp. C L Urquhart bought her in January 1940 and owned her throughout her NAPS service until bought by W C Wedderspoon in 1947 -49. According to the Squadron’s records and the Register of British Ships she kept her Budas during service with NAPS, Wedderspoon moored her at Hobson Bay, at the Parnell baths end, not far off the rock wall of Tamaki Drive. The next owner was P Mitchell of Wellington 1949-50 and then in 1950-55 by L R H Webber, owner of the Plummer Hat Company, a successful millinery organisation of the day, who had previously owned ‘MARO’, until N T & C C E Mills of Te Puke bought her in 1957 when she was fitted with twin 85hp Graymarines. They were replaced by 86hp Fords in 1961. In later years she went north to Whangarei, where she spent much of her life in a “drive in” shed, on the banks of the Whangarei River.
Now back in Auckland, she received a ‘facelift’ at the Peter Brooke yard & would now be one one of the most used classics on the Waitemata.
The b/w photo above was taken by Ken Ricketts in Mansion House Bay Kawau Island, Christmas 1948.

Aoma

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AOMA
details & photos ex Ken Ricketts
36 ft long, circa 10 ft 6″ beam, built of 2 skins of Kauri, one full length,  & one diagonal, by Alan Williams, at Milford Creek, circa 1950, either built for, or bought, when almost new, by Len Pepper of Lake Rd Takapuna, a substantial building contractor of the day.
A beautiful example of Alan Williams work, with a low profile, & real balance & individuality in her exterior styling.
One thing however they sacrificed a little headroom for the low profile, & taller people would have to bend a little inside her. She had a very “open plan” layout with open bulkheads, from one section of the boat to another, with the engine under a box in the centre of the bridgedeck, fairly well forward, as indicated by the side exhaust outlet, in the above pic I took, circa 1951.
Sadly, from the perspective of  lovely low profile & aesthetic balance, she has been “modified” through the years with the combings raised & the beautiful varnish work now long since painted (such a shame, in my view, as the varnished combings gave all classic boats such character, as perhaps many would agree), & whilst still fairly recognisable, unfortunately, her beautiful lines have been lost, also the addition of a flying bridge did not help.
She was originally powered by an 8 cyl in line, Buick petrol engine, with a label on the side push rod cover, saying, “Buick Detroit Marine,” however notwithstanding the label, I feel it may well have been added, by the person, or people, who actually marinised the engine, as a “one off,” as I have never seen or heard of another one.
The current engine, when I last saw her, about 1 &1/2 years ago, was a 6 cyl Ford Diesel, & she was living at Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, being used, more or less, just as transport, & for a little fishing, by a family living there.  She could have done with some TLC at that time.
I know she belonged to a plumbing contractor in the mid 1980s, as I was aboard her, at Mansion House Bay wharf, at Kawau Island, one day, when he was the owner.

Nov 2013- Ken Ricketts Update – She has been owned for many years by “Bruno” A Swiss gentleman & his wife, who live at Port Fitzroy Gt Barrier Island & as you can see, in the “before & now”  pics., she has sadly had very substantial changes & has lost the “bloom of youth,” she had, when I took the first pics In 1951.

One intersting thing I picked up on, in my recent inspection is, that she is built of 2 opposite diagonal skins of Kauri, which is not that common & is different from her sister ship Juanita, which the outer skin fore & aft & the inner skin diagonal which is more usual.

The colour photos was taken on the hard stand at Gulf Harbour (Nov 2013) where she is presently having a little TLC.

The present owners use her for transport to & from their home & Bruno also goes fishing of a few days at a time from time to time to the Broken Islands, Kawau, etc., & enjoys living aboard & cruising in the usual way, as well as the essential transport aspect. He has owned for around 20 years.

Updated photo 15/01/2015 ex Colin Pawson

Updated photo 15/01/2015. This ones an Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta photo, the 18 footers race, ex the National Libarary. Ex Nathan Herbert.

 

15-03-2016 photos below ex Ken Ricketts, hauled out at Gulf Harbour. Looking a lot smarter post her visit to Geoff Bagnall’s yard.

 

At Gulf Harbour – Dec 2020 – photos ex K Ricketts

Mapu

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MAPU

Story & photos by Mark Lane

Built in 1914 by Lane Motor Boat Company for TM Lane and Sons who were timber millers in Totara North, 30′ x 7′.6″  She was taken north to Whangaroa.  She was a classic flat decker and I am not sure with what she was origonally powered with other than it was an air cooled motor.

My grandfather Clarence Lane (son of Thomas Major Lane) who was instrumental in setting up the Lane Motor Boat Company) went away on his honeymoon on Mapu in 1916   She was originaly built as a pleasure and workboat where her role primarily towing logs out of the local rivers and towing barges a role she filled over the next 30-40 year.

In 1939 she came back to Auckland to be repowered with a Scrips marine conversion of a Hercules truck motor producing 110hp.  This made her the fastest boat on the whangaroa harbour pulling around 22-24 knots

During the war she acted as the supply boat for the local gun emplacement at the heads of the Whangaroa Harbour and also towed for them targets between the heads and Stephenson Island.  My father Trevor Lane (son of Clarence) used her for crayfishing around this time as well. She was re-fastened in 1950.

By the 1960,s she was primarly a pleasure boat used by my father and his brother and their families for fishing picnicing etc.   In the 1970 she was repowered with a Fordson deisel  but by the mid 1980s she was largely unused and stored intially in a boatshed on the Lane and Sons property and subsequently in the tide in the “barge shed” where her seams having opened so much the tide came in and out of her.

In the late 1990,s Lane and Sons was being wound up and I brought her in an as is where is state.  Thus I am the 4th generation of my family to own her….

Trevor Ford (son of Sam Ford and a retired boatbuilder from the Lane Motor Boat Company) assessed her and undertook to rebuild her.  He showed me a hand-drawn picture of Mapu with a cabin and dodger and then proceeded to rebuild and repower her.  The project took him over three years in a barn on his property in the Bombay hills.

She was repowered with a Nanni convesion of a Kubota deisel (50 hp)

She was relaunched in 2003.  She heads north  in summer to Whangaroa her “home” for then retrns to Auckland at the beginning of winter and is berthd in Pine Harbour Marina.  She competed in the 2008 Rudder Cup race around sail rock and came second in her division.

Cruising speed  is 8.2 knots and full speed about 9.7-10.4knots depending on the cleanliness of her hull!!!.

I suspect the owner of Raindance will acknowledge she is pretty quick for her size and power.. (edited – the owner of Raindance hopes the CYA launch handicapper reads waitematawoodys 🙂  )

Isma

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Isma

ISMA

The boat above is Isma owned by Charles W Ravenhall – pictured in the Orakei Basin with Upland Road in the background – obviously in the days prior to the the basin being enclosed.

The proportions & scale on this little launch are just about perfect. I just amazes me how in later years all this wonder design talent was cast aside & ‘sheds’ we built over so many of our vessells.

Note: Charles Ravenhall also owned Silver Spray.

I wonder where they are all heading?

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I wonder where they are all heading?

Looks like a bit of a day out, maybe welcoming someone or thing e.g. fleet?

I can ID Aumoe & is that Tasman closest to the camera?

Harold Kidd Update:

 I reckon this is just before the start of the NZPBA opening race on 24/11/1934, a cruising race to Awaroa Bay. Boats were assemble off the NZPBA clubhouse at Mechanics Bay at 1430. Entrants were MARO, AHUAREKA, ELVIRA, DEFENDER, AUMOE, VIVEEN, CRUSADER, RAUMATI, LADY JOYCE, Surf and post entries. I see CRUSADER and AUMOE. I think the nearest of the bunch of three at left could be RAUMATI

Rongo

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RONGO (II)

The above images of this rather grand & large launch have me stumped as to its identity, I’m sure its easy but today my mind is a blank. Photo says c.1930

30/05 – appears the collective brains trust agree on Rongo – thanks team 🙂

Harold Kidd Update

I’m certain it’s RONGO (II) when owned by W. Cecil Leys in 1930. She was built as GLADYS II by Bailey & Lowe in 1919 for Chas. Court of Stanley Bay and fitted with a 150hp Sterling Model FM 6 cylinder engine. Court sold her in 1930 to Leys who had her lengthened 10 feet and renamed her RONGO. Leys owned her until 1942 when she went into NAPS as Z20. Subsequent owners included R W Butcher (1942-44), Joe Moodabe (of the Civic Theatre) (1944-47), W J Henry (1947-49), W A (Wilkie) Wilkinson (1949) W A Kenny of Picton (1964) by which time she had a 1955 Gardner 5cylinder diesel. She came back north but went to pieces at Algies Bay in July 2007.

Update 2

1. Rongo went into NAPS with a Chrysler fitted around 1938, so they probably left that in throughout hostilities as ex-USN Chryslers (and GM/Graymarine 71 series) were standard issue, for parts rationalisation.
2. Walter Bailey designed her and Bailey & Lowe built her. I would have thought that she was manifestly Bailey & Lowe, not Lanes (although I do accept that all launches do default to Lanes in the case of doubt [and I won’t repeat my conceit that Garth built them all by himself at the risk of being flamed again by Alan]).
3. Mike Moodabe never owned her. It was his brother Joe, and then only briefly, from when she came out of NAPS in 1944 until 1947.

 
PS [sackcloth and ashes] a bit of misinformation I created myself…..I have now found the reference to Chas. Court selling GLADYS II to Sir W. Cecil Leys .. ….it was in October 1927, a lot earlier than I had thought. It was hard to pick out which of the references were to RONGO (I) and which to RONGO (II) (OMG here we go again!).
 
The 35ft RONGO (I) is very interesting. She was built as MOLLIE for Capt Somerville by T M Lane & Sons (really) in December 1911 equipped with an 18hp 4 cylinder Scripps. Capt. Somerville sold her to Percy Colebrook around late 1913. Colebrook sold her to Leys in August 1919 while he was having the second MOLLIE (later ALCESTIS/RAIONA) built by Joe Slattery. Leys had her extensively modified (cabintop raised, lengthened by 3ft etc) and renamed her RONGO. The work was done by Lanes who fitted a big 100hp Scripps in 1926 for which they were the agents.
When he bought GLADYS II and renamed her RONGO II in 1927 he sold RONGO I to J T Julian of Remuera. Julian retained the name RONGO and sold her to C W H Ronaldson in 1938. I lose track of her after 1940 but will work out what happened to her one day…undoubtedly a postwar re-name.
It’s all a bit convoluted……………
 
Update 3
Sorry to bang on about the RONGO tribe but I have found that it was Chas. Bailey who modified MOLLIE (I) for Cecil Leys in 1919 into RONGO (I). Lanes had their hands full with LUANA. At that time there were 5 big (45ft+) launches being built around the Waitemata; Collings & Bell with MARGUERITE (later LADY UNA), Joe Slattery with MOLLIE (II) (later ALCESTIS/RAIONA), Bailey & Lowe with ATATU and GLADYS II (later RONGO II) and Lanes with LUANA. The huge postwar demand was hard to satisfy but Chas. Bailey didn’t attract any orders for big launches for some reason.

Update from Baden Pascoe:

(refers to colour photo in slide show)

This is how she looked when I saw her. In my files I found she was a NAPS vessel, no Z20, 1/7/42 -27/12/43.

She had a 6L2 installed the same engine Joan had fitted. Conrad Robinson still has this engine at Warkworth. One good thing about NAPS, your boat came back with a very nice engine. At this time she belonged to R.W. Butcher of Auckland. The man in the white hat is dad, he could not get over the length of her and was concerned that she was hogging while they lifted her. He supervised the blocking of her keel once she was slipped. Very nice boat, shame she got wrecked. Very Lanes looking though!!

Aumoe

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Aumoe
The caption says ‘Deep Water Cove’.
Of interest is the special effects applied to b/w photos in the days before colour cameras.

Aumoe

12-07-2019 Input from Deb Green

The photo below is from Tom Wood (Deb’s uncle). Tom owned Aloha.

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