Lady Gay – as always looking like the lady she is.
It is such a grotty day weather wise I thought a bit of brightwork might lift the mood
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Category Archives: Launches
Whitianga New Years Day Regatta #2 c.1950/51
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Whitianga New Years Day Regatta #2 c.1950/51
Launches along side of Wharf: Fore to back: Marlin (Roley Smith), Eta B (Ted Bronlund), then little launch with rounded cabin top: Peggy, owned by the Morcombs & built by Bill Nobel at Whitianga in the 1920’s, then behind her: Renown (A White), then Spray (W Heald). Boat with skipper on wheel house: Scripps (Albert Bowman), the boat with the man at bow: Te Kuti (Jim Wilkins) and the boat behind her no name but owned by Trevor Brown.
Caption & photo supplied by Baden Pascoe. Photo taken by Simon Bronlund’s aunt Joyce.
Lady Rae
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LADY RAE
Designed by Chas Bailey Jnr. 1948. Looking for more details on her past, comment on the blog or email to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Whitianga New Years Day Regatta #1 c. 1950/51
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Whitianga New Years Day Regatta #1 c. 1950/51
Boats steaming
(L > R) – Eta B (Ted Bronlund), Waihaka (Alf Lee), Scripps (Albert Bowman), Ronomor (Bert Chaney) and the little runabout, name unknown but was owned by Harry Hancock. Last launch unknown.
Caption & photo supplied by Baden Pascoe. Photo taken by Simon Bronlund’s aunt Joyce
Pretty boats
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Pretty Boats Luana
People often ask me why photos of the same boats keep appearing across all the media. The answer is simple, the more attractive to the eye a boat is, the more photos have been taken. This is particularly true in the days before digital cameras when developing & printing a photo was relatively expensive – so people only took photos of pretty boat or boats in trouble (on the rocks).
If your boat was drop dead gorgeous, people even painted it.
I was sent a photo of the painting above of Luana by Brian Worthington who in his words ‘was going thru a cupboard at the fishing club and found this broken glass print of Luana It used to be on the wall in the bar at Mayor island when the fishing club was based out there’.
Neptune
NEPTUNE
The Nelson based CYA member that owns Neptune is offering her up for sale to allow him to move onto a classic vessel better suiting his lifestyle. The good news is, it will be a launch & a rather nice one. He has a strong desire for Neptune to go to someone who appreciates classic boats.
You will see from the photos that Neptune is presented in immaculate condition, you do not see many classic’s in this condition & just as importantly so tastefully done.
Her owner can help with delivering Neptune to Mana where she could be trucked up north from.
All reasonable offers considered
Contact owner on lioncruises@hotmail.com or phone 03 5465030
Details
Neptune was built by Fred Lidgard on Kawau Island of full length N.Z. Kauri and launched in 1956.
Length 30ft x 10ft 6″ x 4ft 6″ draft.
Re powered in 1994 with a 90hp Ford 2722E diesel engine and Newage hydraulic gearbox (1990 hrs) plus new stainless steel shaft and new keel bolts.
2.5li/hr @ 1250 rpm @ 5.5 to 6 kts.
A number of items of equipment are new or near new.
Raymarine auto pilot linked to a chartplotter.
Full repaint October 2012
Length 30ft x 10ft 6″ x 4ft 6″ draft.
Re powered in 1994 with a 90hp Ford 2722E diesel engine and Newage hydraulic gearbox (1990 hrs) plus new stainless steel shaft and new keel bolts.
2.5li/hr @ 1250 rpm @ 5.5 to 6 kts.
A number of items of equipment are new or near new.
Raymarine auto pilot linked to a chartplotter.
Full repaint October 2012
Interested Woodyboaters….
A message from the owner of MV Luana
Interested Woodyboaters….
Time to step back and think about what we have here. We have developed here a fantastic new site [Thanks Alan], that unfortunately is full of the usual errors we all are aware of.
What is our common sense of purpose?
That is to foster interest and knowledge based around the fabulous resource of classic boats we have inherited in New Zealand. We must encourage more entries but we must seek accuracy. Unfortunately when we seek and receive knowledge from fading memories we gain heresay and conjecture.
Please let us encourage more input and once gained let us separate fact from fiction.
Huia
Huia Kaipara Hbr May 2005
Relaunch day 1963 Dargaville
New stem fitting at Helensville
Huia Log towing 1926 Kohukohu Hokianga Hbr. The ship is barquentine Louis Therant
Huia Launch day 1918
Tangowahine river upstream from Dargaville on Nthrn Wairoa
Huia 2012
HUIA
story & photos ex Robin & Lesley Smith
37ft x 9ft 6 x 3ft 6
Named after Harry Kings youngest daughter
Ordered 1918 launched 1919 built by Demmings boatyard at Opua for Harry & George King Bros for use as a tow launch towing logs to their timber mill in BOI
The mill was shifted to Kohukohu on the Hokianga harbour c1920s and Huia was used to tow logs to Kings Mill for making butter boxes for the local dairy company The mill along with Huia were loaded on to the scow Zingara and when they arrived at Hokianga heads Huia was dropped over to help tow the scow over the bar
When the mill was sold c1927 to the Solomon Islands the mill came back to Russell/Opua on Zingara to load on the Burns Phillip steamer Makambo. Huia was sailed back to BOI in company with Zingara for use as a fishing launch for the King family
Huia was taken over by the NZ air force for WW2 and stationed at Army Bay BOI with the mine coastal defence group BOI
After the war she was returned to Harry King who sold her to an Auckland owner and Huia went south to the Waitemata
After a time in Auckland she was sold to a Mr JJ Enwright, a fishmonger in Whangarei who employed various crews to commercially fish Huia from Whangarei north on the east coast
Ben Bradly found her in a neglected state in Whangarei c 1960 and took her to Dargaville where he refitted her, lifted her foredeck 2 planks and fitted new decks and the cabin tops. She was re engined with a new 60HP lees ford and relaunched 1963. Huia, based at Northern Wairoa Boating Club Dargaville wandered all over the Kaipara with Ben and Wyn Bradly, and up many now un navigable parts of the Kaipara. During one of the Helensville regattas Huia “tee boned” Eric Williams fathers launch Moa, stoving in her bow. Ben ran her for a mud flat where she sat for a week filling with Kaipara mud until she was put on the Helensville cradle and a telegraph pole fitted in as a new stem
Robin & Lesley Smith bought Huia 2004, ran her for a year on the Kaipara then moved her to the BOI and in 2010 took her out for 1 year for a refit and altered the aft deck cabin area.
Huia lives on a pole mooring at Waitangi BOI
Her engines were: when built 2 cyl 20 HP Union petrol
1924 a 3 cyl 30HP Twigg petrol
WW2 a 2 cyl 22 HP Kelvin diesel fitted by airforce
Later when fishing a 6 cyl Morris commodore petrol
1963 a 4cyl 60HP Lees Ford diesel (6500 hours to date)
Miss Lidgard
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Miss Lidgard in 1960.
Fishing in 1978.
2011
2012
2012
MISS LIDGARD
Owned by Whitianga idenity Don Ross who landed alot of game fish as a charter boat. Powered by 2 Austin Skipper 100h.p.. Miss Lidgard was in the Tamaki up to last year in a very plastic looking form. Don thought she was the best boat he ever owned and was a very stable boat to fish from. From what I can remember she had a big open cockpit and she was built to take light cargo to the whaling station at Gt Barrier. Dad extended her cabin aft over the cockpit for Don to give more shelter for passengers and anglers.
1st photo & story ex Baden Pascoe. Remaining photos ex current owner
Update 27/01/2015 from Don Ross via Merv Stockley
“Below is a photo of new Perkin’s 4-154 engines going in Miss Lidgard when the Austin Skippers came out. Strongman’s from Coromandel did the adaption of the existing Parsons gearbox’s to these Perkin’s engines before they went in. As mentioned under Miss Lidgard on Woodys the Skippers were close together and the Perkin’s were too under a single engine box. These two 4-154’s were manufactured by Mazda in Japan and I always wondered why that was as I don’t know of any other Perkin’s which were manufactured in those days out side Peterborough. Recent research I have done on the internet has showed Perkin’s designed the 4-154 and sister engine 6.231 but they were only produced by licencee Toyo Kogyo (Mazda). Later developed into 4.165/6.247 family of engines”.
Lady Margaret (Colin Wild). Chapter two
Lady Margaret (Colin Wild) Story
CHAPTER 2 (story & photos ex Ken Ricketts)
In chapter one, I referred to her as possibly a “Shakespearean tragedy on the water”.
Even Shakespeare had some happy parts to his great works, & as with Shakespeare, there I’m thrilled to say, is also a happy part to the Lady Margaret #1 Story.
Herewith a picture of Colin Wild’s classic 1927 master piece taken 2 weeks ago after having received a few months of hard work.
Besides what is visible in the pics., she has been rewired, & had various other internal work upgraded, & has had at the very least, a little refurbishing, I am told.
I hope to see her for myself, in the near future, & will report appropriately at that time. The most important thing at the moment however, is that she has certainly been saved, from the maritime graveyard. HALLELUIAH!!!
The above before & after pics tell the story to date
This most beautiful & classic part of our maritime history is going to live through another day. Long may she live.
Update on Chapter 2 – 14/05/13
I was aboard her last Tuesday, 6.5.13, at a little jetty in a creek at Kaingaroa Northland, & can report & update as follows.
She is looking “tidy” inside, but still needs fairly substantial galley maintenance & replacement of stove, carpets throughout, etc, likewise the shower room, & the full forward section of the boat. The hull has had all paint removed & she has had a reasonable paint job but is still showing seams on the topsides,
.
As one can see in the pics, some of her beautiful teak has been painted, (at least at the moment), which someone will hopefully restore to original in the future, but at least she is “usable,” & one of the owners & crew are, as I write this, away on a “shakedown cruise,” to Whangaroa.
On a short 1 hour run down the tidal estuary, the 150 HP Lees converted Turbo Ford, started & ran particularly smoothly at idle, with zero vibration, on her hard mounted engine beds, however the engine peaked at 2400 RPM, with propeller vibration at the top end of the range, & a top speed of 11 .9 knots governed, in my opinion, to at least a reasonable degree, by the 3 metres of water below the boat, as she buried her bum at the higher end of the range, (she has no trimtabs), & only increased speed by 3/4 of a knot in the last 700 RPM.
In my view there is still much to be done to her.
However, whilst there is much “elbow grease,” & much money, still needed to bring her back to her most wonderful, original, self, nevertheless, most importantly of all, she has been “saved from a watery grave.”
WONDERFUL!!
