BEVERLENE – A Peek Down Below

BEVERLENE – A Peek Down Below

Todays woody is – BEVERLENE, the 40’ kauri planked sedan launch built by Owen Woolley in 1968. Her beam is 11’9” and a draft of 3’3”.

As with so many Woolleys the power plant is a 120hp Commer TS3 diesel.

Hasn’t popped up on WW before so keen to learn more about her past life.

INPUT ex Mark Erskine, via K Ricketts – The engine in BEVERLENE is a Rootes 3DB-215 TS3 c.1967>70. Mark reconditioned the engine in 2008 while berthed at Kopu, Thames. Tuned correctly it will produce 140hp. Gearbox is a Borg-Warner 72-C velvet drive.

MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODY DUCK SHOOTING BOAT

MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODY DUCK SHOOTING BOAT

The first weekend of May is not a good time for ducks – its opening weekend for the duck shooting season. Angus Rogers sent in the above photo yesterday that is pinned to the wall of the maimai (explained for non NZ readers – a temporary waterfront shelter for shooters to hide in, photos below) that Angus was shooting from on Saturday.

The caption reads – ’Shooting on the Piako – 1920’s. Various members of the Wilson and Collins familiars onboard.

Hopefully Angus’s bag for the day was less than what we see on display in the photo 🙂

Anyone able to ID the launch.

Mystery Lyttelton Launch

Mystery Lyttelton Launch
Again only a mystery because her owner didn’t include a name on tme (thanks Ian McDonald). If we believe the tme story she is a Logan, built in1908, 36’ in length. Powered by a 1970, 65hp Rustin Rover (???) 

And that woodys is all me know – any southern readers able to enlighten us more on the launch.

BUY OF THE YEAR – HEAO – LOGAN 33 – A Sailors Motor Boat – Reduced Price – Low $80’ks – Click link below for details. https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/02/29/heao-a-peek-down-below-4sale/

Mystery Launch At Te Atatu Boating Club

Mystery Launch At Te Atatu Boating Club

Short story today, other things got in the way of WW life.

So we have another woody from last weeks visit to TBC. 

Can we put a name to the boat and learn her past.

RESOLUTE – Looking Very Sorry For Herself

RESOLUTE – Looking Very Sorry For Herself

I first saw the 1937 Dick Lang built 34’ launch – Resolute 12+ years ago when she was hauled out at the Devonport Yacht Club at the same time as Raindance. Her spot was directly in front of mine so I suffered all winter from the green eyed monster i.e. the workmanship and skills of her owner were on another level. 

Fast forward to August 20i6 and she makes an appearance on WW (link below), this story generated details and 2008 photos ex her owner and Harold Lidd.

Then in 2017 we see her hauled out getting a dose of TLC (link below)

Then sadly in 2020 I reported that she had dragged her Stanley Point, Devonport mooring and was aground at low tide. Her owner and helpers saved the day (link below) WW 2016  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/08/10/resolute/

WW 2017 https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/07/21/resolute-update/

WW 2020 https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/04/14/sos-classic-launch-resolute-aground/

Last week I was at the Te Atatu Boat Club and spotted Resolute hauled out. As you will see in the above photos she is still a fine looking woody, in architect speak – she’s got good bones, but the clocks ticking – hopefully a plan is in place to bring her back…………….

2008
2017

Looking For Help Identifying This Wooden Boat

Looking For Help Identifying This Wooden Boat

Todays woody recent popped up on a Lester Oliver fb post and appears via Maurice Sharp reposting.Lester’s commented that the boat at the dry dock at Ahuriri, Napier. The gent on the left is possibly Napier architect Louis Hay. In the background is the Hawkes Bay Farmers Co-Op Assoc. building . The cowel on the cabin top looks very large relative to the rest of the vessel. Anyone able to put a name to the vessel.

INPUT ex HAROLD KIDD – We’ve been here before.

https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/06/30/hawkes-bay-mystery-motorsailer/

I still can’t establish a name for the boat but have a little more information. She was built in Auckland, no builder known, and shipped to Napier in May 1936 as a hull. Later Louis Hay fitted a steam engine which accounts for the small funnel shown in the earlier images. My guess is that the steam plant was replaced with an internal combustion engine later, hence the large ventilator occupying the same hole as the funnel. As for her name, it doesn’t appear in any newspaper articles even those announcing that Louis Hay was the Commodore of the new Hawkes Bay Yachting & Power Boat Club in November 1936.

Work in progress

29-04-2024 UPDATE ex HAROLD KIDD – The hull was built in Auckland and was offloaded from the PUKEKO at Gisborne because of heavy weather.

Message For The Owner Of The Launch – KARAKIA

If you send me an email confirming the boat location and your ownership I’ll drop a WW burgee in the post – why? Because if you look carefully at the photos you will see they have painted the WW logo on the cabin side 🙂  photos ex JASON PREW waitematawoodys@gmail.com  Read / view more on KARAKIA here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/10/01/karakia/

ELIZABET I

ELIZABET I

I had the occasion to be heading out west yesterday so flicked the car indicator on at the Te Atatu Road off ramp and dropped down to the Te Atatu Boat Club yard.

Have to same very quiet eg not many craft hauled out but I did spot a launch named – ELIZABET I hauled out getting some TLC.

A stranger to me and an interesting ‘mix’ of design styles – hull appears 1920>30’s but the cabin is a lot newer and could share some DNA with a garden shed. But I’m sure very functional and easily corrected if a future owner so wished 🙂

Interested to learn more about ELIZABET I , interesting that her life buoy has the name HEATHER II on it, might be no connection and just a reflection of the ‘first up best dressed’ rule 😉

OMOKOROA – APRIL 2024 UPDATE

OMOKOROA – APRIL 2024 UPDATE

Following on from yesterdays story on the launch – Omokoroa where we got a peek back to her earlier days, today thanks to a nudge we gave her current custodian – Lyndon Chambers we get to see some to the work thats gone into refitting the boat.

First up is a video from early 2023 of Omokoroa being hauled out to commence the project. Lyndon commented that they used Omokoroa for a while before haulout and he has worked on her reasonably solidly since then. The topsides were repaired and glassed before haul out and he has screwed and glassed plywood over 100% of the hull so hopefully a dry boat now. Not too much left to do and she will be back on the water soon depending on what Lyndon decides to do to the interior.

View previous Omokoroa WW story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/04/24/omokoroa-in-former-times/

06-05-2024 INPUT EX ROB HARRIS – below photos from when Rob owned ( many years ago) the launch, location – Beachlands 

MANSION HOUSE KAWAU ISLAND 1971

MANSION HOUSE KAWAU ISLAND 1971

Todays photo comes to use from ‘Timespanner’ (Auckland Library Heritage collection via Maurice Sharp fb. 

The caption reads ‘Muriel Clark on the balcony at Mansion House, KAWAU ISLAND. 1971, Ron Clark (the photographer I assume).

An unusual light number of boats in the bay, and mostly launches. Maybe the yachts were out racing.

Can we put names to the 4 classics in the bay – refer below enlarged image. And for a change rather than WW merch, I’ll gift a bottle of my ‘ world famous in Devonport’ homemade tomato sauce to the first woody that supplies the correct answers. I’ll rely on Nathan Herbert to be the oracle on ID’ing the boats – Entry via email only to waitematawoodys@gmail.com – closes 7pm 23/04/24 Conditions: Winner must be Auckland based, NZ Post doesn’t like glass bottles 😉

NOTE: as pointed out by K Ricketts todays photo has been developed incorrectly – I have flipped the image toshown the correct orientation – refer below

Screenshot

AWANUI – A Glimpse Back In Time & As Today

AWANUI – A Glimpse Back In Time & As Today

Back in May 2016 we ran a story on the launch – Awanui – link here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/05/25/awanui/

Fast forward to early 2024 and Les Nelson contacted WW with an update on the vessel in regard to his parents owning Awanui for a number of years in the early 1980’s at the time based in Picton.

Les supplied the black and white photo (1st photo above) of Awanui that was most likely from when she was first launched c. early 1900’s (unconfirmed). Les commented that the backdrop (hill outline) looked familiar, probably the foreshore of Picton. A short time later Les unearthed the above colour photos from when his family owned her.

Also as a result of the story her present owner – Carmel Bradley made contact  and advised the launch was still in Motueka and used regularly in and around the Abel Tasman. Carmel sent in the photos below.

Love it when a WW story sparks a few memories and we roll into a bigger story 🙂

Still do not have any intel on who the designer / builder was, both owners are keen to learn more.

2024 🔻

Torrent Bay Lagoon 
Kaiteriteri Beach
Bark Bay Beach Abel Tasman.