Category Archives: Military

Mystery Launches at Thames

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Mystery Thames Boats

Mystery Launches at Thames

The above photo shows a group of ‘settler’ style launches berthed  at the Shortland Wharf in Thames.
Are we able to ID any of them & put a date on the photo? Are the bow numbers fishing registration numbers ? photo ex trademe via Peter Thorpy

Laughing Lady Update

James Dreyer has the foot to the floor on the final stages of the restoration of Laughing Lady & has master craftsman Paul Tingy roped in to help with the final details – the photos below show Paul’s reproduction of the original swim ladder & ‘new’ helm.

MV Mavis

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M.V. MAVIS

Mavis started life back 1918 as a Lanes 40′ trawler. Fast forward to 2004 when she had a  major refit that included –  hull refastened and splined, new decks and cabin, new  John Deere 150HP engine and re-wired. Given that she was recently in MNZ survey, she is very highly spec’ed and looks like she could handle just about anything that mother nature could throw at her. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up re the trademe listing.

Do we know anything more about her past?

09-04-2023 Update ex Alistair Rowe – I spotted Mavis on a mooring in Whatamango Bay – roughly 8km East from Waikawa.- looks to have found a good home.

Yesterdays story on the Classic Launch Parade just got better – more photos ex Jason Prew added, scroll down to view.

1945 – 32′ Classic Kauri Launch

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1945 – 32′ Classic Kauri Launch

Now this launch is for sale & if you had a peek inside you would be very impressed & at the asking price of $78k you might think its a great buy. Well it is a great buy, but I do not think there will be a queue of classic woody buyers lining up – why? because someone has stolen its mojo – the thing that makes a boat special. Her name is Ranui & in another life was called El Alamein, you can read about her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/03/el-alamein-ranui/
The Readers Digest version of her history is that she was launched in January 1945, specifically for use on Lake Rotoiti to help convalescing returned servicemen from World War II, many in wheelchairs, ease back into civilian life.

Now I have another life outside of being a wooden boat blogger & that is in the world of consumer & B2B marketing – mostly via the digital channels these days – so I can hear you asking yourself whats the relevance of this to today’s story? Well Ranui is in charter & these days calls Lake Taupo home – So wearing my marketing hat, if I owned a boat with the provenance that Ranui / El Alamein has I would be doing two things:-
1. leveraging every inch / ounce of her life story to make a trip on her something special, hell I’d even by donating $xx dollars from every ticket to the local RSA etc etc.
2. The other thing I would be doing was making her look as classic as possible – that’s her X-factor – the tourist’s would be telling people “I went for a very laid back lake cruise on this amazing 1945 wooden  boat that used to help with the rehabilitation a returning WWII solders etc etc.

So what has someone done? bought a few sheets of plywood & put a top hamper on her. Well it is their boat & they can do what they like (see Cameron P – I’m softening) – I’m sure the attraction of getting a few more paying passengers aboard won them over. But in my eyes they have knocked $25+k off her sale price & halved the visual / emotive appeal of the charter business.
If I was a few years older I’d buy her & borrow Mr Prew’s tungsten tipped chainsaw 😉 & go make a few bob on the Lake. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up on the boat.

Have a look below at the photo of her back in the 1940’s, what she looked like in 2015 & as she appears today on treadme. As they say “different strokes for different blokes” – Its still a good buy for a 32′ motor launch – But not me.

 

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1940’s

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2015

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2017

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Greyhound + Johnny Wray On TV + Bargain Woody 4sale

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GREYHOUND

Greyhound was an ex WWII 40′ high speed launch .Ex Air Force out of Hobsonville. One of four launches built in the late 1930’s >early 1940′, as Waitemata chase boats for the Catalinas. They were W44; W45; W46; and W88 (now in Wigram Museum). Greyhound is thought to be W45.  She is a sister ship to Jaguar, already featured on woodys  (16.8.2014). The above photo are ex John Bullivant & the present owner, Mark Allen (trademe) via Ken Ricketts.
Allen bought the boat in December 2014 in Tutukaka & motored it down the coast to Whangerei and then took it by road to Helensville, where it resides today. It was out of the water for 6 months being re-glassed & repainted.
During the war it had two engines and would do between 30 and 40 knots, plane over the water. These days she is powered by a 120hp Ford diesel(12 knots), that is currently undergoing repair. If you are looking for a project with some history, I understand the vessel is for sale.

Input from John Bullivant – “below is a photo of Jaguar I took in the 70s. She is on the ramp at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club having just been hauled out. The Hansens who owned her had an engineering business in Harp of Erin producing grease guns amongst other products ( I still have one of their grease guns). Jaguar definitely had two stroke diesels at the time this photo was taken (used to love the sound of them). She was moored at little Bucklands beach, pretty much straight out from the owners house for years. I lived on The Parade at Bucklands for many years and saw many well known boats come and go up and down the river including Imatra, Jaguar, Golden Lotus (Alan Harnish and later Rick Irvine who put the cabin on her for diving use) Tarapunga, Alert, Carroma, Jane Gifford, Romo, Rainbow and Rainbow ii and hundreds more. Fleetwing Junior (with cabin) was moored almost in front of our place (belonged to a school friends parents at the time)
Coincidentally there was a plywood yacht of around 45ft named Fleetwood moored about 200ft from her as well.
It was a great place to live in the 60s and 70s and 80s as the river was like Queen st most weekends, but as the price of gas went up there seemed to be fewer launches going out regularly. I’ve noticed a big drop off in weekend boating in the last 20 yrs (maybe it’s just me) but I’ve been out sailing on a few perfect days between Browns Bay and Rangi and been all on my own with not a boat in sight. The first time that happened I thought I was missing something – like a Tsunami warning, a very odd feeling to be out there on your own on a perfect day, would not have been like that in the 70s as the whole area would have been populated with boats of all types.”

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The Johnny Wray & Ngataki Story –  On TV Tonight (Sat 18th)

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Just a quick heads up that Television NZ will be screening tonight (Sat 18th) the latest series of ‘Te Radars Chequered Past’ on TVOne at 8:05pm. In the opening episode Radar retells the story of Johnny Wray & Ngataki’s creation. I’m told its a cracker & not to be missed – but if you do miss it, in this wonder digital world, you will be able to view it later ‘OnDemand’ link below.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/te-radars-chequered-past
Enjoy 🙂

36′ Grand Banks – ‘NO SALT’ – Must Be Sold – Offers over $50,000 will buy her
Check out the trademe link http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-1258171194.htm
Owner contactable on 021 025 46184

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WWII Q Boats

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WWII Q Boats
The above photos were sent to me by Craig Anderson, whose friend Peter Hull, father had been an officer in the navy during WWII and had a photo album of his early involvement in coastal defense. I have this great collection & will post more soon.

So the question today is – can you ID the location & the vessels in the top photo, including the yacht?
Is there a list of the Q numbers as allocated to vessels?

WW1 Mystery Launch = Stanley

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WW1 Mystery Launch – Stanley

The photo above was taken in Wellington during WW1. Sent in by Baden Pascoe who has offered up a copy of his book ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos – The Boats & This Boys’ to the first woody that can ID the launch (middle) tied up along side the wharf. Entries via the ww Comments section. Its not an easy quiz but the prize deserves a toughie 🙂
Copies of Baden book can be bought direct from him – contact  badenhp@xtra.co.nz  the perfect woody Xmas present.

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The answer is – the launch is called Stanley, see below zoomed in photo. No winners 😦

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Penguin

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PENGUIN
Penguin the 34′ ex Navy survey tender has appeared on ww before (link below for full details). She recently surfaced on trademe, so thanks to Ian McDonald’s tip off, we are able to have a good peek down below. Enjoy – she will appeal to Russell Ward 😉

Ex Naval Motor Launch

17-05-2017 WARNING – IF THIS BOAT IS OFFERED FOR SALE  BE CAREFUL. FYI – READ THE LINK TO THE POST BELOW.

Vacuna

COASTAL PATROL DURING WWII

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CALLING ALL VESSELS COMMANDEERED FOR COASTAL PATROL DURING WWII

On November 19th 2016, the Royal New Zealand Navy are holding the 75th Naval Review & have extended an invitation to the owners of any historic vessels that might be interested in taking part in the Review procession.  Interested owners can check out the Op Neptune website http://nznavy75.co.nz/international-naval-review/ & are asked to make contact with Commander John Butcher via Andrew Watts – the email address is,  ANDREW.WATTS@nzdf.mil.nz , please include details on your vessel & a photo/s.

The 1932 Colin Wild built classic launch ‘Wirihana’ was one of a number of vessels commandeered by the Royal New Zealand Navy during WWII to run supplies and to patrol the coastal waters around the Hauraki Gulf and up to the Bay of Islands. Her identification was Q01, photos above & below. Wirihana took part in the 50th Naval Review along with a number of the other classics that served as patrol boats and will be participating again this year.

A lot of our classic fleet played a very important defence role during WWII, its not well recorded but the Hauraki Gulf was mined. It is NZ Governments best kept secret. The NZ press often quote the closest NZ has come to war was the Rainbow Warrior bombing! This is BS, they just don’t know. A lot of the records make the patrol work sound like a boys own trip but  Wirihana and the other boats were on patrol for two years summer and winter, it would not have been much fun in these small launches.
The crews made their own navigation sketches so they could recognise headlands by their outline in poor visibility. Similar to those in the NZ Pilot. They had no chart plotters or navigation aids (only a compass) and often ran without Navigation lights.

So woodys if you own or know someone that owns one of the launches – get in touch today with the RNZN

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Chris McMullen found the  letter below on board ‘Wirihana’. Chris commented that he would imagine the writer has now passed on. Chris hopes the letter may draw
some history from others with photos and letters hidden away. Photography
was illegal during the war but it certainly did not stop people from
recording their life at the time.
Chris  recalls going to school with a John Rhodes who he thinks lived at Bassett Rd.
Remuera. Maybe the same family?

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Below is light hearted list of NAPS boats out of Whangarei. Sent to me by Brian Fulton.

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08-1-2016 Input From Chris McMullen
A German Raider mined the outer Hauraki Gulf. An account is recorded in the translated from German, a book listed as “The Black Raider”by Kurt Weyher and Hans Jurgen Ehrlich.
Chris’s copy dated 1955. Below are the relevant pages but there is more. This happened June 13th 1940. As a result the SS Niagara was sunk 19th of June 1940.
The Raider Orion sunk many ships off the New Zealand Coast.

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Unknown Motorboat & Seaplane + Cool Event Invite

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UNKNOWN MOTORBOAT & SEAPLANE

Hello woodys, triple header today – name the motor boat, the seaplane & event / gathering, if there is one? Lots of people lining the breakwater, so possibly a VIP onboard. Photo belongs to the Tudor Collins collection at the Auckland Museum, emailed to me by Ken Ricketts (as is the M-class photo below)

CLASSIC YACHT & LAUNCH EXHIBITION INVITE

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Once again the Tino Rawa Trust is hosting the annual Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition – this years exhibition celebrates the iconic Mullet Boat.
On this Saturday & Sunday 10am > 4pm – Karanga Plaza – Halsey ST, Wynyard Quarter (in front of the ‘old’ Team NZ base)

ENTRY IS FREE – Further details here http://www.tinorawatrust.co.nz

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I APOLOGIZE
If sometimes I’m a tad slow in answering your emails – that is because I average around a 100 emails a day relating to ww. BUT keep them coming, I love hearing from you all. 🙂

Harold Kidd Input

The PanAm flight was a proving flight in late December 1937. PanAm  had set up an infrastructure at Mechanics Bay for their Sikorsky flying boat SAMOA CLIPPER which Imperial Airways’ Short Empire CENTAURUS also used. Capt Edwin Musick was pilot in command of the Sikorsky. Musick Point was named after him when the SAMOA CLIPPER caught fire and crashed at Samoa while dumping fuel preparatory to landing. The Short arrived just after the Sikorsky, obviously to show that the Brits were up to it as well as the Yanks. The Short’s range made it unable to carry a viable payload across the Tasman however.
As for the runabout/launch, the only reference I can find is that PanAm had a “special launch” at Mechanics Bay. Need to dig deeper.

Dauntless AK2233

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Dauntless AK2233

The above photos of Dauntless are from the Tudor Collins, Auckland Museum collection, emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.
Can any of the woodys provide more details on Dauntless & also the photo location, if my life depended on it, I would guess Whangaroa, but I have been wrong before 🙂

Interesting the passengers on board, not really looking like a day out fishing, maybe they were heading out to meet / greet a bigger vessel ?

Harold Kidd Input

There have been a lot of launches called DAUNTLESS over the years. This one bears a 4 figure Auckland fishing boat registration number of the type issued in the early 1930s but phased out by about 1935, so the date of the pic is around that period.
This is the DAUNTLESS that was game fishing out of Whitianga and Tauranga between 1927 and 1945 at least, run by Steedman and Chadban. I had always thought that this DAUNTLESS was the one built by Bailey & Lowe in 1911 for E. W. Morrison of Auckland, a standard Bailey & Lowe 35 footer like PRINCESS etc but these pics show a sloping transom that is quite unlike a B&L product. Maybe the stern was extended for gamefishing and maybe this is the DAUNTLESS that finished up at the Maritime Restoration School at Opua with the stern chopped off to a 32 footer?
Maybe it was chopped because the extension failed?
I’ve never been sure where this boat came from or went to, but Baden or Brian Worthington should know.

PS Maybe Charlie Millett did the stern extension? It’s the sort of thing he did during the winters in Tauranga.

05-10-2016 Paul Drake Input

Pics below showing DAUNTLESS at Taupo. She is the moored boat in the foreground in the first photo.

In the second photo, she appears on the extreme left, and the tumblehome is evident.

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11-02-2017– Photo below ex Baden Pascoe

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