WW contributor – Scott Taylor, sent in the link to the above short film – titled ‘New Zealand’s Deep-Sea Fighting Fish’. The film comes to us via Archives New Zealand, and was originally produced by Neuline Film Studios, Auckland for the Dept. of Tourist and Health Resorts.
The film isn’t dated but both Scott and myself believe it is from the early 1950’s, can any one date the film from the footage?
There is an impressive collection of woodys featured, all looking very ship-shape, and most still afloat today.
WHO OWNS DEODAR – Looking for the current owner of the ex Auckland Police launch Deodar – can you contact WW at the email address below – trust me its worth your while 😉 waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Todays video comes to us from Cecilia Viktoria Rosell and showcases a selection of woodys from the Canadian Classic Yacht Association Fleet berthed in Ladysmith, British Columbia.
As they appear, we have Loueda > Sannox > Euphemia > Falcon > Bianca.
Cecilia commented that the youngest member wasn’t the 7 month old kitten on Bianca as one might think, but rather the 8 week old baby onboard Loueda.
HAVE YOU RSVP’ed FOR THE WOODYS CLEVEDON OVERNIGHT BBQ CRUISE
You would have to look long and hard to find a classic woody in as original condition and as highly presented as the 1953, 48’ Lidgard built launch Ngaro. Scroll down to the b/w press clippings below, showing her as launched. One well respected woody once said “Its one of the few boats that, in my opinion looks better with painted coamings than the original varnish”.
The Lidgard clan really aced it when they designed and built Ngaro – I do not think I have seen a more perfect bridgedecker and that flying bridge, which has been there since day one, scores a 10/10.
She is a very well built ship being triple skin kauri – 2 – 6’x1/2” diagonal planks and 1 – 6’x1” longitudinal plank, with 3” bronze rivets.Power comes from twin 1985, 120hp Ford diesels, both rebuilt in the last 3 years, including gearboxes. Professional bare wood anti-foul in 2020 and full repaint in late 2014 – she presents as new. The mix of painted surfaces and varnished trim is perfect. As always – click on photos to enlarge.
Raindance Gets A Birthday Firstly a double apology
1. If you are one of the several WW followers that have an issue with me posting photos of my launch – switch off and read a book, in fact do everyone a favour and push delete to WW updates
2. Today is all about the boat – after several weeks of being hauled out at The Slipway Milford, I relaunched today – I have used the term b4 but I’m as happy as a dog with two dicks 🙂 I will not bore you with all the work but Jason and Cam at the Slipway have corrected a telephone book size list of issues, faults and potential future oops – the ‘Readers Digest’ version of the work I’m very happy about is :-
• the paint job, stunning
• the steering, rebuilt including new rudder tube / stock / arm
• the mast – rewired / vanished + visual enhancements
• refurbished stern – removed upright support posts + rot
• refastened duckboard
• addressed several niggling water leaks
Still a few cosmetic jobs on my list but she is looking 90% perfect. If you are joining us on Sunday for the Woodys Riverhead Tavern lunch cruise, you can have.a gander dock side 🙂
Something different today a 4 minute black and white movie featuring mainly Russell in the Bay of Islands and some of the A Class fleets underway and racing. A cool flashback to that era. Their are two movies on the link – the boating one starts at 6 minutes, fast forward – Enjoy 🙂 (movie ex Archives NZ Weekly Review #390 – 1949)
WIN A WW CAP I’ll give a WW cap to the first woody than can correctly ID the launch alongside the Russell Wharf. Entries via email only to the address below and to make it fair NO entries before 8.30am. waitematawoodys@gmail.com
I said good bye to my slipway neibour today – Te Hauraki (Mondays story), but within minutes she was replaced with one of our finest woodys – the 1927 Colin Wild built launch – Linda. I’ll be honest and admit I experienced a degree of ’short pants syndrome’. Alongside Raindance, Linda looks like the QEII. I’m sure I’ll get over it 🙂
A lot of people have reservations around coming into the Milford Estuary / Creek but if you choose the right time / tide, its a breeze and The Slipway Milford railway slip, can haul out most classic launches on the Waitemata. To read / view the wonderful job the Brooke family did rebuilding / restoring Linda in the early 1990’s after a fire that would have seen most other boats heading to the landfill – click the link below https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/11/24/linda-3/
30-11-2025 UPDATE: LINDA leaving the Slipway Milford after a serious dose of TLC
Dunkirk Little Ship – Lady Gay – Destroyed By Fire
Flicking thru my digital subscription to the UK Classic Boat magazine, I was saddened to read that the Dunkirk Little Ship – Lady Gay has been destroyed in a fire at the old Thornycroft sheds on Platts Eyot, Hampton, on the River Thames.
Lady Gay was 34ft motor yacht built in 1934 for Lord Alfred Dunhill.
One of the builders was interviewed once – this is his tale – “We didn’t have a shed big enough to take her, so we set up a canvas shelter outside, which also saved us extra rates. We only had one 100-watt electric light bulb and no machinery. Every part of her was made by hand. I remember going to Maldon in Essex with templates of the woodwork to get the timber cut to size. Then we shaped it by hand. Three of us worked on her for nearly five months and my pay was under £3 a week. Every Saturday Lord Dunhill came to the yard in his chauffeur-driven car and handed out cigarettes and, on one occasion, pipes. When she was finished, she had cost His Lordship £1,500. Having no slipway, George and Eric, with some helpers, dragged her down the hill, through the local car park and manhandled her over the sea wall next to one of the Bastions and into the water. They went on board with the fuel, the twin Morris Commodores started first time and Lord Dunhill’s boat was on its way.”
You can view the launching on this link – can you just imagine the health & safety / police / city council nazi’s if you tried to do this today 🙂
WOODYS LOVE A RAILWAY HAUL OUT
A nice line up of woodys out at The Slipway, Milford. L>R – Maroro, Raindance, Te Hauraki
PLEASE RSVP FOR THE ABOVE WOODY EVENT – NEXT SUNDAY (23/05) – LOCATION IS 606 ROSEBANK ROAD, AVONDALE – RSVP TO waitematawoodys@gmail.com
A little while ago Mark Erskine wrote in regarding the 123 year old Stow & Sons gaff yawl racing yacht – ‘Imatra’ which was sailed to New Zealand in the late 1930’s or 40’s and purchased by the then Mayor of Auckland. Mark used to give her a passing glance on his travels, she is berthed in the Tamaki River, but over the last few years he hasn’t checked but I can confirm that she is still barely afloat. The last time Mark saw her she was in poor condition, at the time owned by John Hayman, we are unsure who currently owns her. Can any of the river rats enlighten us on the status of Imatra?
Mark also supplied a link to a Youtube video on Stow & Son, master boat builders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBBVcrmj9qE It gives wonderful insight into just how remarkable their productions were / are. Very humble boat sheds, humble tools, all yachts made by hand, but by craftsmen from the best quality seasoned timbers (oak frames seasoned for up to 16 years, mahogany, rosewood, walnut, pitch-pine, teak, etc) and the sheer quantity of huge, high quality racing yachts and boats made by this firm boggles the mind. The production numbers don’t seem possible for the size of the business, and clearly shows this company were at the very top of their game.
A few Stow & Sons yachts survive fully restored and are worth millions.
If you Google:
“1904 Rosalind yacht”
“1913 Harbinger yacht” Sadly, “Harbinger” was lost at sea a few years ago.
Input From A WW Reader
The Imatra article today jogged my memory. Imatra was designed and built with a gaff yawl rig and was sailed to NZ in that configuration (see photo) below. Much later, she was modified to her current rig here in NZ. Current owner, John Hayman claims the modifications were carried out by a young Peter Blake, after Hayman damaged her magnificent timber main mast. The current alloy mast looks very much out of place and just adds to the current distressed condition of the yacht. Hayman was also responsible for the awful cabin addition. He claimed the construction was carried out at Baileys. The original rear (aft?) mast postion behind the rudder post was also removed and brought forward of the rudder post. Hayman claimed this was also by “Blakey”.
The yawl ‘Imatra’ under sail, 1913. (Photo by Kirk and Sons of Cowes/Getty Images)
Input From Harold Kidd – IMATRA left England for NZ in December 1948. Ernie Davis bought her in 1949. L.J.Fisher owned her later then A.M. Jenkinson (1964) then Jack Hayman. SOMEONE’S GOT TO DO SOMETHING!
Input From Russell Ward – I crewed on her Christmas 1964 when she was owned by seafarer and car dealer Arthur Jenkinson – He was a mate of Athol Rusden and is mentioned a lot in the latter’s autobiography “Rascal of the Pacific” It is a cracking good read and puts him in perspective. Athol had the 60’ woody Paulmarkson built by Percy Vos in 1970. She was renamed Dionysus RIP. Jenkinson had pulled the masts out and was rebuilding them when I crewed. He said he was re-gluing parts so I guess there was rot. She was substantially original below – lovely paneling etc etc. I think she had a piano aft end of the saloon. Wasn’t much for me to do since we motored everywhere.Arthur reckoned she had too much lead aft and that the engine (a Lees 100 hp Ford) ballasted her too much aft. I last saw her on one of the slips at St Marys Bay a year or so after and Arthur was gas axing and hacking a large piece of lead off the aft end of the keel by the rudder post –would have been a ton or more. I lost touch with her after that and she seemed to spend most of her time up the Tamaki. The boxy cabin aft was quite a fine piece of woodwork but the original doghouse was lovely.The picture below is of her at Cooks Lower Landing alongside Skip Lawler’s ex RNZN Fairmile – Ngaroma
27-11-2022 UPDATE – Have just been flipping thru some old ‘scrap books’ of NZ yachting press articles and came across the below – the 1st is dated 30-07-1974 ex the NZ Herald
The bottom two are ex Sea Spray magazine June 1978 edition
03-03-2025 INPUT FROM A CONCERNED BOATIE
Photo below of the vessel Imatra which is looking in a sad state in the Tamaki river.
It is lying on its side so when the tides in its half submerged in water.
Seems a sad end to a boat that’s probably one of the oldest in New Zealand.
Today’s photo gallery of woodys comes to us from the camera’s (phones) of Jason Prew and Nathan Herbert and were taken over Easter weekend in and around Kawau Island. Boats featured are Jason’s – My Girl, Nathan’s – Pacific, Peter & Jenni Mence’s – Eileen Patricia, Jason & Yan Davies – Lucinda. Plus cameo appearance from Paul Tinghy’s yacht -Wotan and Madeline Rundle’s launch Hami (previously Wanda / Wanda II).
Lucinda was built in 1930 by LC Coulthard and has just been re-launched after undergoing some running repairs at The Slipway Milford. Work included re-powering – out went the 50hp Perkins and in went a 100hp Isuzu, giving her a top speed now of 14>15 knots.
Very early start yesterday – left the marina in the dark, no issues with that but it was a 3.60m high tide so the harbour was full of junk / driftwood. Just off North Head there was a loud clunk, followed by multiple clunks – had collided with a 12m+ very bendy Pohutukawa branch, thankfully it was dispatched without having a relationship with the propeller. The reason for the early departure was a quick trip to The Slipway Milford for a trip to the beauty parlour – 2 hour turnaround – water blast the bottom, fix a few scrapes and dents – Raindance was starting to look tad like a work-boat 🙂 Amazing what you can achieve with the right tools, product and a heat gun 🙂 thanks Jason Prew.
Along side Raindance on the #2 railway slip (there is 3) was Eileen Patricia, also getting some TLC, heads up – never ask EP’s owner to ice a cake for you…… 😉
As I was heading out of the creek, I had to wait while the very smart ex workboat – Te Hauraki came into the marina, on route to The Slipway Milford for some work to her decks. She always looks the part – her shape and paint scheme work perfectly.
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