CAN WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLASSIC BOAT – REBEL
Today we are trying to help out a woody boater named Andrew Macbeth, Andrew contacted WW asking for help to learn more about the launch REBEL.
All we know is that she came from Mercury Bay and is now in West Auckland receiving some well overdue TLC, or more likely correcting the deferred maintenance from an extended period of neglect 🙂
So woodys, do todays photos and the name REBEL ring any bells.
Leaving the Whangārei Maritime Festival on Saturday, I made the rookie mistake of thinking, “I know a shortcut.” I didn’t.
Instead, I found myself deep in the industrial maze of Port Whangārei.
The upside? I stumbled across a couple of woodys hauled out at Oceania Marine — home to the biggest travel-lift I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Tucked away among a line-up of serious commercial tonnage was today’s mystery classic wooden launch. She’d clearly had some recent TLC and looked about ready to be splashed again.
I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the generous helping of zinc hanging off her stern gear… seems the message about no / over-zincing hasn’t quite made it this far north yet! 😅
So, woodys — what do we know about this mystery craft? Any sharp-eyed locals able to share her name and history?
15-10-2025 UPDATE ex owner – Launches name is VALIENT, once called PLAY-BOY, Possibly built by Bailey & Lowe. 32′ in length. Has spent several extend stints as a long-line fishing boat. Once owned by the RSA Fishing Club in Whangarei, they did the name change. In a previous life was moored in the Waitangi river. Currently powered by a Nissan diesel.Has undergone a rolling restoration with lots of structural work, which included over 800 new copper rivets.
TIMELESS WOODEN LAUNCHES OF THE BAY OF ISLANDS
Todays gallery of classic Bay of Islands wooden boats was snapped by Dean Wright , owner of the majestic woody – ARETHUSA. Dean was un-route to hauling ARETHUSA out for her annual TLC.
For top to bottom we have – AQUARIUS (1955 Supreme Craft), MAHARATIA (1947 Roy Lidgard), POSEIDOM (1965 Owen Woolley), and the last boat, the bridge-decker, is MANU (1913 Bailey & Lowe) a mystery, but looks familiar , hopefully we can put a name to her.
Make sure you check out WW on Monday, we have an epic trip report from John Oates who recently attended the 2025 Port Townson Wooden Boat Festival.
1960’S NOSTALGIA – CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS AT WARKWORTH TOWN BASIN
Todays woody photos popped on the Warkworth NZ Old Time Photos fb and comes to us from Alison Wallis via Maurice Sharp. The photo was tagged – Warkworth wharf late 1960’s, around Christmas time.
The classic wooden launch alongside the wharf, pointing downstream has to be TASMAN , the 1927 Colin Wild built beauty.
The bridge-decker anchored mid stream is a mystery – at first glance I thought – LADY RAE the 1948 Chas Bailey design, but a quick WW search proved once again I was wrong.
So woodys can we put a new to the bridge-decker.
LABOUR WEEKEND WOODY ACTIVITY
Time to start thinking about boating for Labour weekend (Oct 24>27). The Kawau Boating Club’s Spring Splash Regatta is a great event and there is something for everyone. Details below. Next week I’ll supply details on the motor launch activities.
UNIDENTIFIED WOODEN LAUNCH, PT CHEVALIER 1933 – ANY CLUES
Todays woody photo comes to us from the NZ Herald archives via David Tomlinson and is dated April 1933. The caption reads – ‘Looking down from the foreshore at Pt Chev, showing visiting sailing boats on the beach’.
On the original fb post Robin Elliott did a wonderful job of ID’ing the yachts, see below.
But todays challenge is can we put a name to the launch at anchor in the middle of the beach.
“From left the yachts are: S-47 Snipe, an American Snipe class design that failed to gain popularity here and was registered in the open S-class yachts exc 14ft not exc 16ft.; T-41 14-footer Nyria, originally a 14-foot One Design (X-class) built by Colin Wild in 1921 but converted to an open T-class not exc 14ft, in 1929; V-13 Belle, 18ft racing yacht designed by Pt Chevalier identity, A.L. ‘Trotter’ Willetts. V-class was exc 16ft not exc 18ft; S-13 Kittiwake was originally a Logan built yawl that was converted to an S-class and raced with Pt Chevalier Sailing Club by the Thorpe brothers
MYSTERY WOODEN VESSELS AT COROMANDEL
Todays woody photo comes to us from Ross Dawson and is dated c.1957 and the location is Coromandel. The image is from a postcard and that woodys is all we know – so we throw this open for input – can we ID the wooden craft – L>R.
I’m not too sure about the aqua section on the workboat looking vessel, an unusual colour for 1957 and also doesn’t quite look kosher eg added to the photo at a later date.
INPUT ex MURRAY McGEHAN – The boat in the right hand side of the postcard picture is LADY WYN LADY WINN designed built and owned by the strongman family, moored outside their workshop. I last saw Lady Wyn in the Havelock marina about 1974.
INPUT ex JACKIE CAREY – The vessel is named the Lady Winn was built by my Uncle Sam Strongman and my father Harold Carey in the Strongman boat building sheds in Coromandel owned by Sam Strongman, my father’s brother in law. She was built as a family launch and we had many lovely adventures on her going to great barrier, Port Charles and around the islands in the Hauraki Gulf. Including coming out of Port Charles straight into some huge waves that were crashing over the bow and my father kept going until we got back to coromandel harbour. My grandmother was praying in the cabin while us kids were enjoying the ride in the stern not having any idea of the seriousness of the situation. She did have a mast.
INPUT ex Dave Giddens – In the mod 1960’s she was the support vessel on one of the Auckland to Suva yacht races.
INPUT ex LEW REDWOOD – Could the front launch outside Strongman’s in the Coromandel be TWYLIGHT built by Strongmans – photos below.
2008 YARD PHOTO OF AN UNNAMED CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – ANY CLUES
Well maybe not too much of a mystery – todays photo was sent in by John Dawson, the location is the hardstand at Westpark (Hobsonville) marina.
Already Chris Leech has commented that whilst he initially thought the vessel was RESOLUTE , after a 2nd look Chris is leaning towards ALOHA , but to me – not enough tram-top windows and a few other bits that don’t quite look right.
Can we confirm get a confirmed ID on the launch.
HAVE YOU RSVP’ed FOR THE WOODYS CLEVEDON CRUISE
We like to get as many boats as possible alongside the (all tide) dock and numbers are building so if you are considering the trip on Sept 21.22, rsvp today to waitematawoodys@gmail.com with your boat name, length and approx. # of crew. AND ITS JUST NOT MOTOR LAUNCHES – WE HAVE 4 YACHTS (so far) JOINING IN 🙂
MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH – ENTRY LEVEL CLASSIC
Todays woody bridge-decker is only a classic because the seller choices to not record her name, nor builder (made not known). What we know is she is 32’ in length, has a beam of 8’3”, and draws just over 3’ and is built from kauri.
Forward motion is via a 4 cyl., 3.6L Fordson Major diesel engine.
Currently inWellington, previously Christchurch and Auckland before that. Given current tme bid of $1500 (reserve meet), could be a good buy given what appears to be a lot of worked / $$ done to her. (thanks Ian McDonald for the heads up)
Can we put a name to the vessel and maybe learn who built her and when.
A CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT QUIZ – WIN AN OFF CENTER HARBOR CAP
Recently WW was sent the above photo of two classic wooden launches leaving Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island (Drunks Bay).
The photo is dated c.1959 and we see Motutapu Island in the background.
To go into the draw for a very swish Off Center Harbor cap you must name (left & right) the two craft – 2 correct names = 2 chances in the draw, one correct name = one chance.
If the quiz winner was a clever woody was able to name the boats and what makes the photo rare – I’d throw in a WW t-shirt for the winner (size 2XL only)
ENTRIES BY EMAIL ONLY TO waitematawoodys@gmail.com – Entries close off at 7pm 10/08-2025 (tonight)
12-08-2025 UPDATE ex Ken Ricketts
WAINUNU (the Right hand side boat), I will refer to her as, which is the name she had when I was associated with her first, & she was the first of the 2 boats I saw, went aboard, & knew about.She was originally however, built as the PHYLLIS M, & built by & for Fred Mann of Ponsonby, who actually built a number of boats & he named this, his own boat, after his wife Phyllis, & was sold, when he passed away to Clive & Phyllis (Phyl) Power. Clive P. decided to rename her, after the town or village In Fiji, where Phyl had been born, & their boat then became the WAINUNU.Since then I believe she has had a number of owners more name changes, backwards & forwards, with at one stage some very inappropriate top hamper added. There have through the years also been modifications to her original coamings style.
When the Powers bought her, she had a Twigg petrol engine, which was later replaced by boatbuilder Roy Lidgard, with a 4 cyl Lister diesel, & they put the exhaust out the top of the mast.
A little later still, my father Ralph fitted an electric starter to the Lister, for Clive P., as originally it just had a crank handle start, with decompression levers, to allow the engine to be run up to starting speed, before dropping the levers into compression & starting mode, which was of course, hard work.
They owned her for a great many years, & used her all the time for both cruising, & patrol work, as Clive was a stalwart coastguard member, from the very early days.
Now the other LHS boat, which was called the THETIS, when I met her owners Ron & Thetis Grant, around 1946-47, & was aboard many times in my pre & early teens, say around 11 to 14. Now here we have a common denominator, in that THETIS which, when I met them, was named after Ron’s wife Thetis, was also built by Fred Mann around the1920s.
She was later owned by Cyril Parker (brother of Stan Parker. original owner of RAKANOA), who bought her after selling Mac McGeady’s own boat the ANTARES, he had bought off Mac Mc G & had, since the mid later 1950s, but whilst the owner the THETIS, he burnt off all the white paint, on her topsides, & discovered underneath the paint, the name KORAMA, had been deeply engraved on her tuck so he reverted her to her original name of KORAMA which as far as I know she still has today.
One aspect of the Mann boats, that I know is that like a number of boatbuilders in the earlyish 1900s, he fitted the engines well forward, almost to the bow which in my view, was well forward of the balance point, & had very little buoyancy & was not good engine positioning for giving & good lift in the bow in big seas & both of these boats had the engines right in the bow. They also rounded under at the stern in a similar way.
The original engine in the THETIS was an Ailsa Craig petrol engine & was the only petrol Ailsa Craig I ever saw & of course was eventually replaced by diesel.
CLASS WOODEN LAUNCH CHLOE – WHAT’S HER STORY
The photo above of the wooden launch – CHLOE was sent in by a reader (not the owner of the vessel), more details on why in a later post. For now what we are wanting to do is learn what we can about the craft.
Its said that she is a Cauldry design, but builder is unknown, possibly Cauldry.
Home these days is in and around Mahurangi Harbour.
From what we can see from the photo, appears to be in relatively original condition, rare to find a sedan launch that hasn’t had a small addition added on top 🙂
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