Category Archives: Mystery Boat

WHERE ARE THEY NOW -THE FATE OF THESE CLASSIC CRAFT

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW -THE FATE OF THESE CLASSIC CRAFT

Todays classic wooden launch photos once more come to us from Robyn Kellian via Tobias Forsyth so we can safely assume the location is the Leigh region.  The question today is what’s the background to this series of photos – we have a work (fishing) boat donating her wheelhouse to another classic woody that appears to be a recent pleasure boat refit.

So can any of the Leigh based readers enlighten us on what became of both vessels and put an approx. date to the photos. 

INPUT ex GRAHAM ROWE – The first boat featured (fishing boat 3621) is La Vega. She was built by Millar and Tunnage using Totora planks on Pohutukawa ribs, launched 1965, and fished from Leigh until 25 November 2009 – the last entry in her Log. I know little about her ownership but on her last commercial fishing trip she was crewed by Nick and Jarrod, and hearsay suggests that her owners were two brothers nicknamed ‘Swampy’ and ‘The Animal’ Walker?

Sometime later she was bought to Helensville by Dave Cook and I purchased her from Dave after she had been sitting from 2016 with a non-functioning Mitsubishi 6D-14 engine in 2020. Since then, I have been restoring her. La Vega is 11m LOA, 3.9m beam and draws about 1.2m. She displaces about 11 Tonnes.

The doghouse being removed is possibly to enable an engine replacement. The doghouse shown is the one that was on her when I purchased her, but alas is no more, due to extensive rot. The sliding door however was salvageable and will go back on her in due course.

 MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH 

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 MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH 

Today classic wooden launch photo is once more from Robyn Kellian via Tobias Forsyth so we can safely assume the location is the Leigh region. 
No names to help us but I’m sure we will get a positive ID from the readers.

IF YOU NEEDED PROOF CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS ARE COOL – my daughter tells me that over the weekend one of New Yorks biggest (1.1 million followers) fashion socialites – Brigette (the bride) got married and the couple arrived at the ceremony aboard a very smart classic wooden boat – link here for those with instagram  https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db6HX-nBHkA/ Screen grabs below for those that dont 🙂

MILFORD CREEK WOODYS FLASHBACK 

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2026
c.1980

MILFORD CREEK WOODYS FLASHBACK 

In the last few weeks the WW inbox has been receiving a lot of photos of the Milford Creek aka Wairau Estuary (if you own a plastic boat berthed there) from days gone by. 

The recent upgrades to the marina berths have transformed the area into a very swish place to keep your boat, aside from the draught and tidal access window issues.

As we can see in some of the photos – it really was a mangrove creek once.

(photos come to us from Ian McDonald and Glenn Martin)

AND HOME THIS WEEKEND TO THE WOODYS BOAT BOOT SALE AT THE SLIPWAY MILFORD – IF YOU’RE WANTING SPACE TO SELL YOUR TREASURE  – BOOK NOW. Email waitematawoodys@gmail.com

MANSION HOUSE BAY – THERE WAS ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE

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MANSION HOUSE BAY – THERE WAS ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE

The recent Kawau Island photos on WW have rattled the biscuit tin photo albums and WW has received several duplicates of photos that have already appeared on WW.

Todays photo ex Chris Leech is a newbie to my eyes and shows a great mix of yachts and motor launches at anchor in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island.

 Always amazes me how they used to fill the bay back then. These days even with vastly superior anchors, most skippers are paranoid about you getting too close. 

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – A BLAZE (past event)

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – A BLAZE  (past event)

Todays rather disturbing photos again come to us via Robyn Kellian and Tobias Forsyth.Unfortunately WW knows zero about how the wooden double-ender came to be (1) aground (2) a blaze.

I could be wrong but at first glance it appears to have the makings of a ‘Beehive restoration’ eg a box of matches was involved.Whatever the situation its a sad end to what would have once been a fine classic wooden boat.

Can we learn any more eg boats name, date of photo, location and what actually happened.

BOOK YOUR BOOT SALE SPACE HERE waitematawoodys@gmail.com

CLASSIC WOODYS AT ANCHOR – HAURAKI GULF OUTER ISLANDS

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CLASSIC WOODYS AT ANCHOR – HAURAKI GULF OUTER ISLANDS

Todays photos come to us from Kent Forsyth, via his brother Tobias. 

Tobias told us that Kent found the old photos of boats at the market on Waiheke Island.In Tobias’s eyes the cove looks like Arid Island (Little Barrier) and the raft up is in Smokehouse Bay, Great Barrier Island. Do we agree?

Can we ID the launch at anchor in the cove. I think I’ve let my QC guard down with the Smokehouse Bay photo – there could be a vindex/s hiding in that raft up 🙂

UPDATE – as ID’ed by several WW followers, the launch is the 45’ John Gladden built (1972) Bridgedecker. Featured on WW back in April 2017  https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/04/17/45-pilot-house-bridge-decker/

BOOK YOUR BOOT SALE SPACE HERE waitematawoodys@gmail.com

CLASSIC 1948 WOODEN FLEET GATHERED AT KAWAU ISLAND 

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CLASSIC 1948 WOODEN FLEET GATHERED AT KAWAU ISLAND 

Recently WW was contacted by Moss Carlin concerning a cache of b/w photos that his wife found among her mothers processions. Her father Ray Rhodes was a member of the RNZYS at Westhaven in the 1940’s – 1960’s period.

Included was todays stunning photo of a squadron gathering at Mansion House, Kawau Island in 1948. WW has previously shared other photos most likely from the same gathering, but none have offered a panorama of this scale, nor been of the photographic quality of todays photo. Reviewing the photo its warming to see so many of these classic wooden craft are still afloat today – 80+ years later. Tomorrow we get to share a gallery of classic sailing craft from the Rhodes family album.

And while on the subject of Kawau Island – sad to get advice during the week that the RNZYS had found a buyer for Lidgard House and surrounding land. The pros & cons of the sell off have been well documented, so I’ll leave the topic alone……….


WHO DESIGNED THIS IMPRESSIVE DINGHY

WW has recently been in discussions concerning the dinghy below and the owners desire to ID the designer / builder. The dinghy has the hallmarks of vacuum bag, multi veneer construction, a technology with origins from the late 1940’s New Zealand boat builders were early adopters and this dinghy is a product of that technology.

Found derelict in an Auckland shed she was carefully restored to its current condition – only used occasionally for classic boating events where its lightness and low resistance hull form saw it win several classic boat races. It remains an immaculate very rare time capsule of mid century boating.

SPECS: Length 8’ 9″, beam 4’ 5” – weight 45kg. Constructed using straight grained Mahogany and resorcinol glue. Her transom is kauri.

SO WOODYS ANYONE ABLE TO ID HER ORIGINS

And woodys its for sale on tme.

CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT AT LEIGH

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CLASSIC WOODEN WORKBOAT AT LEIGH

As mentioned last week Tobias Forsyth located a treasure trove of old photos from the Leigh area, a mx of workboats and pleasure craft. 

Todays photo shows a small workboat (Reg # 15156) with an interesting mix of steading sails. She looks a little too smart to be a commercial fishing boat, but there does appear to be a long-line set-up on her stern.

Vessel name unknown, but the Reg No. must make ID’ing her easy for someone with a reference of vessels ‘v’ numbers.

The photographer is listed as Robyn Kellian.

CLASSIC WOODEN BRIDGE-DECKER AT LEIGH – WONDABYNE

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CLASSIC WOODEN BRIDGE-DECKER AT LEIGH – WONDABYNE

Recently Tobias Forsyth located a treasure trove of old photos from the Leigh area, a mx of workboats and pleasure craft. 

Todays photo shows a bridge-decker sporting a steading sail. Vessel name unknown, the photographer is listed as Robyn Kellian.

In my eyes the classic wooden launch looks like LADY JOYCE , refer WW link https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/22/lady-joyce/ but I’m wrong more often than I’m right, so hopefully we can put a name to the launch.

INPUT ex NATHAN HERBERT – its WONDABYNE – SEE BELOW https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/03/02/wondabyne-pakatoa/

MYSTERY DOUBLE ENDER MOTOR BOAT

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MYSTERY DOUBLE ENDER MOTOR BOAT

Todays classic wood launch popped up recently on the NZ cars, boats, motor bikes etc fb , via Lew Redwood. The photo comes from the Auckland maritime museum collection and the photographer is unknown.

Reviewing the photos the 2nd one above is minus flagstaff/s and ensign / burgee, so safe to assume different days.

Are we able to ID the launch.

24-07-2026 HAROLD KIDD INPUT – What a pretty boat! I’ve asked Gavin Pascoe of the Wellington Classic Yacht Trust to look around. I have some ideas. I think she’s an Auckland-built launch, about 20-22ft, 1907 or so and would pick Bailey & Lowe, maybe Logan Bros or Chas Bailey in that order. If my woolly suspicions are correct she was built first for Picton.