Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Taioma SOS

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TAIOMA SOS

Over the last 48 hours I have had a lot of calls from woodys that spotted the 30’ Lidgard built yacht – Taioma on trademe as an abandoned vessel. Current bid is $10.50 and the reserve has been meet. The auction closes on July 19th. You are bidding on the hull only, and the motor is unknown condition. But the wooden mast and boom + a mainsail have been located and will go with the boat, if wanted (stored in a different location).

Woodys, someone will ’steal’ this boat and as a last resort that hatch has to be worth what ever the purchase price the boat ends up at. I do not do this often – but here is the tme link

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3164872276?bof=GUPg30qb

Bill Brown commented to me that Taioma was restored in the 1990’s by Gary Underwood and pointed me in the direction of Gary’s blog, details and photos below:

“Taioma is a 1936 Fred Lidgard kauri sloop of 28 ft. We bought her for  $5000 in 1995 and did a 60 day full refit at the ‘Bolthole’ in Auckland. She was a great live-aboard for a year alongside our boat shed in Whangarei while we were building ‘BOOTSTRAP’. Note the full bulkhead at the mast which gives an end to the saloon and provides support for the table, which lowers to give us a full double bunk athwartships. Its like a kind of ‘dresser’. The f’csle has a portapotti and bosubs store, access thru the fore hatch. Also stiffens the boat up as she had a big rig.”

What Happened To Privateer (SandPiper)

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What Happened To Privateer (SandPiper)
The 1927 kauri launch Privateer first popped up on WW back in August 2015, when Paul Drake spotted her as a new arrival on Lake Taupo (link & photo below). At the time Zach Matich ID’ed her as Sand Piper and commented that she had been on trademe and based in Wellington at the time.

Fast forward to Jan 2021 and Ian McDonald saw her on trademe, ‘berthed’ at Tokaanu, Lake Taupo – offered up ‘for removal as an abandoned vessel’ by the Taupo Harbourmaster. As you will see from the above photos she was looking very sad, but a comment on WW in Feb 2021 advised that she had been acquired and hopefully would be restored.

The above and below photos are a good graphic example of how quickly old woodys go down hill when the TLC stops.
Hopefully the new owner will update us on their plans for the launch 
2015 WW Story https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/22/privateer/

Woodys On Show

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WOODYS ON SHOW

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

CHECK OUT LAST YEARS EVENT https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/08/10/classic-wooden-boat-cruise-72-photos/

RSVP with boat name to waitematawoodys@gmail.com – Numbers will be limited

Eclipse – A Peek Down Below

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ECLIPSE – A Peek Down Below
Back in Sept 2016 John Sankey was mooching around Nelson and sent in a selection of woody photos, amongst them were several of the launch – Eclipse. At the time she was looking a little sad and was for sale.

WW link here to that story.   https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/09/22/woody-nelson-trip/

Now thanks to a tme listing we get to have a peek down below, she has also had a lick of paint.Some details – 37’ in length with a 9’ beam and drawing 3’4” , powered by a 70hp Nissan SD25 diesel engine, giving her a cruising speed of 8 knots.

Her tme listing states she was built in 1907, but in the 2016 story Harold Kidd advised that she was built in November 1922 by James McPherson at Dunedin for W. Webber of Ravensbourne.

04-06-2021 Update ex Keith Murphy – photo below of Eclipse at Ravensbourne

RSVP to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Julie Anne 15321

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JULIE ANNE 15321
Todays photo of the launch Julie Ann comes to us from the camera of Bay of Islands photographer Dean Wright who snapped the photo while mooching around the Te Puna and Kerikeri Inlet area. Dated Dec 17th 2020.

Given the reg #, she must have been in commercial use at some stage – do we know anymore about her?

Kawau Island 1958 Mystery Launch

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Kawau Island 1958 Mystery Launch

Today’s photo comes to us from William (Bill) Brown, and is dated Feb 1958 and was taken on his parents honeymoon cruise, and the location is Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island. I’m pretty sure they were not on this boat, but Bill if you see this story, can you confirm? Bill lives and works overseas. 

The boat looks familiar but I wont try and guess – can we get a positive match? Original (non crop or colour corrected) copy of the photo below.

Yesterdays Lidgard 1/2 models – anyone else have a view, when the knowledge of Dave Jackson is ‘in play’ – we all tend to freeze – the mans seldom wrong 🙂

UPDATE: The launch is Lady Joan, thanks Ken R for the reminder. Sadly no longer a float she was scraped back in 2018 and a few fittings were saved, hopefully to grace another woody. Photos below LJ has appeared on WW before – see and read more here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/09/29/lady-joan/

Oranui – Part Two

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Waikawa early 2000’s
Hobsonville Aug 2008
Hutcheson Boat-builders 08-11-2011

ORANUI – Part Two
Yesterdays request for more intel on the yacht Oranui, hit the jackpot when Marl McLaughlin opened his WW email yesterday. Mark sent in the above and below selection of photos. If you missed yesterdays story, might be best to scroll down first and read /view it then read Mark’s input – reproduced below.


“Further to the “what became of her story” on Oranui, I have sent in some extra info and photos. The obituary details are for her builder and original owner Eric Tomkies, taken from the winter 1988 edition of the RPNYC magazine “The Rip”. Eric Tomkies was a distant relation of mine (he and my grandfather were cousins) and I know Oranui well.

Previously brothers Eric, Clinton and Horace Tomkies built the 47ft Burns designed RAKOA and sailed her extensively. I have included a photo (below) of Rakoa from the Gisborne Photo News, June 1954. Unfortunately Rakoa was later lost when working as a fishing boat at Stewart Island and what remains now rests on the seabed in Foveaux Strait. 

Oranui was sturdily built in strip planked kauri on a hardwood backbone. Heavy scantlings are typical of Athol Burns’ style and it is notable in the magazine article that of the six boats that came ashore in the Wahine storm, it was only the two Athol Burns boats (Hinemoana III was the other one), that were re-floated. 

Oranui has spent most of her life in the Wellington and Marlborough Sounds regions. Her 3cyl Volvo Penta diesel was re-powered with a 4cyl 52hp Yanmar diesel engine in 1999 and she circumnavigated the South Island in the early 2000’s. She was then sold to a New Plymouth based owner who cruised her extensively between New Plymouth and Nelson/Marlborough Sounds and also up to Auckland. I have attached a photo of her on the hardstand at Hobsonville Marina during this time. She was then sold in 2011 to a Wellington based Doctor who sent her to Hutcheson Boatbuilders in Tauranga for a refit before taking her back to Wellington. I spotted her motoring around Picton Harbour in January this year looking as good as new.

As per most Athol Burns designs she is functional but beautiful, and very sea-kindly for Cook Strait conditions. “

FOOT NOTE: Mark believes the RPNYC article is confusing the Wahine storm in 1968 with the storm in 1966 which the Sea Spray article about Oranui and Hinemoana III relates to. However, Eric’s brother Clinton Tomkies did tell him that Oranui came ashore in the Wahine storm as well, but he could have been confusing it with the 1966 storm too 🙂

ORANUI – What Became Of Her (part one)

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ORANUI – What Became Of Her

The above photo ex Sea Spray magazine, via K Ricketts, shows the yacht Oranui ashore at Eastbourne, Wellington. She was washed ashore during a big storm. We know that Oranui was built in 1960 and owned by a Mr. Tomkies when she had the mishap It was reported that Oranui was not seriously damaged.

Do know what became of Oranui and where she is these days?


FYI – the 35’ motor sailer – Hinemoana III also came ashore in the same storm – WW story on her here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/05/30/hinemoana-iii/

Baby Thunder

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BABY THUNDER

Back in 2016 Greg Lees and David Glen sent in a selection of photos from the Lake Rotoiti (Nelson Lakes, Sth Island) classic boat show, among them was the stunning 30’ replica bootlegger, named Baby Thunder.

All I know about her is her own lives in Wellington – can anyone tell us more about the boat? She is a piece of art – should be in someones living room 🙂

In 2019 I attended the show and took a couple of photos of her on her trailer.

07-11-2022 Flask Back To 2007 (ex Peter Grant)

Esperanza II

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Esperanza II
The above photo of the Chris Craft, pictured above in the Bay of Islands, come to us via Len Redwood’s fb.There is a great story at the link below as to how the boat came to be in NZ.
https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/08/esperanza-ii/

Make you check out  WW tomorrow, we have a feature on New Zealand’s best Lidgard woody and she is looking for a new custodian 😉

RSVP TO waitematawoodys@gmail.com – numbers are limited