Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Jane

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JANE
Just when you think you have uncovered all the woodys out there, up pops another newbie 🙂

Glenn Martin spotted – Jane, resting beside the mangroves in the Hokianga.  Glenn commented that she still has a lot of the original fittings left but from the photos it looks like she has been sitting there for a while and a lot of work would be needed to bring her back. But with time and money anything is possible – just look at the restoration of My Girl as an example

.https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/08/08/the-restoration-of-my-girl/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/02/19/my-girl-restoration-update/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/06/24/28126/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/07/24/my-girl-update-splash-day-must-be-soon/

Any input appreciated on Jane’s provenance.

DES TOWNSON – A SAILING LEGACY QUIZ WINNER – William Brown with the answer – Scott Wilson. Well done Bill 🙂

Dee 3

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DEE 3
Today’s woody bridge-decker was built in the early 1960’s by Phil Lange for Roger Chamberlain of Chamberlains Island and comes to us via tme (thanks Ian McDonald).

Dee 3, surely not her original name?, measures 38’ in length, and is built from 1 & 1/4″ strip planked kauri. Powered by a 130hp 6 cyl. Perkins diesel. 

Currently located in Napier, can anyone tell us more about Dee 3?

Mystery Napier Launch

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Mystery Napier Launch

Today’s photo is another from the lens of Dean Wright, taken on a Napier marina walk-about. Looks familiar but I can not put a name to her – anyone able to help out?

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – This boat was called the Graham John when first purchased by the current owner Mark Parvin. Talking to his father Peter, he was told the boat was built by a farmer in Motueka around 1947. Originally 36 feet long it was extended aft to 43 feet when converted to a scallop dredger, hence the appearance of a somewhat droopy stern. Currently powered by a 170 hp Isuzu. Mark has completely overlaid the hull with a ply and glass.

Woodys On The Catwalk

Well almost – Karen Walker in a collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has just launched a range of merchandise celebrating this extra special season – A-Cup and 150th RNZYS Anniversary. WW have supplied woody items – clinker dinghies, model yachts etc to support the collection in Karen Walker stores.

Check out the range here  https://www.karenwalker.com/nz/collections/squadron

Mystery Napier Launch

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Mystery Napier Launch
Bay of Islands woody – Dean Wright, recently escaped the winter-less north and has been mooching around the Napier marina. Dean spotted the very streamlined looking launch above, can anyone tell us about the boat?

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – its called Phoebe (Imp) and appeared on WW back in 2015 https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/22/phoebe-imp/


Dean also snapped the photo below of the Napier Sailing Club’s patrol boat – someone has a very good idea for fitting a boat out , well done, she is a looker.

Input from Michael O’Dwyer – The Watchman was built in Dunedin around 1955 especially for the Napier Sailing Club. She has conducted patrol duties ever since. A club stalwart, she received a well earned makeover a couple of years ago.

Muratai II

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MURATAI II

I received an email yesterday from Peter Grant and as I started to read it I was thinking – this is a doozy and I’m sure Harold Kidd will be able to shed some light on the the history of the boat and the accuracy of the tale.


Recently Peter was working at the Queenstown boat shed and I was asked to look at the Muratai II, tied to her jetty. His online search for information only came up with one photo (b/w above) ex the Hochen Library at the University of Otago.
Peter mentioned that the current Kiwi owner of three years now lives in Switzerland and has never set foot on the boat and is disillusioned with the supposed refit progress and the boat yard in Invercargill is tired of waiting for it to be sent down, so have washed their hands on the project.

The previous owner who has owned her for 28 years and where she is still berthed, wants it gone of course.
Prior to his ownership she was a passenger launch on the lake in the company of another 36 footer Moana, powered by a Ford engine of some type.


Apparently the Muratai II was built in Auckland, or somewhere northward, for the then King of Tonga (edited) who wouldn’t settle as he was unable to enter into the vessel due to his size.
Muratai II is 42′ LOA, kauri, and fitted with a very tidy 3 cylinder GM of 65hp which was installed in 1946.


So Mr Kidd and other woodys, can we tell Peter any more about this vessel and her history?

Harold Kidd Input – HMMMMMMMM. King of Tonga??? Which one? MURATAI is wrong. Way back she was MURITAI (correct Maori) then SOUTHERN STAR. My guess is that she was built for the passenger trade in Lyttelton by Chas Bailey 1911 (he built the yacht ONELUA for King George of Tonga shortly after) and gravitated to Lake Wakatipu by 1922. A Trade Me ad recently said she was built for the King of Tonga in 1924. The monarch at the time was Queen Salote. Tourist BS I think.

What Price Provenance – 100 Year Old Game Fishing Wooden Launch

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What Price Provenance – 100 Year Old Game Fishing Wooden Launch

The legendary sport game fishing launch Alma G has just popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald) , without doubt one of the world’s best known and successful game boats.
Presented in better than new condition, with a 270hp Hyundai engine that sees the 36’ hull topping out at 20 knots. 

Built in 1922 by Collings and Bell, there is a big birthday coming up and she has already had the face lift in anticipation.

So woodys, I guess at a reserve of $275k your not just buying a classic woody boat but a 100 year old business / brand (she is still in survey). 
Photo below c.1950’s, shows Alma G on the left in the photo + link below to previous WW story / details https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/11/05/alma-g-alma-g-ii/

Harold Kidd Input – ALMA G was launched in October/November 1922 and took part in the Russell Regatta in December 1922 (see Auckland Star 28/12/1922)

https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/12/01/wooden-boat-bureau-advice-for-buyers-and-sellers/

Ruapani

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RUAPANI
Woody Dean Wright uncovered the above photo of Ruapani that appeared in a book on Lake Waikaremoana and that woodys is where the track stops. A quick google search tells us Ruapani was a chief of the Māori in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa in the 15th and 16th century. 

Given the life raft, maybe she is in charter on the lake.

Any southern woodys able to enlighten us on this rather fine looking launch?

Harold Kidd Input – Built by B.J.L.Jukes, Balaena Bay November 1929 for the Tourist Dept with a 40hp Thornycroft (Empire Preference) petrol engine.

Miller and Tunnage – Double Ender – Fisher Lassie

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Miller & Tunnage – Double Ender – Fisher Lassie
If you spend as much time as I do stalking wooden boats on-line you will have noticed the growing trend for work boat conversions, you either love them or not – me I’m in the love them camp. We do not know a lot about todays woody, thanks Ian McDonald, other than she was built by Miller and Tunnage in 1922, out of kauri, is 40’ in length, has a 9’ 10” beam and draws 3’7”. A Gardner 3LW 150hp diesel pushes her along at a comfortable cruising speed of 7 knots. Appears to be very well fitted out.


Can anyone put a name to this woody ?

18-11-2020 Input from Mark Erskine – I was interested to read about the above Miller & Tunnage Double Ender. I agree it’s a real nice boat and was interested to read about her Gardner 3LW engine.

Depending on the fuel and governor / rpm settings, the 3LW engines produce between 36 to 53.5HP from their 4.184 litre capacity.

Dimensions

The “Gardner 150” badge on the Miller & Tunnage control panel is for a 6-cylinder 6LXB Gardner (127 to 150HP) or possibly the 8-cylinder 8LXB (150 to 200)

Gardners are great engines and although the whole range are all low on HP for their considerable size, capacity and weight, they all produce a lot of torque at low rpm and are very reliable.

Although 36 to 54 HP seems a bit low for the size of the boat, I’m guessing the 3LW is a good match for a double ender hull because torque turns the prop rather than HP and the 3LW should also be very economical to operate at 7 knots.

24-11-2022 UPDATE ex Steve’s Coffee Cart – Steve sent in the photos below of Fisher Lassie below, hauled out at the Waikawa hard stand. Check out the new look, it is not often we see people ’taking away’ as compared to adding on. Well done to the owner.

admin@classicyacht.org.nz

Rawene

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RAWENE
When I was catching up with lan Craig re yesterdays story I gave him a wind up re how hopeless he was at keep us updated on the work in his Lake Rotoiti boat yard. Seems the dig in the ribs worked as a few hours later I received the photos above of Rawene, taken from Waikeremoana when Alan went  down in February 2020 for some repairs on Rawene. The boat was hit on her mooring and broke a few ribs.The old photos below are on the wall in the store there.

It has been commented on WW that she was built in 1928 by L.C. Coulthard. Read & see more about her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/12/14/rawene-a-peek-down-below/

Sea Spray

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SEA SPRAY
During the week I was chatting to Lake Rotoiti boat builder Alan Craig and he mentioned that he was scoping out a 1956 built, 17’ kauri clinker run-about on tme for a client. The boat had a J. Logan builders plate and we both wondered if it was ’the-real-deal’. On these matters there is only one go to guru – so a quick email to Harold Kidd confirmed that Sea Spray was indeed built by Jack Logan, and HDK had had a lot to do with Jack Logan and the Chappies, who had a twin to his boat on Lake Okareka. That intel was enough for Alan to buy the boat.


Alan understands that for a lot of the boats life, it was north of Tutakaka.
The new owner has x2 Arona 10hp engines and gearboxes, which fingers crossed,  one will go into the boat.Having witnessed the work of Alan’s yard – Sea Spray will emerge as an awesome addition to the woody lake fleet. Alan has promised to keep us updated with work-in-progres photos 🙂


Anyone able to add to the boats provenance?