Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Lady Karita

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LADY KARTIA

I very happy to be able to advise that the 1938,43′ Sam Ford designed bridge decker Lady Karita is now in the hands of a new woodys friendly owner, Murray Shaw. Murray also owns the Collings & Bell bridge decker Kawhiti so the man has been bitten by the bug 🙂 . Work is already underway to return her to her former glory, see photo above, ex Steve Thomas, of ‘work-in-progress’ restoring her brightwork. The immediate plans are for her to remain in the Nelson region, but hopefully one day we will see her back on the Waitemata.

Lady Karita was built in Kauri for a flag officer of the Ponsonby Cruisng Club, Mr Victor Salek. Powered by Ford 130hp diesel, shaft drive, sees her cruising economically at 8.5 Knots. For many years she has been based in the Pelorus Sounds.

Back in June, CYA member Mark McLaughlin (Mapuna) alerted me to the fact that LK was on the market, Marks father has been Lady Karita’s caretaker/skipper for the last 15 years in Havelock & supplied the 2 press clippings below.

 

04-04-2018 Photo below ex owner Murray Shaw of Lady Karita hauled out in Nelson. In the background is Lady Ellison – nice to see the two Sam Ford built launches together 🙂

LADY KARITA + LADY ELLISON

 

Looking for a Sounds Floating Bach or a Lake Boat?

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Looking for a Sounds Floating Bach or a Lake Boat?

Today’s woody lives in the Marlborough Sounds but could equally be a perfect North Island lake boat. She measures 24’6″ & is constructed with kauri carvel hull, with glass on ply cabin & deck.
Power comes from a 3QM Yanmar 30hp diesel & as you can see in the photos had been fitted out to a very high standard.
Asking price is $9.5k, that is not a lot of $$ for a woody that is presented in the condition this one is 😉

Its hard to read her name but Ian McDonald who tip me off on the trademe listing feels it could be either Scuffy or Scuppy – any woodys able to ID the boat & supply more details on her?

Message for CYA Launch Owners + Mataroa Spy Photos

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CYA Xmas BBQ Poster

Message for CYA Launch Owners + Mataroa Spy Photos

Doing a shout out today to all Classic Yacht Association launch owners to remind you that next weekend (Dec 3>4) is the annual CYA Patio Bay weekend. The highlight of which being the byo BBQ (bbq’s provided for cooking) ashore at Woolicott’s bach. Most of us rate it as the #1 social event of the year in terms of mix & mingling. Check out the photos from last year here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/07/cya-patio-bay-bbq-xmas-race-weekend-2015/
The weekend sees over 50 classic launch & yachts come together for a weekend of fun, friendship & fraternity.

Mataroa Update
Not wanting to short change you today in terms of your classic woody ‘fix’ – below a few spy photos taken by Max Uivel of the progress being made on the 1928 Joe Slattery launch, Mataroa in the Evans Bay slip yard.
Rob Uivel can be seen hard at work. Max commented that there is still a way to go but progress has been good considering the meteorological and seismic conditions in Wellington.
I have to say she is a very pretty classic & looks to be getting a very sympathetic make-over – we like that 🙂 More details on her past here. https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/31/mataroa-kenya-2/

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A Message From Manu PB

Hi Alan,
 My name’s Manu, i’m in wellington. was looking for photos on the net of a nice kauri launch out of interest, as i used to own and live in one.
What do you know, Mataroa comes up!
My father Simon Blakiston bought her from Kevin, end of 1999 (?) and had her brought down to Chaffers marina straight away. We enjoyed trips to the sounds, havelock, and around the harbour (some of the photos posted are ours) for a few years, and he and I ended up living onboard for a couple years, all the while he worked as an architect there!  the rearmost port side berth in the main cabin may still have a fold-out drawing table under it. I lived there with my partner later on also. in 2007 Dad was taken by cancer and I inherited the boat. Sadly I’m not a particularly nautical person, and it became apparent that i was doing her no favours by putting off some much needed restoration work. I sold her to a young couple who lived onboard at chaffers for a while.
It’s great to see the photos up on display! really brings back some memories of quite an important little bit of my life!
One of the better stories from my time with Mataroa was being in my last year of school, and a friend saying his father and grandfather were wandering at the marina and had found a boat the grandfather had driven during the war. it took only a small amount of figuring to realise he was talking about Mataroa. Granddad was Bluey Barnes (forgotten his actual first name sorry! this can all be revised), the 18 yearold mentioned on your site by Kevin. Dad met with Bluey and took him out for a spin, apparently his stomach wasn’t what it used to be by this point. Somewhere i have a couple of copies of photos from Bluey, one of his boat boy topside, and another of her absolutely loaded with troops. I hope copies of these photos made it into the boat’s files, otherwise i can try and dig them out. Kevin also mentions a tape recording of Bluey’s exploits which i have too, but havent played since dad recorded it.
There are a couple more stories floating around i think, let me know if you want me to dig up any of them, or the photos and tape. I can also find a little more out about Bluey, sadly he passed away a year or two ago, but i still see his grandson regularly.

Cheers and thanks for getting Mataroa up on the net for all to see, she’s missed out on a lot of due credit over the last few years. great to see some photos i haven’t before.
thanks,
  Manu PB

Jade – Sailing Sunday

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JADE – A Herreshoff style weekend/daysailer

Jade fits into the classic category that we call ‘spirit of tradition’ – a gaff-rigger that not only sails well but also has none of the maintenance headaches that other wooden boats have.
Specifications: LOA: 7m, Beam: 2m, Draft: Centerboard up: 650mm, CB down: 1.5m Sail area: 20sqm, Ballast: 300kg, Displacement: 1300kg.
She is 4sale on trademe. With her custom trailer & cover + being a center-boarder she would make a great lake boat. You could even troll for a trout with the 8hp outboard 😉

Kia Ora

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Kia Ora
A 43 foot wooden boat powered by a Gardner 6LH through a Gardner gearbox.  Kia Ora is an ex fishing vessel converted to a pleasure boat for her well deserved retirement.
Built in 1939 at Kaikoura by local fishing legend Syd Cormack & launched on the foreshore at Kaikoura.
She is very well known along the South Island east coast, not many places you won’t bump into a fisherman thats worked on her.
With her Gardner ticking over her cruise speed is 7 to 8Knts and fuel usage is around 5 to 6 liters per hour.

Any of the woodys able to tell us more about Kia Ora, Ian McDonald alerted me to the trademe listing, hopefully she survived the earthquake & tidal activity that it the area this week.

Harold Kidd Input

KIA ORA was built by Syd Cormack in Kaikoura and launched in 1940. Her first engine was a 50hp Bolinder. Her dimensions are (official reg) 41.2′ loa x 12.7′ beam x 5.6′ draught, 13.03 tons gross and 3.88 tons net. Cormack was her first owner. She was registered as LN 93.
When Ainsley Sinclair of Akaroa owned her in 1950 he steamed her up to Auckland for the Sanders Cup contest. During her life she has been sunk and salvaged three times.

Sheds at Clyde Quay Wellington
The capital has also been suffering the effects of the earthquake, Gavin Pascoe sent me the photo below. This is the result of earthquake surge + king tide + torrential rain. Hopefully the water did not do much damage to the sheds contents – click this link to view the sheds on a good day 😉 https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/12/31/ever-wondered-whats-inside-those-sheds/

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Around the Yards – Opua

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Around the Yards – Ashby Boat Yard, Opua

Dean Wright has just had his classic Arethusa hauled out at Ashby’s, thats her in the first photo above – she is one of those vessel’s that look fast even when stationary, very pretty lines. You can read all about her provenance here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/11/01/arethusa-winsome/

Dean is a pro photographer & snapped a few other woodys at/off the yard. There is Waitete from Russell, see/read more here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/24/waitete/  & the ‘spirit of tradition’ classic boat hauled out is Southern Star, owned by ex Fosters darling 🙂 Craig Pippen. These days both the boat & Craig reside at Opua. Craig can be found at Cater Marine Opua – check out their website – lots of classic friendly bits & pieces there 😉  http://www.catermarine.co.nz/

The moored boat is Waimana & normally kept in Opito Bay.

Looking for an on-the-water buzz this summer?
Have a go rowing a St.Ayles skiff @ St Heliers beach, most Saturdays this summer. Check out the flyer below or visit http://www.nzcoastalrowing.org

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St. Mary

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ST MARY

Today’s post features the launch St Mary, seen here transporting an Anglican Home Mission priest on the Hokianga River. The church used launches to undertake church work in the Far North in areas inaccessible by road. The photo was spotted at the Pah Homestead in Hillsborough by John Burland & is ex the Sir George Grey Collection (Auckland Library) & taken by Barry Bennett.

Any woodys able to tell us some more info on the launch & what happened to St Mary?

 

ps – seems even back then, boaties had ideas around building a ‘block of flats’ 🙂

Harold Kidd Input – Jack Harker wrote a great little book about this Anglican clergyman “Soldier, Sailor, Priest”. ST. MARY was based in the “Roadless North” at Kohukohu in 1914, was 24′ loa and had a single cylinder 4.5hp Standard engine. I don’t think he did a Jasper Calder and preached from the boat.
By 1923 it was said to be the only launch the Anglican Church owned in NZ. The minister, the Rev. J.C. Hawkesworth conducted 276 services, performed 34 baptisms, 8 marriages, 9 funeral services and 41 candidates for confirmation. The northern shore of the Hokianga is largely Roman Catholic with a superb church at Te Karaka, visible for miles, set up by Bishop Pompallier, so there was a bit of inter-denominational rivalry going on.
I can’t find a whiff of her provenance in the book or anywhere else.
The Anglican Church did build other launches, one in 1909 for use at Stewart Is and Ruapuke and a 40 footer in 1914, G.A. SELWYN, (later just SELWYN) by E.R. Lane for use at Nelson for the Church’s Sounds and Tasman Bay communities.

Fisher Lassie

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Fisher Lassie
Built in 1938 by Miller & Tunnage, Fisher Lassie is a 39’3″ converted fishing boat that is powered by a 1952, 3LW Gardner with a 2UC gearbox & a keel cooled dry stack. The Gardner has done 3380hrs in the last 17 years with no grief using about 3 litres per hour.
She cruises at 6 kts, her ex work holds provide lots of storage & combined with her extensive fit out, has the basics to be a nice live-a-board.

Given the amount of interest / chat on trademe, a northern woody might have trouble getting her North 😉 those southerners do not like losing boat north 😉 Current bidding is in the low $3k’s so a good buy. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up on the vessel.

Any of the work boat woodys know anything more about her?

A Woody Dilemma – Buy original & restore? Buy restored? Buy an import?

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A Woody Dilemma – Buy original & restore? Buy restored? Buy an import?

Given the current state of the 4sale market for our wooden classics, whether they are original or restored, at some stage woodys will start to consider importing a woody from the USA – why?
#1 reason – the price
#2 reason – the high standard of presentation
#3 reason – the volume of ‘stock’
#4 reason – readily available parts & specialty service outlets.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Today’s woody was brought to my attention by Pauline Evill & is currently listed for sale on craigslist.com. She is a  28′ 1960 Chris Craft Constellation, made with mahogany planked batten seam construction on the topsides and double planked below the waterline. In excellent condition, having been restored in 2010, which included a new a single prop 307 engine. Her condition reflects the fact that she has always been kept in a covered slip. Asking price is NZD$25,000.

The Sinking of Lady Sandra

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The Sinking of Lady Sandra

Lady Sandra was built by the Lane Motor Boat Co in 1947, details on her past can be viewed at the link below. In previous ww posts Ken Ricketts was of the belief that Lady Sandra sank off Devonport but recent photos ex Ken Jones that have surfaced have revealed that the location was in fact Birkenhead, c.1948-49.

Lady Sandra

The tale goes something like this –  Lady Sandra had stopped to tow a grounded yacht on Auckland Anniversary Day & in the process managed to get the tow line around both of her propellers & pull them towards each other, thus pulling the propeller struts out of the bottom of the boat. They quickly managed to beach her, as the above photos show.

Interested to hear more details on the yacht rescue & subsequent sinking of LS, as there is still uncertainly around what happened.

Post the sinking & refit (mid 1950s) she was sold to Ken Woodhead, an Auckland businessman, who sold her late 1950’s > early 1960’s, to a Eddie McGoram, now aged 88 & living in Vancouver. In discussions with Ken Ricketts, McGoram confirmed that when he  purchased her, the original 2 Scripps flathead 6’s had been replaced with 2 x 120 hp Hercules 6 cyl flathead petrol engines.  Most likely the Scripps were replaced post sinking after she sank. McGoram only kept her for approx. a year & during this time replaced the Hercules engines with 2 x 4 cyl Ford diesels. He sold her to Owen & Margaret Cleave in the early 1960s & they kept her until well into the 1960’s.

The Cleaves did substantial remodelling of her coamings c.1966 & interior layout. At some stage she was lengthened & her engines were moved back to the new tuck position.  During the Cleaves ownership c.1964,  LS ended up on the rocks at Pakatoa Island & had to wait for the tide to re-float, other than bruised egos, there was no major damage.

Lady Sandra was  sold to a friend of KR’s (John Richards) c.1966-67. Richards also modified the previously modified coamings. According to Richards son, Ian,  John sold her to an overseas (Vanuatu) owner in the late 1960’s. Sadly she was wrecked on a reef in a storm – some would say that given her past dices with death, it was a only a matter of time 😦

Below are a selection of Lady Sandra photos that show various moderations undertaken by her owners.

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Peckham ownership

 

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As Built

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Richard ownership

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McGoram ownership