Karere III

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KARERE III
details ex Bob Salthouse via Ken Ricketts. photos ex KR

Karere III was designed & built by Bob Salthouse in 1974 of 3 skins of Kauri (one full length & 2 on opposite diagonals) for Logan Colemore-Williams of the very well known  marine products manufacturer of that era, Sonata Laboratories.
Karere III was 53′ long originally & powered by 2 x model 3208  Caterpillar V8 naturally aspirated 210 hp diesels. The same engine was used in single engine installations in many of the Mark One 36′ Corsairs designed by Bob S. & built by Bobs company. Her hull was used as a ‘plug’ for several more boats of the same spec.

She was later lengthened by approximately 6′ to extend her at the stern to around 60′ long. This was done in Picton by Jim Cary, to design work done by & under the direct supervision of Bob Salthouse, whom they flew down to Picton to supervise the project. This is evidenced by the position of the propellers & rudders in photos above of her on the hardstand at Gulf Harbour on 4.2.16.

Bob reports that her speed was increased quite markedly by several knots with the addition of the extra length. Bob also commented that she spent quite a period of time in the Wellington region, but is  now back in Auckland. Kept at Bayswater marina I pass her every time I come & go, in the water she looks even more impressive.

Link to down load the Sea Spray article on her launch Karere III

2016 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade – just back, hundreds of photos to sort thru – be sure to check in Tuesday – a very cool big post coming up.
I particularly like the photo below – two woodys having a chat in the rain. On the left Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association Commodore Grant Cossey in his 1908  Collings & Bell launch ‘Elva’ & Russell Ward in the 1994 steam boat ‘Romany’.

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Mystery Boat 4sale – Help needed

IMG_4551 - Unknown - Peach hull, grey deck, white cabin

Help Needed – Mystery Boat 4sale
photo ex Alice Morrison

Alice spotted the boat in the above photo moored in Okura Bay, Totara North, Whangaroa Harbour, Northland. She fell in love with the boat and dream of what it could be. It has 4sale + a price painted on the hull, but no owner contact details 😦
A gent on a neighbouring mooring gave Alice as much information as he knew. That it was owned by Gary from Taipa and that it has a kauri hull made in the sixties.

It has some form of registeration number on the bow – either 4B-623 or HB-623?

Now the big question –  do any of the woodys  know who this Gary from Taipa is? & any more information on the history of the boat.

Alice has been looking for a small classic wooden launch, to restore and potential make her home.

Mystery Picton Boat

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MYSTERY PICTON BOAT

Its only a mystery because the broker selling it obviously doesn’t want to sell the vessel. Why else would you not include the vessel’s name & designer / builder details?

I can tell you this bridgedecker is made of wood, 42′ long, built in 1929, is powered by a 75hp 5LW Gardner diesel & sleeps 6.
Her current home is Picton & at $49k ono its appears a reasonable buy – unless of course it was built in India 🙂

Just re-read the listing & hows this – they list the design of the tender (Seabird)………………

Update – so it looks like it is Rio Rito / Resolution, the photo below of Resolution was sent to me by Don Macleod, taken in Mercury Cove in summer of 2011.

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Lake Rotoiti Dinghy Day – Big Boys Toys Part 2

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Lake Rotoiti Dinghy Day – aka Big Boys Toys Part 2

The Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association are a very active group & run some very cool events for the members. One of the best activities is the annual Dinghy Day which is a mix of serious – Seagull Outboard race & pure fun e.g. the ‘put you motor on something odd class’. There was even an entrant using the  fuel tanks off an old 1950’s airplane as their vessel & grandmothers couch from the 1960’s made an appearance.
Above are a few of the photos from the day, enjoy, they all did 🙂

http://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/

Mahurangi Regatta Weekend 2016 – 130 photos

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Mahurangi Regatta Weekend 2016

There are many magic things about classic boats, one of them is their ability to attract great weather. Classic wooden boaties have  just had another stunning long weekend at Mahurangi. While the number of yachts racing in the regatta maybe by down on previous years, the number of boats in the harbour was amazing -& I would say that in terms of genuine wooden classics there were more motorboats than yachts in the harbour.
The below is not an attempt to capture ever classic there, it’s just a photo essay of the event. If I missed your boat, sorry, but access & time were not my friend. You’ll see lots of woodys, a little FG (pretty ones) & some photos to show you the mojo of the weekend. It has a motorboat slant, but that’s the way I hang 😉 The classic launch parade saw a record turn out of 21 classics.

Lastly, not all are 100% in focus & sometimes the sun was working against me but at the end of the day, its all about the boats.
Enjoy 🙂

ps remember to follow the St Ayles Skiff Raid over the next week – details here  http://nzcoastalrowing.org/

As always – click photos to enlarge

LAUNCH PARADE

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REGATTA

ST AYLES SKIFF RAID

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John Dory & Little Tawera
PRETTY BOATS

 

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R&R

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PRIZE GIVING (aka the Wairiki / Jason Prew show)

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Onehunga Beach 1954 – Sailing Sunday

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Onehunga Beach 1954  – Sailing Sunday
photo ex A. Turnbull Library via Historic NZ photos

This Whites Aviation photo from Feb 1954 shows an unidentified beach in Onehunga with Mangere Mountain in the background.
Given the number of young children playing in the water & the low number of adults I wonder if there was something else happening on the day e.g. group picnic etc.

Remember Folks Tomorrow is Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, so dust off the boat & get out there. No boat? make your way to one of the many excellent harbour side vantage points across this city.
More details here  http://www.regatta.org.nz/

02-02-2016 Input from Bruce Pullan

The beach in this photo was further west than the beach that Ken has referred to. The beach in the photo was accessed from a drive off Beachcroft Ave near where Arthur Street and Pleasant Streets join onto Beachcroft (the towns gas tanks where near here also). The houses to the right of the trees in the photo were on Seacliff Ave, some of these houses were taken as well as the beach for the motorway. The MY&MBC had a marker bouy out from this beach it was referred to in the yacht club course sheets as Mill Bay. When the MY&MBC racing was moved to Mangere and before the new club house was built the patrol boats were moored here and layed up for winter with chocks on the beach where the children are swimming in this photo.

Majestic

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MAJESTIC

Details & photos ex ‘Nelson Mail’ via John Burland (edited by Alan H)

The 14.5m Majestic started life back in 1937 as a commercial trawler & cray boat in Nelson. Built at the famed Wells family boatyard at Whakatahuri at the head of Pelorus Sound by her ex owner Lionel Wells and his late brother Gordon. She was built to their father Claude’s design, using Marlborough Sounds kahikatea (white pine) for the double-skinned planking, and heart rimu for the deck beams and stringers.
The brothers fished out of Port Nelson for many years, trawling for snapper, gurnard and flounder. Wells eventually bought his brother out and took the Majestic cray fishing from Milford Sound for 15 years.
He sold her in 1978 and Majestic continued its fishing career from Greymouth before finally being brought back to Nelson.

Two & half years ago Majestic was facing the chainsaw but was saved by the Motueka owner of Cotton Heavy Haulage in Richmond, Lynn Cotton who gradually restored her at the Richmond boat yard. The fish hold has gone and the accommodation has grown to allow for eight people. The few rotten planks were replaced and rimu and macrocarpa were specially milled to fit out the interior.
Most notably, the old superstructure was removed and replaced with a new one, each to their own but I would have chosen something closer to the original.
In the six years the boat had been idle the 190hp Gardner diesel had seized, but that was soon remedied and on the trip across Tasman Bay to its new mooring at Port Motueka it produced an average 8.2 knots.

Below are photos from her re-launch. One shows 95 year old ex owner/builder Lionel on the left with Lynn Cotton.

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Whironui

WHIRONUI BY SHIPBUILDERS AT GULF HARBOUR HAVING TLC 28.12.15 - 3

WHIRONUI
details & photos ex Ken Ricketts. (edited by Alan H)

Whironui  is 34′ LOA & was home built & Ken suspects  in the earlier 1960’s, the reason for this being she has a Paragon mechanical gearbox, on a Lees Ford diesel & these boxes were phased out in the earlier 1960s. In terms of designer, Ken feels probably she is a Shipbuilders kit-set as one of a good number of similar hull type, designed boats were sold in this form by Shipbuilders between 30′ & 34′ from c.1960 to 1965. They all had individually styled coamings with 3 glued skins on opposite diagonals, kauri hulls.

Whironui is powered by a 90hp 6 cyl. Lees marinised Ford diesel, with a Paragon mechanical gear box & 2 to 1 reduction gear, most likely still the original set-up.

She is presently owned by Murray Brighouse who along with his son Tony, do a great job of caring for her, & using her as often as possible. They bought her off the late Sonny Cross in 2002, who they believe had owned her from about 1976, during which time she was moored for the entire period, they believe, in the Wade River, which is where she was moored, when the Brighouses bought her. She now resides at Gulf Harbour.

Anyone know anymore about her past & the home build element?

As a comparison – below is a photo of ‘Southern Seas’ which is rumoured to be a Shipbuilders kit boat.

SOUTHERN SEAS - 2 - 31.3.14

26-01-2016

Photo from c.1979 ex Ken Rickets

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A Replica Scow – Sailing Sunday

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A Replica Scow  – Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan Sexton

Alan took the above photos in Nagle Cove, Great Barrier Island last week, just before the wind started blowing.
The replica scow appears to be about 12m in length & is very well done, what do we know about her?

Callie

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CALLIE
photo & details ex Bob Wichman* via Bruce Pullan

Callie was built c.1916 by Bailey & Lowe for the Brown Bros. She was 39′ x 9’3″ x 4’6″ & when launched had a 35hp Twigg 4 cyl diesel engine.
In 1918 she was sold to C.W. White of Onehunga. In 1925 she was re-powered with a 140hp Steams petrol engine. Sold again in 1939 to I.G. Vickery of Onehunga. In 1940 a Gardner 24hp (seems small?) engine was fitted, this was replaced in 1948 with a 48hp Ralston diesel.

In the early 1900’s she was used as a passenger ferry to Cornwallis & Huia on the Manukau. Post c1940 she was commercial fishing for skipper Fred Vickery.

Unfortunately she was wrecked on 11-05-1968 on a sandbank at Southhead, Manukau Harbour.

In the photo above given the presence of Fred Vickery, I assume its Callie on a day off from her fishing boat duties & not when she was a passenger vessel. A note with the photo records the following people:
# ‘Gary’ standing with foot on the rail
# Beverley Wishart, red dress, black cardigan
# Fred Vickery (owner/skipper) outside wheelhouse
# Rod Vickery in water

*note: Bob Wichman’s family had an association with Callie & the Awhitu (Inverness)