Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Royal Saxon

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ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.

Royal Saxon

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

Waikato Woodys – Sailing Sunday #2

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Easter regatta, Hamilton YC
H11 Joyful (Judith Le Clerc) 1948
Sardines in a mullety. Judith & friends, Auckland

Waikato Woodys – Sailing Sunday #2
photos & details from Judith Le Clerc

Today’s post follows on from a previous sailing sunday post on the trailer boat scene on Hamilton Lake in the late 1940’s. See captions for details.

A wee bonus – The Fife 23-Metre beauty Cambria has just completed a 12 month refit which included stripping back the fibreglassed hull to reveal the planking and replace those lengths that were beyond repair. Here is a short clip of her launch.

Sarina

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SARINA (MYSTERY LAUNCH)
photo ex Pam Cundy

Realized today that we have not had a ‘mystery launch’ quiz in a while so here we go – she was berthed in the estuary behind the Whangateau Traditional Boat yard.

When looking for a suitable photo to post this one just jumped out as it also features a rather special boat, the steam ship Romany II. I was gifted the tiller one day by her Captain, Russell Ward, on a misty morning on Lake Rotoiti & I was hooked on steam.

So woodys – who can ID the launch?

L>R – Russell Ward, Murray Deeble , Alan Houghton

Update ex Pam Cundy
Strange coincidence Alan, Sarina is going back in the water at the top of the tide today, see photos below. She’s been out for 8 months having a refit – out with the BMC Commodor and a reconditioned Perkins in as the replacement.
The builder does remain a mystery.  Current owner, Kevin Lawton, took over his fathers boat after his passing. Sarina has been in the family for about 25 years.
Kevin seems to recall mention of Jack Telford building her at Milford around 1961-2. Can any one verify this ?

 

Services Convalescent Hospital & Its Boats

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The Services Convalescent Hospital & Its Boats
photos ex Queen Elizabeth Hospital Community Trust – Kay Taylor Collection

Karen McGeady-Moren sent in a few photos of the hospital motor launch El Alamein (now renamed Ranui) & when I checked the web I discovered an amazing collection of boating images related to the hospital & surrounding area, most dated from the mid 1940’s.

The Services Convalescent Hospital, Rotorua was opened in 1942 under the command of Wilfred Stanley (Stan) Wallis, providing rehabilitation to soldiers returning from World War II. It was renamed the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1948 and began to specialize in the treatment of rheumatic disease.
Boating was obviously an enjoyable pastime for the patients.

Remember you can elarge the photos by clicking on them 😉

More recent photo on Ranui can be viewed at the link below

El Alamein / Ranui

FYI – Yesterdays ‘Woodys Weekend’ post was a record day for the number of individual people visiting the ww site & the views were the highest in over 3 months.

Seagull outboard racing on the Manukau Harbour. This Sat. 14th

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This Will Be A Lot Of Fun
This Saturday (14th) if you not attending the CYA event at Fairway Bay (Gulf Harbour) I have got details on what should be a very cool event for anyone with a little salt in their veins –  Seagull outboard racing on the Manukau Harbour.  The event will be based at the new Onehunga reclamation area  & is open to anyone with a Seagull motor. One of the organizers Adrian Pawson has offered that if any of the classic guys would like to join in with their clinkers they would be very much welcomed. They could even provide a few motors for those who like the idea of becoming a real seagull seadog. If interested, leave a note in the ww comments section & Adrian will be in touch.
Racing will be very close in so spectators can get a good view of the racing.

DETAILS
An update on the Manukau Event here:
 Launching:
Before 10am it will be possible to drop boats off and launch at the Manukau Cruising club ramp, which is quite close (100m) to the sandy beach. With your boat delivered around the break water and safely pulled up on the sandy beach, the car and trailer can them be moved to a permanent car park further down the road.

After 10am, the Cruising club ramp and car park is going to become very busy. So launching from the all tide ramp will be less chaotic.  Cars and trailers can also be left on Coronation Rd (next to the ramp) throughout the day.  Downside of this ramp is that it’s a bit of a delivery trip to the sandy beach (800m by sea). So for those new to seagulling I would recommend the easy option of turning up earlier and launching at the old boat ramp near the cruising club.
Essential Items:
Life Jacket
Tow rope (6m)
Oars or a paddle
Mobile phone in water tight bag

Costs:
$10 cash entry fee per boat. This can be paid on the sandy beach prior to racing. Entry fee goes towards prizes and the BBQ.

Racing:
3 divisions starting 5 minutes apart
•             2.5hp and slower 4.5 boats (
•             Faster 4.5hp and 20’ers
•             Open class (5R and Sport engines)
Prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd in each division + a few spot prizes.

Approximate sequence of events:
9:00 – 10:30 – Launching at Manukau CC ramp, or Mengere all tide ramp.
11:00 – Boats motored around to the larger sandy beach on reclamation area.
11:30 – Registration & division flags issued
12:00 to 2pm  – Racing – within the vicinity of the beach.
2:30 – BBQ & Prizes on the beach
There is a little bit happening on the day as it’s opening day for this new public space, although on the plus side, there will be plenty of surf club Rib’s to rescue you when you break down or sink 🙂 See map below of activities.

And yes I know the above photo is not a Seagull motor – its of Adrian trialing his new foiling hull. Yes that’s not a typo, some very heavy hitters at the cutting edge of foiling have been having a ‘play’. These  Seagull guys are a little crazy. Click the link below to view photos from the Waikato River Seagull race.

The tale of the 2015 Waikato Seagull Race

The 2014 Great Annual Waikato Seagull Regatta – Part2

16-11-2015 A few photos from the weekend – ‘borrowed from ‘Waitakere West Ranges’ faceook page

Wairuna

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WAIRUNA
photos ex trademe

Wairuna is currently a resident of Great Barrier Island & has been lucky to have the same owner for the last 29 years.
Her trademe listing states that she is a 28′ Bailey & Lowe kauri built launch, built c.1940 & powered by a 90hp Fordson diesel.
What I’m sure is a more modern cabin top has been done very well, not easy on a sub 30′ boat 🙂

Can we expand on what we have been told about her?

Waikato Woodys – Sailing Sunday #1

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P Class yachts, Karapiro Lake, 1949
Easter Regatta, Hamilton Lake, 1949a
Easter Regatta, Hamilton Lake, 1949b
​Idlle Along “Judith” Hamilton Lake c.1949
Idle Along race, Hamilton
Idle Along H2 ‘Judith’ at Huntly?

WAIKATO WOODYS – SAILING SUNDAYS#1
photos & details ex Judith Wallath

Judith has just finished reading Jimmy Gilpin’s book “Winners are Grinners” and was amused to discover that her last year in P Class on Hamilton Lake coincided with his first year (although he was from Tauranga). The Cambridge Boating Club held a Regatta in 1949 to celebrate the completion of Karapiro Dam and the formation of the Lake. The first photo above was taken by Waikato Times/Herald photographer, Mr Fred Louden. Judith is on the right hand end (H11) and Jimmy Gilpin (T23) is at the left end.
Judith says the only remarkable thing she did that day was to break her yacht’s centre board during the capsize race in front of the crowd of spectators. It was her first (and last) attempt at a capsize race 🙂

The 2nd & 3rd photos are from the Hamilton Yacht Club inaugural Easter Regatta in 1949 and Jimmy G was there, well towards the front.  Jimmy and Judith are both in the P Class line-up at the lake edge before the race. Incidentally, the water tower, pictured, had a piece of roofing iron wrapped around it for years.  A memento of the 1949 Frankton tornado.

The 4th, 5th & 6th photos are of the  Idle Along H2 ‘Judith’ that belonged to Judith’s brother Brian. She was built by Brian and their father in the back yard, with encouragement from retired Hamilton builder Harold Martin an enthusiastic yachtsman. Mr Martin towed her to Auckland for the Anniversary Regatta, behind his Model T Ford. On the way back to Hamilton an accident occurred and ‘Judith’ suffered a stoved in side.  Promptly repaired, and back on the lake.

Harold Kidd Input

Harold Martin Sr was briefly in partnership with Chas Collings as “Collings & Martin” from 1907. He and his sons were very important in Waikato and Rotorua sailing in the 30s and 40s with the Idle Alongs IONA (1936), IDA (1939), TAMARA (1940) and WINSOME (1944). They also built and raced the X Class MYSTERY (1922) and the Zeddies TUI (1932) and CUPID (1951) amongst probably several other centre boarders.
Harold Sr lived at Orakei originally and built and/or owned several mullet boats until he left Auckland to live in Hamilton c1920. These included the 22 footer TE ATA and the 26 footer MYSTERY. The name MYSTERY was used by at least three generations of Martins for their yachts from at least 1874.
Similarly the Neilsons of Kawhia, and later of Tauranga, used the name CHARM for a couple of generations including for Jimmy Gilpin’s first Tauranga 7 footer CHARM (to close the circle).
BTW the car towing Briian Wallath’s IA isn’t a Ford T if Judith meant that. It’s a big American tourer of c1924, probably a 6 cylinder Buick. The trailer has 1935 Ford V8 car wheels.

P.S.  – Harold Martin didn’t last long in business with Chas Collings, but then nobody did, neither the Clare brothers, Harold Martin nor Alf Bell. I gather he was “difficult”, but he kept the Bell name in the business long after they parted ways during WW1 when Alf went off to help the Walsh brothers build and maintain their flying boats at Kohimarama.

Updated 03-11-2015 Photo below ex Harold Kidd  of Le Clerc’s IA JUDITH on Hamilton Lake with the 14 footer PERSEUS (Y8) and Frostbite 151, KIRIROA, c1949.

 

 

Vesper

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VESPER
photos ex Zach Matich & Pam Cundy

Vesper is a rather special Kaipara boat having been in the Matich family for 3 generations. Powered by a 4 cylinder Ford diesel. She appeared on ww back in 2013 but Pam has recently sent me the photos of her hauled out at Pahi.

Maybe Zach can chip in with some more details – builder, year etc?

Harold Kidd Input

VESPER is clearly a “settler’s launch”, one of hundreds built in this exact style by Chas. Bailey Jr in the main, but also by Bailey & Lowe and other Auckland builders. They were in the mould of the launch MILKMAID, built by Chas. Bailey Jr in late 1901 for use on the Hauraki Plains for carrying produce out and supplies and people around the rivers of the district. They were usually around 32ft loa, diagonal built for maximum internal volume and could carry several wool-bales under that tall dee-front cabin top. Many are still soldiering on these days.
In an article in the Northern Advocate of 2nd July 1988 the history of VESPER was discussed, putting her at 1905, which seems about right, and talking about her lengthy ownership by the Matich family on the Kaipara for fishing and towing, and earlier with Capt. A.V. Subritzky as skipper.

Update 17-10-2016 –  photo of Vesper sitting on trailer at Hobsonville Marina, Mon 3rd Oct. Where she was off to was unknown….. ?  photo ex John Wicks

vespers

 

Silvery Main

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SILVERY MAIN
photo ex Pam Cundy

Today’s photo of Silvery Main was sent in by Pam from the Whangateau Traditional Boat yard & was taken last weekend at Kawau Island.
Now I’m not a big fan of flybridges on older boats but the one on Silvery Main has been done well, nice proportions.
Can anyone shed some light on the history of the launch?

Harold Kidd Input

I have SILVERY MAIN’s original plans and details of her early history from Bob Cairns, her former owner for 5 years. I’ll post the plans when I’ve had them copied. However, essentially her hull was the 28ft sport fisherman SEA STRIKE design by Rogers Winter of Florida with the cabin top and interior only designed by Claude Smith who built her in Whangarei. Her first owner was a chap called Hermann, a mill-owner from Whangarei who had her built to tow logs from Kawau to Sandspit when he got the contract to fell the pines.She was built much heavier than the American design and had far less power.
Very sweet design!

08-12-2015 Input from Ray Morey
‘Silvery Main’ was built by Alan Smith of Whangarei for Charlie Herman of Herman Timbers & in my eyes another example of flowing curves spoiled by straight lines and square corners plonked on top of a nice hull.
The bit about being built to tow logs was a bit of creative accounting for tax purposes, yes she is heavily built and underpowered and probably had a limited survey for a time but I did all of the log hauling for Charlie with the new twinscrew tug ‘Tangaroa’ and the Tauranga built barge ‘Rakanui’ belonging to Whangarei Towboats Ltd. The logs were pushed over a cliff at Schoolhouse Bay and I loaded on the flats there. I also built, with the help of the logging contractor (Mike Johnson) a bit of a landing in South Cove and took several loads out of there.

02-01-2016 Input from Alastair MacKenzie

“A few memories of the Silvery Main from the mid to late 1960’s when she was owned by my then employer Charlie Herman skippered mainly by my off-sider Barney Mahanga and used  by the  Hermans as their family launch. We would use her also to tow the Co’s small barge with freight and goods from Sandspit but she certainly never towed barges of logs – far too flash for that !!
All the logs we produced were towed to Whangarei from both Schoolhouse Bay and South Cove from a landing built by Mike Johnson. The barges were Bert Subritzskies which we would load with an old Skagit swing boom log hauler!  It was always a drama to get the barge loaded in time for the next high tide.”

Norma

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1928
1929
1939

NORMA
photos via Nathan Herbert ex Manukau Yacht & Launch Club collection

Three photos today of the 40′ launch Norma. The top one is dated 14-01-1915. The middle one records her in 1929 winning a MY&LC race for launches helmed by ladies. Also featured are the yachts ‘Sea Gnome’ & ‘Sylvis’.
The bottom photo is from 1939 & shows Norma & the 26′ launch ‘Marina’ being off loaded (lorry?) & re-launched into the Waitemata Harbour. I’m sure Harold can enlighten ww followers the reason these launches made the trip from the Manukau.

Can we expand some more on Norma – designer/builder etc?

Harold Kidd Input

There were several NORMAs. This Coulthard NORMA was built at Onehunga for the Jeffs brothers and launched in November 1913. She was a 32ft flushdecker with an anonymous 10hp engine but had a 30hp 4 cylinder Wolseley installed in the winter of 1919. The Jeffs sold her to C. “Shorty” Schnauer in January 1921. In the 1930s she was sold to Whitianga for game fishing. She was owned there by Bill Clark and was in Whitianga until at least 1980.
I don’t know this MARINA under that name. There were many MARINAS, another one game fishing out of Mangawai in the early thirties owned by Franich but it can’t be this one.

SEA GNOME was one of the square bilge 14 footers built by George Honour that formed the basis of the so-called “Sea Class”, 14ft “flatties” most with names starting with “Sea” that latter morphed into the Auckland Y Class. Honour built her in 1921 and she was an immediate champion. Chuck Auger owned her for 14l years and took her to the Manukau in 1927. She raced on both harbours. The Y14 on her sail was her Manukau number.
SYLVIA was a 22ft mullet boat designed by Dick Lang and built by Harvey & Lang in October 1912. She was on the Manukau from 1924 to 1930, mostly owned by C. Paul.