Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Nancy Belle

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NANCY BELLE
photo ex Pam Cundy

The photos of Nancy Belle above were taken by George Emtage & Pam Cundy at Great Barrier Island.
Pam believes that she may have been built at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard by the Greenwoods. To my untrained eye there are some similarities to Awatere, which was built by Greenwoods at WTB.

Any woodys able to confirm this & or supply more details on her ?

UPDATE:  Hawke-eye Nathan Herbert ID’ed Nancy Belle as Siren (below) – featured already on ww https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/12/siren-2/

Now this has to be a great example how a vessel can visually ‘change’ when her varnished coamings are painted 😦

Update from Pan Cundy

Pam told me she thought Siren might have been a Greenwood  because Siren looks so much like the image below that Howard G sent her some years ago. She has subsequently heard that this was boat was built by Howard for the Ray brothers.

 

Revenge

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REVENGE
photos & details from Michael Marston

Todays post features Revenge, an ex Kaipara Harbour work boat, converted to pleasure use. Her new owner Michael has just relocated her to Lake Rotoiti & she was relaunched there last Thursday (01-10-2015), photos below. Her details are as passed onto Michael so he would love to get clarification & if possible uncover more on her past. Revenge was built 1905 & is a carvel planked counter stern design, made from kauri with puri cross floors and pohutukawa ribs, fixed by copper nails and roves. Originally she had a mast which is now on show at the Matakohe museum
She is 36′ LOA with a 12′ beam & 3′ draft. Engine is 6.2 litre D-Series Ford truck engine 150 HP matched to a Newage gearbox. This all turns a 22″x18″ prop.

Until recently she spent all her life on the Kaipara Harbour. Early configuration was a small wheelhouse up front, with the deck fitted for cream can collection throughout the Kaipara Harbour. Its also believed she hauled logs throughout the Kaipara Harbour.

Her previous owners (from 1965) had her rebuilt in 1995 with new floor boards, wheel house and engine as per the condition you see today, for live aboard retirement cruising of the Kaipara.
Revenge will be a welcome addition to the Lake Rotoiti classic fleet.

So woodys what do we know about her – Zach what do the Kaipara guys say?

Launch Day – Lake Rotoiti

Harold Kidd Input

All I have is that she was built by Thompson at Aratapu in 1905 as a sailing fishing boat for Morgan Bros who sold her to Edgar Brown who sold to the Fisheries Department around 1930. She was skippered by Bunny Tilby as a fisheries protection vessel. In 1942 her then engine, a Kelvin Ricardo 24-30hp diesel, was removed and sold by tender. The Department sold her to Tilby in 1948. He sold her to Colin McPike who sold her to Bill Pook who sold her to Bob Moyle in 1968. Moyle converted her into a pleasure launch.
A lot of that is from the Matakohe Museum’s archives and may be pure anecdote.

ps I have since found confirmation that The Fisheries Branch of the Marine Department bought her in late 1930 and fitted the Kelvin-Ricardo in October 1930. That probably replaced the Twigg. The Kelvin-Ricardo was a “paraffin engine” rather than a diesel.

Zach Matich input

I know early on she had a Twigg 40hp in her, and I think she was towing metal from Green Hill for the Hobson county. She has very full underwater lines especially in the bow area,my great uncle said that she used to pound badly in a head sea so much so that all that was left on the cup hooks in the galley were the handles!! Bob Molye had Eric William convert her to pleasure ie new cabin,bulwarks and hull work etc. The Ford came out of one of our family boats which Bob brought just for the 6 cylinder ford and on sold it with Revenge’s old 4 cylinder ford. I’ll have a dig for some photos

Zach photos below  🙂

08-10-2015 Update from Michael Marston

Michael just sent in the photo below which he received from the last owner, who bought her from Bob Molye (who had her from circa 1965 – 2012).
Only the hull looks familiar, with the wheelhouse looking as though it is back-to-front compared to today.
Michael is hoping the picture will jog more memories, with stories to flow onto ww.
As for the where about’s of her mast at the front (see photo), one story has it as a flag pole on a front lawn at Tinopai whilst someone else says it is at Matakohe museum. The good news being it seems the mast still exists in the area.

 

 

Meola

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MEOLA

Meola is one of those boats that no matter what angle you view her, she just looks right. Built in 1961 by Miller and Tunnage at Port Chalmers for the Ministry of Works. Her job was the servicing of Marine Dept. & Navy installations around Waitemata Harbour & the Hauraki Gulf. She is 42’6″ LOA with a 12’7″ beam. Her engine is a 4L3 Gardner that sees her comfortably cruise at 7.5>8 knots, using 1L of fuel per mile.

In 1976 she changed hands & was taken over by the NZ Navy.
When decommissioned by the Navy she was converted to a pleasure boat & is now a very salty launch capable of coastal cruising. Her current owner has recently rebuilt the wheelhouse, rewired her, installed new ‘plastic’ water tanks (700L). She carries 600L of fuel (s/s tanks).
Her galley & engine room have also been revamped. As you would expect she sports all the electronic & safety gear needed for coastal passages. Also installed are solar panels & 12v refrigeration to support the engine driven compressor frig / freezer.
Sleeping is a very comfortable 4 berths, being 2 forward bunks, a skippers Queen size bunk & a very cosy ‘winter’ bunk alongside the Gardner.

If you wonder why I’m being a little OTT with details, thats because her owner has decided that sail is really his thing & wants to see Meola move onto a good owner.
You would struggle to find a vessel better suited to either mooching around the gulf or coastal cruising to the Bay of Islands or Marlborough Sounds. Most of you have heard me rabbit on about the concept of the ‘floating bach’ – well Meola is a boat that fits that role perfectly & you could own her for less than a 1/4 the price of a bare coastal section. AND – she is a serious looker 🙂

If any woodys out there are looking for the perfect floating bach or know someone that is – contact Bram Cone at     coneco@xtra.co.nz

01-10-2015 Additional Photos ex Owner

Lady Sam

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LADY SAM

Collings & Bell built Lady Sam in 1925. Approx. 32’ long & constructed of kauri planks. She is powered by a 80hp 6 cyl. BMC diesel.

She underwent a major refit & near complete rebuild in 2002. Home is the Coromandel Harbour. Recently for sale on trademe.

Can we confirm & expand on her history?

Mason Bay

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MASON BAY
photos & details ex Gary Underwood

Mason Bay (originally named San Guisepp) was built by Curnow & Wilson c.1956/57, while she has spent most of her life as a work boat she is now a very comfortable pleasure craft.
Details: LOA 14m, BOA 4m,.DR 1.5m 22Tonnes, 1500l diesel,800l water. Engine is a 6BD1 ISUZU 3 with a  Capitol box, prop = 29in X 17in. The hull is 3 bl. 32mm Kauri copper fastened on 3 stringers/side. Below is a summary in chronological order of her life – her present owner Gary Underwood would like any input to confirm or add to these details.
To view more details on her & the restoration visit gazzabomasonbay.blogspot

HISTORY OF MASON BAY

1956/7   Built Curnow and Wilton, Nelson for Tony Bonica, Island Bay Wellington as a day fisher. Launched as “SAN GUISEPPE”. Powered by a Lister JP3 (tbc)
1974      Ian Boyce went to Napier as she was for sale as “MARY LW”. Owned by Willy Watson. Had a Fordson (6?) and the Capital 3:1
1974      Late 80’s in Port Chalmers.
1978      Big NE blow (see newspapers) and 8 boats caught off the Nuggets, Otago bar closed “SEAWITCH” (sistership to DORADE) lost with 2 crew, Warren Wilson skipper & Les Walker (leadboots) MASON BAY all ok. ( Not sure if those 2 guys were on Mason Bay or Seawitch)
1985     Big refit at Miller and Tunnage. new bulwarks, and the 6BD1 Isuzu was installed with the 3:1 Capitol box. Then sold to a Mr. Hall in Nelson/Motueka. He also had “PEARLY SHELL” I believe
1993     Bought by Ian Boyce (from whom a lot of this info comes). Based in Tauranga with the “SEA BEE” and fished tuna off the west coast of the South IS.
1995     Sold to “Blondie”who had her for 2 years and ended up in Bluff
2001     Seen and photographed fishing in Lyttleton Hbr.
2007     Bought by Russell Keen from a finance company.
2009     Sold to Gary Underwood
2010     Motored north to Whangarei in Jan.
2010     May – hauled at Norsand boatyard for refit/rebuild and conversion to pleasure.  Shipwright was Marcus Raimon
2012     Re-launched and now home port is Whangarei Town Basin.

 

LA MORENA – Sailing Sunday

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LA MORENA – Sailing Sunday

Sometimes you see a boat & just go wow – now everyone has their own taste but today’s yacht rang my bell. Got to love the dinghy & the solar panel 🙂
La Morena is a 95 square metre Skärgårdskryssare. She is a 1922 masterpiece by Gustaf Estlander, the Finnish architect.
The yacht was built in Germany for a Swedish engineer, Frithiof Dahl. He was a building contractor, at that time responsible for the building of Ragnar Östberg’s famous City hall in Stockholm. Under the name Roxane III, the engineer race her during the 1920’s and 30’s, against Kerma and other famous yachts, probably mostly around Sandhamn and Saltsjöbaden. Then the family Graffman own her for almost forty years. They call her La Morena, “the brunette” in Spanish. They sold her to Arne Fyrk and Bengt Helgesson in the late 1970’s, who moved her from Stockholm to Motala and lake Vättern, were she stayed for 20 years. La Morena was almost 60 years old when they bought her. No age for a beauty, but she had worked hard and was in deep need of recondition. Arne and Bengt’s effort saved her for the future. The year 1998 she was back in Stockholm with new owners, who sold her to the present owner in the summer of 2004.

During the winter of 2004-05 an extensive restoration were carried out. It ends with a new keel plank, a new rudder stem and knee, 50 meter new planking, a new stainless steel rudder, a new modern profile of the keel, and high finish of the whole bottom. Damages in the deck and deckhouse were also repaired, as were damages in the mast. The restoration has continued. With the aim to both have a shining and a fast yacht.

The text is Swedish but the photos of the restoration are stunning – link below
http://www.lamorena.se/restoration/

Also as a bonus – click the link to the on-line USA Classic Yacht magazine
http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/ClassicYacht/clasicyacht-septoct2015/2015090801/

MONDAYS WW POST IS A MONTY – THE RESTORATION OF DICK FISHER’S EX. PILOT BOAT, ‘AKARANA’, 40+ photos.

The Wellington Scene

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Phyllis
Phyllis
Doris
Wai-iti

THE WELLINGTON SCENE

photos & details ex Harold Kidd & Gavin Pascoe

Some Wellington launches for a change.

Harold recently bought a postcard of a “launch on Auckland Harbour” which was clearly Wellington. Harold keeps in touch with Gavin Pascoe of the Wellington Classic Yacht Trust on anything Wellington so sent him off a copy. Between the two of them they identified her as Phyllis but in passing discussed images of two other similar craft, Doris and Wai-iti.

You can see that they all have a modest  ketch rig and similar configurations.

Phyllis was a 21 footer built at Kilbirnie to a Rudder Mag design by G. Dennis, starting in December 1910 and launching in August 1912. She was still around in early 1916.

Doris was built in Auckland as the 28ft mullet boat Dorothy but was sold to Charlie Moore in Wellington in 1912. He converted her to a deadwood keeler with an auxiliary but she became solely a power boat pretty soon. She was still around in 1929.

Wai-iti was built by Simmonds and Hutson of Wellington in late 1924 and they also built her semi-diesel engine. She was 28ft x 9ft. She lasted until at least WW2.

Harold Kidd Update

PHYLLIS certainly is very pretty, but you’d expect that of a Rudder design.
DOROTHY/DORIS’s cabintop is a bit lumpy, but it was put on in Wellington after she had been converted to a Cook Strait-capable launch from a very basic Auckland-built 28ft fishing mullet boat and form follows function most adequately.
WAI-ITI’s hull form is very sweet but I still can’t get my head around the way her cabin ports are placed, equidistant from the top of the coaming rather than in the middle between the top of the coaming and its bottom (sheer) as is the case in most boats of the time. To me, that’s a little awkward and unsympathetic. This has been commented on before in WW in relation to a possibly amateur-built Wellington launch.

Manowai

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MANOWAI
photos & details from Alan Craig ex Ken Ricketts, rewritten by Alan H

Well folks I now know the first boat I will be checking out at the 2016 Lake Rotoiti Classic Wooden Boat Parade 🙂

Manowai has spent the the last year tucked away in boat builder, Alan Craig’s boat shed, Alan has recently taken over the former shed of Tony Mitchell at Lake Rotoiti.

Ken has known the boat for over 70 years, first going aboard when he was around 8 years old.

Alan Craig advises that Manowai  is 32′ with an 8′ beam & now owned by Lake Rotoiti local Dennis Walsh, Dennis intends to keep the launch on the lake where she will be a stunning additional to the classic fleet.. Dennis bought her off a Mr Andy Culpin of Hampton Downs. It is understood he had kept her in a shed  for approx. 2 years & had started the restoration work & Alan has spent the last 12 months working on her. The target for relaunching is prior to Christmas 2015.
Alan commented that when purchased by Dennis Walsh she was powered by a BMC Commander, 4 cyl diesel, this is being replaced with a much lighter, brand new,  4 cyl. 40 hp Lombardini diesel, similar to what powers the launch Marjorie Rosa (ex Juliana) which also resides on Lake Rotoiti.

From the photos, the finish looks outstanding & given its been achieved just with elbow grease, lots of sandpaper & putty is a credit to Alan the boat builder.

Alan Craig has asked for help in sourcing  early photos of her & any info from previous owners.  The original builder & launch date are own known.

MANOWAI update ex Colin Brown via Ken Ricketts.edited by Alan H

Until today, I did not know that Colin B had significant roll in the refurbishment programme on MANOWAI.

He first became involved with her about 2003, when she was owned by Ralph Power & worked on her for an 8 year period in total, with around 3 years in his shed at Kumeu & also in the shed in McLeod Rd, Te Atatu South. During this period she changed hands from Ralph P., to Andy Culpin who sold her to Dennis Walsh.

The work included replacing the planking “hood ends” where the planking is fixed to the stem, with a new apron & new big pohutukawa stem knee. He also replaced most of the interior, except the middle section, where the engine was fitted over about a 3 year period

Colin told Ken he believes she was built by Bailey & Lowe in 1921

 

Mistletoe – Sailing Sunday

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Mistletoe – Sailing Sunday
photo ex Jason Prew

Jason snapped the photo above in August 2015 in Tauranga Harbour. Can not be a lot of ‘these’ down there so hopefully one of the woodys will be able to ID her.

Harold Kidd Update – 16/09/2015

Fred Mann built two 24 footers called MISTLETOE. The give away really is the narrow stern which betrays her early build. This is said to be MISTLETOE I which Fred built in late 1904, first race Auckland Anniversary Regatta January 1905. MISTLETOE II was built in 1914 and had very similar lines.
Frankly I am undecided which of the two this one is. Some authorities reckon she’s the 1904 boat, some the 1914. The APYMBA registration of MISTLETOE (sic) as I7 recorded her as being built in 1911, which merely shows how much confusion there has been since the second MISTLETOE was built.
Whichever one she is, she’s another survivor of Mann’s excellent design and craftsmanship.
I did most of my early keel yacht sailing on Lincoln Wood’s Harrison Butler-designed and Mann-built MEMORY and was regaled by Linc with Mann stories (as were most of Devonport’s young water rats he took as crew).

The  photo below was sent to me by Judith (Le Clerc) Wallath & is of a punt built in Whangarei for her brother Brian by their Dad, Godfrey Le Clerc.  The picture was taken at Onerahi with Limestone Island in the background. The punt was made out of a salvaged board that had borer and planks from a wooden case.  It was painted with tar from the gasworks but still leaked through the borer holes, and had a sail made from an ironing sheet, complete with iron-shaped scorch mark. Brian took it, against instructions, over to Limestone Island.  His Dad removed a plank from the bottom until there was a promise to behave.   Brian went on to become a champion P Class and Z Class sailor, and his sister (Judith) also sailed a P Class (on Hamilton Lake). Definitely a classic woody 🙂

Tiger

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TIGER
ex trademe

There have been some amazing classic launch buys on trademe recently, all with no reserve, today’s ww post is a 30′ kauri carvel planked launch named Tiger, currently located in Hamilton, The listing claims she is a 1937 Collings & Bell. Now Harold Kidd has no record of a C&B named Tiger but says there was a Waikato speedboat called Tiger in the 1930s, not this boat of course, but possibly the same owner. She is powered with a 90hp engine, the make or condition is not mentioned in the listing.
Harold would have put her date of build at c1925 and her builder not C&B which were usually square-bilge.

Anyone able to supply more info on her?

If your interested, bidding closes at 8.44pm 16-09-2015.

UPDATE : My ww spy in the Waikato (Bruce Pullan – MV Ann Michelle ) visited Tiger today, photos below. Bruce reports good headroom (<6′) in the cabin. So come on guys, someone has to buy her, the bits alone are worth 10x the bidding 😉

On the move