RANUI (this is a long post, keep scrolling down – lots of photos)
Antartic Outpost – Campbell Island 1947
ex Richard Allen ex archives nz
I was alerted by Russell Ward of this  delightful short movie that Richard Allen had posted a link to on the ww ‘Matanui’ post. In Russell’s words – “the movie shows the dear old Ranui taking a load of provisions and workers to the Campbell Islands in 1947. I humbly bring it to your attention as it should be in its own spot rejoicing the daze when men were men and mulleties were mulletiies  and were permanently pis_ed in Mansion House Bay.
Its a celebration of proper sailing men who are not ashamed to smoke fags and drink a beer in one gulp on camera. Before we all got tamed by these sheilas”

I spotted Ranui hauled out at Salthouses a few weeks ago getting her bottom seen to, photos below. On one of her visits to the Pacific Islands she practiced a spot of impact hydrography & while the damage was minor the anti-fouling was scrapped off exposing bare wood which proved too inviting to the worms. Out of the water she is a rather large lady.

Update from Bob McDougall

Below is a photo I took of RANUI on Miller & Tunnage’s slip at Carey’s Bay, Port Chalmers. Dated 15-12-1962, RANUI was in for a refit in preparation for the next oyster season in two months. Her hull lines show well in this photo.

 Photo ex Ian McLean Ranui entering Dunedin – mid 1990’s

Dunedin mid 1990’s

Update #2 from Bob McDougall

The Larsen concerned was one of several Norwegian men of the name, who came to Stewart Island in the mid-late 1920s, with the whalers who set up their base, workshops, accommodation etc there — best known now as the Kaipipi Shipyard. The whale
factory ship was the famous C.A.LARSEN.

The man who designed and built RANUI was Captain Korinius Larsen, and information about him, and RANUI, is told in detail in the book “Stewart Island Boats”, published in 2008 by the Rakiura Heritage Trust, P.O. Box 114, Stewart Island, for the Rakiura Museum. This magnificent A4 portrait-format book was compiled from the long-time research and writings of Merv King, who died in 2005.
Email: stewartislandmuseum@southlanddc.govt.nz

RANUI and Korinius Larsen references are on pages 119 (incl. a photo of him), 121-122, and 266.

Other references are in: “Kaipipi Shipyard and the Ross Sea Whalers” by J.P.C. (Jim) Watt, 1989. Page refs. 56, 193, 233, 236. His first name may [sic] also be spelt “Karinius” — p.236.

Larsen was assisted by Tommy Bradshaw and others, and construction took place at North Arm, Port Pegasus, between 1928 and 1936. Launch date was 27-10-1936.
When completed, RANUI was sail-only — two  60hp National engines fitted a few years later [well before being taken up for war service in March 1941.]

All in all, a thoroughly interesting little ship with a big history.

Update #3 from Bob McDougall

More RANUI info is in Ian Church’s book “Around The Bay” — about Carey’s Bay people and boatbuilding, published 2007. Pages 95, 98, 99, 108, 110, and 117.
Page 95 records show the “assistant” who helped complete RANUI at Port Pegasus in 1936 was Miller & Tunnage’s Mike Monti of Carey’s Bay. Page 117 records the conversion from laid-up oyster boat to a modern charter vessel, during 1997-1998.

RANUI’s register information:
First registered at Dunedin, No.1 of 1937, 10 April 1937, O/No.142914.
First owner, The Pegasus Fishing Co.Ltd, Invercargill.
First engines: twin screw, two 3-cyl. diesels by National Gas & Oil Engine Co.Ltd, Ashton-under-Lyne, U.K. TOTAL bhp, 60 = 9.5 knots. Therefore, engines installed by April 1937: i.e, 5 months after launching.

Registered dimensions: 66.25ft x 17.65ft x 8.35ft depth. Ketch-rigged.
Tonnages: 56.24 gross, 19.52 net.

Owners:
Sale 25/5/1939 to James William Paterson [sic?] THOMSON, mariner, of Half Moon Bay, Stewart Island.[the ‘real’ owner]
Sale 10/6/1941 to H.M. The King, in N.Z. Government Marine Dept.
Sale 28/7/1949 to         ditto                 ditto        Ministry of Works.
Sale 14/10/1949 to       ditto                 ditto, Dept. of island Territories.
Register transferred to Wellington 16/12/1949, No.1 of 1950, 11/1/1950.
Sale 28/8/1953 to George T. ELLISON, Otakou, transport operator.
Register transferred to Invercargill 29/10/1953, No.2 of 1953, 3/11/1953.
Sale 18/2/1960 to Otakou Fisheries Ltd, Dunedin.
Invercargill register open, no further owner-changes, as at Feb. 1976.

Subsequent engine, tonnage, etc changes:
The conversion for Island Territories work, by HMNZ Dockyard at Devonport, completed in December 1949 — now 65.54g, 22.97n.

By Feb.1954 — 65.54gross, 18.18net.[conversion for trawl & cray fishing]
1956-1957 — converted for oyster dredging by Miller & Tunnage, at Carey’s Bay. First dredging season, February 1957.
By May 1965 — completion of new engines fitted: two 6-cyl. Gardner diesels, 114 bhp each; 51.63g, 13.07n; no ketch rig now.

Accidents, etc:
17/4/1938 — stranded off Stewart Island. Master – J.W.P. Thomson.
July 1944 — Damaged rudder at Auckland Islands. Ref. Church, p.98.
Nov. 1954 — A mast and boom smashed by CITY OF BIRKENHEAD, (7320gt/1950) at Dunedin.
c.Feb.1960 — Damaged the Bluff (port entrance) lightship beyond repair.
There are sure to have been other mishaps, but I have no record of them.

Finally,
I see that RANUI was put on Part B of the N.Z. Shipping Register in February 2001, as charter vessel RANUI III, Register No. NZ 654.

Regards,
Bob

24/09/2014 – A reply to the above from Richard Allen – current owner + photos

Thanks Bob, I knew Ian Church but didn’t know his book. I left Dunedin about 1999. Stewart Island Explored is a good one and there is another by Olga Sansom. Also NZ NAVAL vessels has  the chapter attached plus the ships details in the schedule.

I knew Mike Monti, he was about 80 yrs old then and made the tea at Miller and Tunnage in the new shed ((after the old was burned down just after Bryan Ingles sold to his foreman Alvin Smith, about 1985.. The charred Timaru trawler that was inside the shed became the centre piece of a famous Ralph Hotere exhibit called the “rise of the phoenix”.)

He told me Larsen hired 6 of the toughest  guys he could find on stewart island(including Mike)  to hunt thru the bush for grown curved totara for ribs and floors. He told me the toughest only lasted a week and after that Larsen did it all on his own. He was , he said , a “bull of a man, nearly as wide as he was high” .

Eric Chester a long time Otakau fisheries engineer found the original “Browns  Tele motor & Steam Tiller co  of Edinburgh”  steering wheel  still on her now.

Chris Spiers  first job as apprentice at Miller and Tonnage was to rip out all the red carpet brass and mahogany from her time as the official government ship . His second job was helping cut up two totara telephone poles used to make her rolling chocks (or bilge keels) .

I bought her over  the phone while I was in Savannah in 1996  with NZ Yachting team(Tornado). She used to be moored right next to my Fishing Trawler ELAINE , 39 ft 6 in , also a 1924 double ended Miller and Tonnage barracuda boat. So I knew her well when I was a commercial fisherman and always thought she would make a safe husky expedition boat.

Its maiden sail after the Miler and Tonnage refit in 1999 was a grade 3 oceanic search we did for the RSCC to Antipodes Islands to find well known sailor Gerry Clark and the Totorore, see newspaper article attached. Also see the article I wrote about that trip published in Boating NZ on http://www.ranui.co.nz.

The Gardners were not powerful enough (only 6 LW’s) so the Detroits were put in in 1977, rebuilt 1999 by Wilson bros.
She swings two 40 in x 24.5 3 blade props through 3:1 Allison hydraulic boxes. The Detroits are a matched set opposite turning.

Ranui has now taken our family around the Pacific and Southern Ocean many times  and she’s never scared anyone. I guess we are up over 75000 miles. Now she carries about 2900 sq ft of sail with all set, including mizzen staysail.

Incidentally , when looking through her survey papers I found the Invoice from Naval Dockyard to Minister of Finance for 13000 pounds. The minister wrote back to the Naval Superintendent querying the bill , saying they paid 3000 pounds to buy her , could have built a new one for 9000 pounds…, but I’m told it was classic Navy with a Rum Locker , Paint locker and all!  .But I now know how the Minister felt. Salthouse’s are doing a meticulous and loving job on her hull right now, including complete recaulk, fastenings inspected all ok ,( 5 in copper dumps in perfect condition), new starboard belting, new garboard, refurbished rudder, shafts, bearings , steering, repaint with 8 coats International etc etc

I just ripped off the last of the muntz metal the Navy put on her , some 64 years later….

Click the photos to enlarge

Ranui off Maskelynes Islands, Vanuatu 2010

Photo below  – Probably in the late 40¹s when Capt Noel Worth was skipper at Port
chambers wharf

Ranui during a ‘bad hair’ (ugly) period. Photo ex Ross Walker, taken in Bluff approx. 20 yrs ago. Ranui is arriving back after a day on the oyster bed.