WINSOME
photos ex Dean Wright
Winsome was built by Bailey & Lowe in 1918. More details can be viewed by searching her name in the ww search box.
The other launch in the photo is Arethusa, built in 1927 by Bob Brown & now owned by Dean Wright , again view more via the ww search box.
Photo below ex Harold Kidd of Arethusa under sail – rather fine looking
ESCAPADA
The designer / builder of Escapada, a 32’ 8” kauri carvel planked sedan style launch is unknown but her owner has been told she is a Roy Parish but this has not been confirmed.
Powered by a 75h.p. engine she would be an economical family cruiser & with 4 berths & 6’ 6” of headroom she is big for her size.
Personally I would love to see those coamings varnished but each to their own & her interior is a glow with wood.
Anyone able to expand on her past?
Nathan H update
Nathan is pretty confident she is ex the pencil of Jim Young – as below (click image to enlarge)
She is currently kept at Sulphur Point Marina & for sale on trademe
A Mystery Boat 20/05/14 – RIO RITA > RESOLUTION
Ok woody boaters – todays post is an enigma to me. The boat is unknown to me, but she is flying a CYA burgee, a check of the CYA database shows no match so the vessel is either belong to a very distant lapsed member or someone has ‘borrowed’ the burgee.
The photo is ex the very talented pro photographer Dean Wright & most likely shot in the BOI.
Anyone able to shed some light on the vessel?
It also appears she is currently in Tauranga & listed on trademe (thanks Andrew Pollard for the tip). Photo added above.
Update
Lots of chat about todays mystery boat in the comments section – check it out. I can confirm it is ‘Rio Rita’ > ‘Resolution’ . I have also added a great photo sent to me by Harold Kidd of her on launch day, 1929, at St. Marys Bay, she was built by Collings & Bell & launched as a tourist passenger boat, note the open cockpit forward. Looked rather grand, quite different now days.
Updated photo– 13/06/14 – ex Harold Kidd of Rio Rita in the Sounds, still with ‘Rio Rota Auckland’ on her transom.
Updated photo – 23/07/2014 – ex Liam Daly on or close to her launch day
2014 photo below ex Dave Jones ex Baden Pascoe
KAYLA ROSE – RIP
Kayla Rose, a SeaCraft, is one of those boats that we look at & think – ‘ bugger these launches, I could handle the maintenance on one of those, no marina fees etc’. Truth is I’m sure the upkeep is similar.
I spotted KR at the recent Whangateau regatta & like several others there were instantly smitten.
Keen to learn more about her – possibly Pam at the WTB can enlighten us.
Update from John Sankey
Thank you for putting up the pics on your wonderful website!
A big thanks also to Pam and George for the fantastic weekend Regatta! The weather, wind and company was perfect!
This was the first time back in the tide for Kayla Rose after 2 years hibernating and getting some ‘beauty sleep’. As you can see, the bilge pump was working hard waiting for those planks to start to ‘take up’. She is 16′ and is circa 1962 in Kauri planked clinker with a double diagonal bottom. The engine is the original Ford Consul 4 cylinder by S.A.M. Marine, with a forward and reverse box. I bought her 3 years ago off a friend in Beach Haven who will know more of her history….
Lucinda Hauls Out
With the money that Nathan received from Sanfords for the mussels he harvested off Lucinda a few months ago, he can now begin the main project, which started yesterday with hauling out at Milford Cruising Club. Unable to make the journey under her own steam (motor out), WildDuck provided the legs to get her up the creek.
Nice to see the CYA yacht captain (Dan Renall) on hand to help with the water blasting.
Beneath all that old paint lies a very pretty launch with good bones, a quick glance at her ‘bottom’ says she should get along very nicely.
ww looks forward to following this project, Nathan has good bones himself so everything should get the tick from the CCC (classic compliance contingent) 🙂
To see more on Luncinda, type her name in the ww search box
An Update 11/07-2015
Now there has been a lot of work going on under the big tarp, but today Nathan was out of town so Jason Prew decided to test his router on the foredeck & fit some bling. A deck prism/ port light.
Update 30-08-2015
Things been happening under that cover, last time I was aboard it was looking very sad. Seems all the talk of working on cold winter nights were true 🙂
Nov 2015 Update
A peek under the covers 😉
03-01-2015 Another peek – I’ll be getting a reputation for lifting up old ladies skirts 😉
That prop is looking rather zoom zoom …….
16-04-2016 Update – the shiney paint an not be too far away 😉
A Commodores Salute
Todays post is a little classic wooden boat eye candy from Seattle, the video shows the annual Lake Union- ‘Open the Gates Commodore Salute Parade’. The event marks the appointment of a new commodore to their CYA, lets hope Rod Mahler isn’t watching this, he will be demanding one of these each season 🙂
How’s this for a left field idea
I saw a posting on the CYA forum yesterday that caught my eye. CYA member Greg Schultz is selling a berth & jetty at Tinopai on the Kaipara. Ok it’s a mud berth but at the price it could be a seriously cool idea for an affordable bolt hole. Check the photos out above, the outlook is impressive. I’ll quote from Greg’s post below –
“Ever thought of keeping a boat on the Kaipara. I have a mud berth and jetty for sale very cheap at Tinopai, all Northern regional Council approved etc.
Could put an old boat in it and have an absolute beach front ‘bach’ property…annual rental is about $160. Come up stay/live on board and maybe go out and catch a load of snapper, fishing is still great up here, I caught a 14 pounder a hundred meters off the beach last week and a visitor from the camp ground speared a huge kingie while spearing flounder next to this jetty .
These berths regularly change hands for about $2000-$3000 depending on condition. This one was rebuilt about 12 months ago so should not need anything doing on it for quite a few years. Has had a 45 foot launch moored there before I put my 18ft mullety on it, fine for something up to 26-28ish ft but could require a digger to dig it out for anything much bigger. I will look at the closest offer to my ‘buy now’ price of $1000 if anyone is interested as I now have another berth for Scamp (the mullety)
The photos above were taken about 2 hours after full tide.”
Now here is another twist on things – FV Waimko has just failed its commercial fishing survey due mainly to rot in the foredeck area (shown in photo). The owner hasn’t got the time to do the necessary repairs so would be interested in any reasonable offers around $5000, has a good engine, gearbox, radar, VHF. She could suit someone looking for that ‘seaside bach’ to go on the jetty!
Around $6,000 all up for a waterfront pad – a few ww lads should form a syndicate….
For more details itzgreg@xtra.co.nz
Project Boat Wanted
And if you have or know of a T, S or X yacht lying around, Greg was looking for another mullet boat to restore but has decided something around 12-16’ would be better. So if there is one out there looking for a good home, condition unimportant, contact Greg.
RANONI
colour photo ex Dean Wright
b/w photo ex Andrew Pollard (opening day of the 1948 Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club)
details ex Harold Kidd
Ranoni hails from the Far North so I personally know little about her but Harold Kidd told me she was built by Charlie Gouk at Beaumont Street in the winter of 1911 for the Rushbrook brothers. In 1948 she was owned by O. Mann.
Anyone able to spread some more light on her?
Harold Kidd Update
RANONI was built by Charlie Gouk in August 1911 for the Rushbrook brothers of Onehunga for use on the Waitemata and cruising our east coast.There have been erroneous reports that she was built by Harvey & Lang who were next door to Gouk in Beaumont St. Her first engine was a 20hp Herald. She was 35’x35’x8’6″x2’6″.
The Rushbrooks cruised with her very extensively, up North and to the Bay of Plenty. She became well known in Whangarei and was eventually bought by J. Main of Whangarei in early April 1920. He replaced her engine with a 25-30hp Buffalo in 1924.
In 1941 was taken into NAPS with the number Z38. Her owner was then Alex Matthews and skipper Vere Harrison. She spent most of 1942-4 stationed at Great Barrier.
Postwar she remained in Whangarei. In 1948 she was owned by O. Mann and her callsign was ZLAY 7.
PS During NAPS service she seems to have had a Ford V8.
15/11/2014 – Update on RANONI ex Ken Ricketts
Ranoni was bought Aug/Sept 2014 by Graham Rigden of Opua, subsequent to her being damaged on her moorings at Opua by another vessel which had dragged or broken its moorings.
She was substantially damaged at the rear end side & stern areas & was taking water. She was regarded as a write off (insurance company?)
Graham a boatbuilder, who works at Opua & you can see in the photos Ken took she is already well on the road to recovery.
She is powered by a 4 cyl Ford Sabre Diesel.
Graham has provided a substantial dossier on her history (click blue link below to read)
JUANITA
Juanita has appeared several times before on ww, but always in b/w, her current owners, Marty & Lena Pooley of Whitianga after ‘discovering’ the b/w older ww postings, sent Ken Ricketts some stunning colour photos of her & some updates on her previous ownership & length – she is 32′ not 36′ as previously reported.
Built by Allan Williams at Milford Creek for Cyril Bertrand of Bell Rd. Remuera c.1953, she had an Osco converted Ford V8 originally. When she was sold, she lived for a good number of years, at the Sandspit Warkworth, had a 6 cyl For Diesel fitted & was maintained (tbc) by Lees Boatbuilders, for the then owners.
She was owned by Ernest & Rae Blumenthal from the mid 1960’s to the 1994, when her husband died, Mrs Blumenthal sold her to Eric Nicholson Vickers in 1994. Vickers sold her to James Brown in Whangarei in 1997. James Brown sold her to Greenwoods in Napier in 2007, who took her to Kinloch Marina on Lake Taupo. Her current owners, the Pooley’s, bought her in January 2009 and she now lives in Whitianga Marina.
Juanita today remains almost identical to ‘as launched’ & her past owners need to be thanked for this. Marty & Lena say she is a babe – that she is.
Harold Kidd Update
JUANITA was built by Alan Williams at Milford in 1951 for Cyril Bertrand. The APYMBA records show her dimensions as 32’6″x31’3″x10’2″x2’10″ and being fitted with an Osco Ford V8 as Ken states. She was sold to M.T. Burrill in 1959 and then to John L. Gilbert in 1961.Her call-sign was ZMZF.
She was part of the honour guard for the arrival of the GOTHIC in Auckland in December 1953 for the Royal Tour.
What confuses me a bit is that she was called JUANITA II in APYMBA records after 1966 when Gilbert still seems to have owned her, and was JUANITA II when the Blumenthals owned her in the 1970s. Any reason? Same boat?
Photos above – with ‘mast’ is at Lake Taupo & minus ‘mast’ is at Ohinau Island Mercury Bay
Photos below – taken a Mercury Islands 3/4 May 2014
TAKARO
update photos from Zach Matich
Takaro was built approx 1952 & has had the same owner for the last 29 years.
35 ft kauri planked displacement launch, with a 11’3” beam which makes her a wide bottomed girl 🙂
She has recently been fitted with a reconditioned 120hp D-series Ford motor with Lees Marine conversion. Top speed is 10 knots, with a comfortable cruise speed of 8 knots, which = 7L per hour.
Home port is Pahi on the Kaipara Harbour & she is for sale on trademe.
Anyone able to expand on the builder, designer?
Harold Kidd Update
My first thought was that she’s very like the Colin Wild-designed 34 ft sedans that John Salthouse and then Salthouse Bros carried on building after Wild died. I went to the TradeMe entry which says “TAKARO = PLAYMATE” so Ken’s memory is correct on this occasion.
MY PLAYMATE was indeed designed by Colin Wild and built by O’Rorke Bros in 1949/50 for M.V. Wilson of Awatea Rd Parnell who owned her until at least 1964. Her original engine was a 90hp Chrysler. It looks like her present owner of 29 years didn’t like her name so used the Maori equivalent.
There were a couple of plain PLAYMATES owned by Roy Swales, a 22 footer he built himself in 1931 and the bridge decker built for him by Sam Ford in 1936 which caused confusion with MY PLAYMATE whose “MY” was eventually dropped in the Squadron and APYMBA records.
PS One of the brothers,J.J. O’Rorke, was a shipwright and boatbuilder living at Westmere. He built my former E Class keeler LOLOMA in 1909 and a number of big workboats over the years including MAROKOPA for Marokopa and RATAHI for Tauranga.
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 15+ million views 