Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Mystery Wellington Launch

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Mystery Wellington Launch

Woody John Wicks was recently visiting Wellington and tooth opportunity to do a spot of marina mooching at Chafers Marina.

One woody leapt out to the eye, hard not to when painted ‘Rescue Yellow’ 🙂 John was unable to sight a name, but dockside chat is that she may have come down from Auckland.

Given the colour – hopefully we can ID her and learn more about her.

Nathan Herbert Input – That’s the Rehutai, ex Arawa, Nomad, Irihapeti. Converted to this guise by Allan Williams in Milford

FREE TO THE RIGHT HOME– Have been recently contacted by a gent that has a pair of wooden game poles (5m high x .800m wide) that he will donate to someone that will use them – so no profiteers need apply 🙂

Mystery Lake Taupo Launches

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Mystery Lake Taupo Launches

Todays woody photo has a launch leaving the Waikato River at Taupo for an excursion on the lake. The photo appeared in The NZ Herald on the 9th January 1937.

And woodys that is all we know, so keen to ID the launch and also the sedan cruiser in the background.

I suspect my inbox will ping me an alert from one of the Drake brothers with the answers 🙂

INPUT ex Nigel Drake – In my view the boat leaving the harbour is Waihora and the sedan launch on the beach is probably Destiny. Will leave someone else to hopefully confirm and provide more detail.

INPUT ex Paul Drake – Yes the above is a great photo of WAIHORA, run commercially by a Mr Tabernacle (Tabby) who was an A grade mechanic and the only person in New Zealand qualified to work on Rolls Royce engines. WAIHORA had a Chrysler Ace or possibly a Chrysler Crown. Last seen at Lake Rotoiti in the early 1980’s with the usual ugly plywood cabin but not seen for many years. 

I don’t think the other boat is DESTINY.

Photo below of WAIHORA at Lake Rotoiti dated Feb 8th 1983.

03-09-2023 INPUT ex Michael Drake – I agree that the launch in the foreground is Waihora, going far too fast in the river and with two fenders still down. But I doubt if the sedan launch in the background is Destiny, as the launch in the photo is too highly wooded at the stern, and the Destiny’ s cabin sides were visually lower than shown in the photo.

WOODYS BOAT BOOT SALE – SPACE FILLING UP – RSVP TODAY to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Work Boat Wednesday – Seastar + Fathers Day Sorted

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Work Boat Wednesday – Seastar + Fathers Day Sorted

Todays woody photo comes to us from the Tauranga Museum collection via Dean Wright. The vessel on the slipway is Seastar, and her home port is shown as Gisborne. The photo is tagged May 1965 and that woodys is all we known. Fingers crossed that one of the Work-Boat group can help out with some details.

Sick Of Getting Socks For Fathers Day

This year grab the reins and tell the family what you really want. Today is the un-offical launch of the new waitematawoodys burgee – a long time in the making but I picked the first batch up yesterday. I’ll do a longer story on them later but the quick over view is – 100% canvas, printed 2 sides with the Waitemata Woodys logo using old-school screen printing methods = long lasting. Size is 40cm x 30cm. Sorry about the bad mast photo, no wind yesterday -:) See flyer below – Burgees are $40, caps $38. P&P is $7 – Buy both and WW will pay the P&P. Email orders to waitematawoodys@gmail.com with your address and we will send them off and let you know payment details etc.

WAIMANA – Very Affordable Waterfront Living

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WAIMANA – Very Affordable Waterfront Living

Waimana had the best possible start in life – built at the Percy Vos yard in 1943 as a 51’ seine trawler for Sanford Fisheries (AK77). At one stage post launching she was set to be requisitioned by the US Army for war use in Noumea, New Caledonia,  but this cancelled. 

Built from single skin 1.5” kauri planks over double hardwood frames, she weighed approx. 35 tonnes.

Powered by a Gardner 6L3B diesel (not sure if original) .

Fast forward to the 1980’s and Waimana was converted to pleasure use and these days has a very homely fit-out. But still very well spec’ed for cruising.

Originally for sale for c.$110k, its a deceased estate sale and the new tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) is $60k – that woodys is very low entry into a 6 >10 bed apartment.

Elsinore

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ELSINORE

Todays photo is from the Tauranga Library collection (but is tagged Nelson) and comes to us via Dean Wright.

It would be nice if we could learn more about Elsinore but the main reason for posting the photo is that it is just such a cool photo.

it has all the feel good vibes written all over it – clinker / motorboat > sail / gaff rig/  beach railway haul-out and everything in proportion, even the name plate is perfect. Maybe a small porthole on the cabin side, but that is just me being OTT.

Enjoy the photo and weekend 🙂

INPUT ex John Burland – excerpt below from the NZ Gazette 1944 wherein a J. Chapman applied for (declined) a fishing license for Elsinore. The location being Motuka supports the ‘Nelson tag on the photo. Where is she currently?

BONITA  – Only In The South + Boat Boot Sale

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BONITA  – Only In The South

Cameron Pollard sent in the top photo of – Bonita, seen here in the Marlborough Sounds c.1985. Bonita was built in 1923 by ER Lane in Picton, her specs are 36’ in length with a beam of 8’6”.

The second photo is from the 1960> period and the last from 2022 when she had just had a major birthday prior to selling.

There is a wonderful history of the vessel in the WW links below.

The History of Bonita
Bonita

UPDATE 30-08-2023 – Input ex Cameron Pollard. Photos of Bonita as launched and later pics from the 1960’s.

BOAT BOOT SALE – THE SLIPWAY MILFORD – SEPT 16 – 11am

Mystery Launch At Gt. Barrier Island – 1963 – WESTWIND

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MYSTERY LAUNCH AT GT. BARRIER ISLAND – WESTWIND

Todays photo was spent in by Dave Stanaway and shows the Radio Hauraki ‘pirate ship’ – Tiri alongside the wharf at Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island. 

The photo is dated 1963 and todays question is can we ID the launch alongside Tiri. Dave commented that he recalls she was island based but the name eludes him.

UPDATE – As mentioned in the comments section, as pictured above Tiri wasn’t yet the Radio Hauraki ship. Dave advised his father ran the Tiri for Tiri Co-operative Shipping Co at the time of the photo. Ran from Auckland to Whangarei and Great Barrier.

Grant Schults ID’ed the launch alongside as Westwind, that serviced the local guesthouse on the island.

23-08-2023 INPUT ex Greg Philpott  – photos below of Westwind in the Whangarei Town Basic Marina.

Ronaki – Collings & Bell

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RONAKI – Collings & Bell

In my communications with Sue Rivington re Sundays story on the launch – Leone, we uncovered that her grandfather also owned the launch – Ronaki. There are several vessels with that name on WW, but this one last appeared on WW back in August 2015, the two photos below ex the team at Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard are from then when Ronaki was jn storage in Ruakaka, Northland.  At the time we learnt that she was built as a fast harbour launch by Collings & Bell for the Auckland Harbour Board in January 1913, a 38 footer powered by a big 55-75 hp H.C. Doman marine engine with a max of 14 knots.

The last photo above is of her, ex Ron Watton, during her sea trial. After many years of service with AHB she was sold to G Hyauiason  (Sue Rivington’s grandfather) who had her bridgedeckerised.

The RNZN took her over in 1942 for control service (at the boom, HDK thinks) but sold her in 1944 to J.A. Collins. Harold’s uncle – Lou Wilson, MD of Morris Black & Matheson bought her soon after that. The AHB bought her back subsequently and fitted a Leyland.

The photos above come to us ex Sue’s family album/s, Sue commented that the background in several of the photos is at Sandspit. They used to own the farm there above the Motor Camp and out down the point to Brick Bay and around to Kanuka Road. Sue’s father sold the farm to developers in 2015 – now a subdivision. There maybe more than one launch in todays photo gallery – I would appreciate your views on the below and anything else that you see-
1. Are the launches #746 and #1661 the same launch

2. Is #748 the ‘bridgedeckerised’ launch Harold refers to above

3. Is the dark hulled launch another launch or part of the evolution of Ronaki

Back in 2017 WW got two comments added to the 2015 story. A Graham Watt advised that he owned Ronaki from 1969 > 1971, when he purchased her she was moored off Little Bucklands Beach. Graham immediatly undertook repairs to the boat at Westhaven as she was very ‘run-down’. Back then a Perkins P6 powered hr. The second comment was from a gent named Grant advising that Ronaki was on the hard at Mangapai, Whangarei, Northland and work was underway to refit her. We haven’t heard anything since then so very keen to learn the status of Ronaki.

INPUT ex Nathan Herbert – Three boats shown: First one possibly Miss Aussie then progress photos of the single-sheer Ronaki being rebuilt into raised foredeck bridge-decker. Third and dark painted boat is the Iorana in original guise.

Woody On Tour – Rhode Island, USA

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Thania
Thania

Woody On Tour – Rhode Island, USA

Woody Angus Rogers has just return from a whri-wind trip to the USA, at the top of his to do list was a visit to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Link her to see and read more about the place  https://herreshoff.org

I exhibit that caught / captured Angus’s eye the most was the 1905 launch – Thania, designed / built by Nathanael G Herreshoff. Over view 59’8” in length, beam of 10’7” and draws 2’8’.

More details in the photos above, as always click on a photo to enlarge. ENJOY 🙂

REEL TIME ( Mary Ann)

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REEL TIME ( Mary Ann)

Yesterday on WW one of the launches included in the Tutukaka Marina photos was named Reel Time (photo below), ex owner Eric Sanders contacted WW advised that Reel Time is a Athol Burns design and built in 1969. 

When Eric brought her in 1991 off Wally Lambie in Tauranga she was named Mary Ann. Eric sold her around 2002 to Mal Sharples who changed the name to Reel Time.

Three of this design were build by Tauranga boat builders, one is in Opua moored off the break water.

In the photos above the first photo is from 1991 and the next three show her in 40 plus knots. The last last one is as sold in 2002 aprox.

16-08-2023 INPUT EX OWNER – Ron Bell – when I bought her in 2010 from a Phil Halse,at Tutukaka it was called Reel Thing. I got information from Phil that she was built in 1962 by Strongman Bros at Coromandel, I have since met Eric at Dockland 5 in Whangarei and said no it was Tauranga built. I still have the Mary Ann life-bouy ring that was on the old flying bridge. I had the new flying bridge put on in 2018. Have had to fix a reasonable amount of rot around decks and along and under the belting, shes in pretty awesome shape now and is used fairly regular, Still got the 180 HP Ford diesel which does not miss a beat.