Category Archives: Non Waitemata

LADY BESS – Live Aboard Project

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LADY BESS – Live Aboard Project

The 1922 Lady Bess was built by Leon Warne, St Marys Beach in Auckland. Originally built for passenger service around Waiheke Island and later in Tauranga. Then purpose modified for fishing charter work out of Helenville on the west coast of the North Island.

She is built of kauri, carvel hull, 48’6” in length and powered by a 471 GM Detroit engine, this gives her a cruising speed of 7>9 knots.

Interior is particularly stripped out ready for a new interior to suit her next life – domestic or back in charter.

Her tme me listing (thanks Ian McDonald) closes on 23-05-2023 and current bidding is sub $2500. Located at Gulf Harbour.

21-05-23 Input ex Alan Johnson (the nice one) – subject to final bidding but it looks like Lady Bess is off to Mangawhai

And from Bill Faulkner — She ran as a workboat for Harbour Transport on Tauranga harbour for many years. At least 1955 -1975 towing barges / logs from Bunns Mill on Matakana Island and ferrying workers / residents at the mill. I recall her coming into Coronation Pier circa 1962ish and the reverse gear failed at the optimum moment and she went under the pier and wiped the wheelhouse off. No injuries thankfully. A nice hull shape and one of the quickest displacement launches on the harbour. Great to see she’s still going strong.

Puruwai

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PURUWAI

Sometimes the odd email in the WW inbox sips between the cracks – today woodys is one of those, back in June 2022 Mike Ogier pointed me to a fb marketplace post on the yacht Puruwai – a kauri planked 40′ restoration project. Her story stated that she had been ’sailed internationally.At the time she was in s yard in Te Puna, Bay of Plenty.

Question of the day, did she sell and what became of her.

Margaret Joy

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MARGARET JOY 

One of the lines that pricks up my ears is “ I was going through some old family photos” – almost always there is an attachment of great photos linked to a woody.

Late last year David Engleback sent me a note that started with those words – turns out David’s wife’s grandfather – Gerald Wilson ( of Browns Bay) was aboard the launch – Margaret Joy in Feb 1955 and landed a 220ib. Marlin fishing in the Bay of Islands – as seen in the above photo weighing in at Russell and looking very happy. 

A google search by David popped up some previous WW stories on Margaret Joy, links below. Lots of speculation as to who designed / built her but todays photo confirms the name. Well done Robin Elliott back in 2016 getting it right.

2019https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/01/04/margaret-joy-a-mystery-game-boat/

2016 https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/04/02/mystery-launch-02-04-2016/

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Mystery Launch 14-05-2023

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Mystery Launch 14-05-2023

Back in January Eric Sanderson sent me a folder of random woodys – no names, no location or dates. Eric ‘recently’ restored the 33’ ex work-boat – Quest, re-launched May 2022. Quest is a very stunning woody, built in 1959 by Roger Carey, one of her many features is a canoe stern. Quest launching photos at link below: https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/05/11/the-relaunch-of-quest/

In the folder mentioned above was the launch berthed along side Moana, in my eyes a rather fetching craft. 

With that raked mast it does look a little familiar –  can you put a name and some provenance to her.

ORDER WW CAPS HERE waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Oops That Must Have Been Embarrassing

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OOPS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN EMBARRASSING 

The woody above was spotted in Paeroa – probably a combination of things

1. One of more lines came loose

2. River in flood

3. Bad luck

Will be interesting to know how she was extracted, maybe a midnight autos tow before anyone from the council spotted it.

Oops happen to even the most experienced boaties – after the recent Woodys Riverhead cruise the skipper of the launch Awariki was turning her around at Tamaki Marina and misjudged things and gently touched the launching ramp. A four hour wait for the tide, no damage just a bruise ego 🙂

A Sad Ending

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A Sad Ending
WW was sent the above sad photo of a woody that had come to grief in Oamaru Bay, Coromandel earlier in the week. The following day Dennis Maconaghie reported that shewas in little bits on the back of a truck on the way to the tip.  
Anyone able to tell us the name of the boat and what happened to her.

A Request For Help – Stuart Turner P66 Engine

Any woodys out there with a spare ST engine or a cylinder block? Drop an email to waitematawoodys@gmail.comFYI – I’m not that crazy to want one, but a reader doing up a 15’ clinker needs a replacement or parts.

Ocean Star – A Floating Apartment

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OCEAN STAR – A Floating Apartment

Todays woody – Ocean Star, is probably the cheapest apartment / home that you could buy in NZ at the moment. The fact Ocean Star has a bath backs up the owners ‘live aboard’ claim 🙂

Ocean Star is 55’ in length, with a 15’ beam. Built in kauri to a Jack Guard design in c.1950.

If you wanted to leave the mooring a 160hp Detroit 471 diesel engine is below decks. As per the photos she is very well fitted out and at $135k ono seems a bargain. The price includes her Tauranga waterfront mooring.

Thanks to Ian McDonald for the tme listing heads up.

I see in the comments section that she in a previous life was a Govt. vessel servicing the Hauraki Gulf islands – can we learn more about her work-boat days.

15-05-2023 UPDATE: Photo below ex Chris Rabey, sent in by Russell Ward

ORDER HERE waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Dream Girl – Project Boat

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DREAM GIRL – Project Boat

Todays woody while based in NZ started life on the other side of the world – at the Merritt boat yard in Fort Lauderdale, USA. Built in the early 1960’s she was originally named  – Tuna Teaser. Fast forward to the mid 2000’s and she is now named Dream Girl and pops up in Pago Pago (American Samoa) and then in Rarotonga. Sadly while in Rarotonga she sunk on her mooring in Feb 2006, fast forward again and she was freighted to New Zealand. Not sure of the timing between sinking and transport to NZ but before the sinking Dream Girl was powered by 2x 320hp Cummins giving her a reputed cruise speed of around 15knots and a top speed of 25knots.

Home these days is in West Auckland where she has been stripped back, damage repaired and is currently a hull and deck + a few original fittings.

What we know about her is that she is 40’ in length and appears to be strip planked and glassed.

Top photo and below from her ‘off-shore’ days.

While lacking the kiwi classic woody looks, if a fast classic sport-fisher appeals, Dream Girl could be a good entry point. You’ll find her on tme, if not already sold.

ORDER HERE waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Freedom DN.33 – A Peek Down Below

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FREEDOM DN 33 – A Peek Down Below

Regular WW readers will know that I have a soft spot for converted workboats, Todays woody – Freedom started life as a cray boat, built from kauri in 1956 by Millers in Lyttelton and fished out of Dunedin. Later (date unknown) converted to a live-aboard.

Thanks to Ian McDonald giving us a heads up on a tme feature we get to have a look below. Freedom is 40’ in length and powered by a 1970’s 120hp Ford diesel engine. Being a southern lass, she sports a Dickensen heater – we like those 🙂

Can we learn more about Freedom

The Demise Of Lorna Doone

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THE DEMISE OF LORNA DOONE

We last saw the Collings & Bell built Lorna Doone on WW back in April 2018, at the time we learnt that she was built in 1926, and one of four launches for the Zane Grey Sporting Club. When launched she was powered by a Redwing engine that gave her a very respectable 16 knots of speed.

In the 2018 story (link below) Martin Howson advised that in the late 1950’s when owned by Des Shimanski Lorna Doona came ashore in a big easterly blow in Hooks Bay, Waiheke Island. She survived that oops and returned to life as a long-liner moored in the Tamaki River, near Bucklands Beach.

In todays photos sent in by Ray Morey we see Lorna Doone in Whangaroa Harbour, in Northland. Sadly in the bottom two we see her c.1970’s when she was wrecked on Peach Island, in the middle of Whangaroa Harbour. (as advised by Gavin Bradley)

Can anyone tells us the back story to the Peach Island incident – its a well protected harbour and the island is almost dead centre with good deep water both sides – see photo below.

08-05-2023 Input ex Alice Morrison – Whangaroa can get some gnarly gusts through the valleys. A few months ago, the wooden yacht ‘Hope’ ran aground in Waitapu Bay/Ota Point when a big gust came through as he was lifting anchor. It actually happened again around at Ratcliffs Bay a few days later.