Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Iona – SOS

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IONA – SOS
The 33’ launch Iona recently was recently damaged on her Tauranga mooring during a storm, according to the tme listing (thank you Ian McDonald) the winds pulled out the bollard from the deck, and due to the weight of the warp on the fairlead, the stem at the bow has pulled forward and has resulted in the planks being sprung.

The launch was discovered bow down on its mooring. The stem and planks were patch repaired to enable a salvage to tow vessel to the hardstand. The 60hp Ford still runs.

Iona is for sale via the insurance companies loss adjusters. She has been for sale in the past – photo below from the marine hub listing.Iona made a cameo appearance on WW back in 2018, a lot of chat re builder, age etc – link here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/12/07/mystery-launch-at-omokoroa-boat-club/

The tme reserve is $1.00 so either a low-priced project boat or budget fittings.

07-8-2021 Harold Kidd Input: A few recently gleaned facts.

  1. IONE was built for W.J. Wilson, Chief Engineer for the Wilson Cement Works at Mahurangi.
  2. She was built in August 1905 by the great Auckland launch-builder David Reid (and not Bailey & Lowe as I earlier postulated)
  3. When Wilson retired in late 1909 he brought her to Auckland and joined NZPBA and RNZYS.
  4. He raced her consistently with those and other clubs. She was fast with her 12hp Sterling engine.
  5. Therefore her pedigree is as long as your arm and she should be rescued.
Read more https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/08/04/why-you-should-hold-off-paying-your-classic-yacht-association-subscription/

Mystery Woody – Lake Okataina

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Mystery Woody – Lake Okataina
Today’s woody popped up on Richard Wooders fb. All we know is the location – Lake Okataina, the date – c.1954 and the name of the photographer – John McFayden.

It must have been a very impressive run-about back in the 1950’s. Can anyone ID the boat for us? There was speculation it may have been in charter.

For the overseas WW readers, Lake Okataina is the northern most and largest of 4 small lakes lying between Lake Rotorua and Lake Tarawera in the Bay of Plenty region of NZ’s North Island.

HERITAGE BASIN UPDATE
Following on from yesterdays pink elephant in the room CYA story – I have never had so many emails and txts concerning a WW story – 99% supporting the call for a review of the vessel eligibility policy for the new Heritage Basin classic marina (if you missed the story, scroll down).

I would like to clarify something – I am a passionate believer in the CYA and its right of place in the classic boating movement. It just concerns me that as a group we are all equal and there is no inequity around what vessel you own or do not own, at the end of the day, it is all about the boats, not the people.

But, sometimes strong tactics are required to bring attention to issues and believe me the proposed segregation policy isn’t what the broader CYA membership is all about. There was a lot of chat in the WW comments section yesterday – but one comment stood out from the others – the author was Simon Smith, I have reproduced his sage words below.

“Having seen a number of classic boat displays overseas including USA, Australia and England it is the VARIETY of craft being displayed that has been the attraction. Case in point is the Tasmanian Wooden Boat Festival where the range of vessels covers wooden yachts, launches, dinghies, fishing vessels, square riggers, models etc. As an owner of a wooden yacht I am drawn to all types of wooden craft on display ,NOT JUST YACHTS and thus firmly believe that to attract visitors to Auckland’s  proposed display, a range of wooden craft is required and of varying ages thus highlighting the variety and influence of local designers we have produced in NZ.”

I’ll finish on an observation: Of the newly elected 9 CYA members on the executive committee – probably only one (someone might like to correct me if I’m wrong) owns a classic vessel that would ‘qualify’ for a berth in the new Heritage Basin, and guess what? Its a launch, so dam that is a 0/9 score. The first ex committee meeting could be interesting……

Read more https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/08/04/why-you-should-hold-off-paying-your-classic-yacht-association-subscription/

Woody versus Jet Ski

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WOODY versus JET SKI
Luckily the photos above are not from NZ but they give us an insight into what can happen when wood meets f/glass at speed.The venue was Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, USA and according to the press – the jet ski rider was hospitalised, poor thing. Both vessels sank but were recovered, hopefully the woody was repaired, photo below earlier in the day. (photos ex Jeffrey Hanf)

Check out the first TV advertisement in this reel of oldies – thanks Barrie Abel for sharing

CLASSIC YACHT ASSOCIATION AGM TONIGHT

A reminder to woody CYA members to get along to the AGM at the RNZYS tonight – kick off is 7pm. Looking forward to hearing details on the new >40 berth Viaduct classic boat marina, which with the right governance has the potential to be Auckland’s permanent home of classic boating, showcasing to the Auckland public the CYA’s diverse classic wooden boat fleet.

THE VOS BOAT SHED IS ACTUALLY A HAPPENING THING

It seem almost impossible to believe but the ‘interested’ parties have been pulled together and there is (another) announcement celebration about to happen. We will keep you posted, but one sneak leak is that at last the New Zealand Traditional Boat Building School will have a permanent home, we like that 🙂

Glenaray

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GLENARAY

The 42’ launch Glenaray was built in 1942 by Shipbuilders in Poore St, Auckland. She was built to be a WW II mine clearer, but never saw service and was converted to pleasure use. Powered by a 180hp Ford diesel. She last appeared on WW back in 2018, link below – she was also looking for a new owner then – https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/05/01/glenaray/

Thanks to Ian McDonald for the recent trademe heads up, which is no longer viewable, so fingers crossed someone got a bargain floating man bach 🙂

UPDATE 10-07-2023 Just popped up again on tme, the cabin top storage boxes tell you it doesnt leave the dock often – live-a-board?

Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Boat Folk Video Series

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Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Folk Boat Video Series


The good folks behind the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart have like a lot of people and events been cruelly affected by CV19 but unlike a lot that just rolled over – AWBF has been hosted some innovative channels to keep their festival top of mind with woodys around the world. One of the gigs is tagged – Boat Folk, a video series that profiles the characters and wooden boats the festival attracts. Behind each of these unique vessels is a unique person (or group of people) with a wealth of knowledge, fascinating stories, and a novel perspective on life.

Number 2 in the Boat Folks series features Ben Marris, owner of Saona , Ben Marris was Chair of the AWBF for many years. Saona was the last boat built by Charles Lucas in his yard in 1936. Ben and wife Jane purchased Saona in 1993 and have since sailed her in the 1998 Tall Ships race from Sydney to Hobart, circumnavigated Tasmania. As members of the Kettering Yacht Club, the couple now cruise the waters surrounding Bruny Island on her and enjoy Wednesday night races with family. Saona is one of a small number of wooden boats that have attended every festival since its inception in 1994. 

Camp Cruising the Maine Coast

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Camp Cruising the Maine Coast

Some of you will be aware of the name Steve Stone – Steve is one of the founders of the uber cool weblog – Off Center Harbor that I regularly plug on WW, OCH is a subscription driven weblog that just about answers every question you would ever want an answer to concerning wooden boats and enjoying life afloat. 

The team at OCH have been suffering bad from cabin fever as the USA has been savaged by Covid, so as things have eased up in terms of getting out and about – there is some serious on-the-water catch-up happening.

Steve has just started a cruise of the entire Maine Coast (refer chart below) in a 19’ open Caledonia Yawl named Howdy.  Each day Steve is posting images and short video clips of the cruise on Instagram that you can follow on the bottom of the members’ home page (signed in) on Off Center Harbor. You don’t need an Instagram account to follow all that on the members home page of Off Center Harbor. And for those that aren’t OCH subscribers – you can also follow on OCH’s Instagram page directly as well, link below – 

OCH’s Instagram.      https://www.instagram.com/offcenterharbor/

I spotted Steve wearing a waitematawoodys t-shirt, so thought I had better give his trip a plug, so far there is some very cool scenery and boat footage – so woodys check in each day and see how the 260+ mile journey is unfolding 🙂

Check out the OCH weblog here offcenterharbor.com

RAINDANCE UPDATE: Following on from the TLC that RD received at the Slipway Milford, I have had Moon Engines upgrading and servicing all the bits that are bolted on – then a quick polish with WD40 – I know, no one sees it, but I know 🙂

Bay of Islands Big Game Fishing Boats

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c.1960
2016
c.1960
2016

Bay of Islands Big Game Fishing Boats
Today’s great photos from the 1960’s, come to us from Hylton Edmonds and show Miss Helen (1930 Colin Wild) and Leilani at ‘work’ in the BOI.

Hylton commented that Leilani was owned at the time by George Wooler of Waihi Akrad Radio fame – later PYE Radio (NZ) and had the legendary skipper Jimmy Whitelaw at the wheel. Leilani was later sold to Bill Hall. Miss Helen was predominantly skippered at the time by Neville Fuller – Norman’s brother. 

In the background of the Leilani photo, Hylton thinks the launch could be George Warne’s – Rosemary.

 Leilani in 2016  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/04/06/leilani/

Miss Helen in 2016  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/02/22/miss-helen-2/

Yesterdays Quiz Winner was Trudi Gosden. The correct answers were – scow Jane Gifford, Wairau/Milford Creek, marina construction, c.1970’s

Canadian Classic Yacht Association Fleet Cruise

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Canadian Classic Yacht Association Fleet 2021Cruise
Today’s wooden boat eye candy comes to us from the recent Canadian CYA Launch Fleet cruise to Desolation Sound.

 I have a connection to the fleet as several years ago I hosted Mike O’Brien (MV Euphemia) and his family for a day, while their cruise ship was berthed in Auckland – it was a trip around the marinas to view some of our own classic wooden boats. From memory 10 skippers made the time to open their boats up for the tourists. 

Enjoy the gallery of stunning wooden classics. As always click on photos to enlarge 😉

To see more of the cruise ,check out the drone video below from Pedell Sound, taken by Maurizio Hublitz

McCullum’s Bay Woodys At Anchor

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McCullum’s Bay Woodys At Anchor

Today’s photo comes to us via Mitchell Hutchings fb and originated from his late uncles slide collection (PG Parsonson collection). The date is unknown but the collection is from the 1950’s > 1970’s period. Looking at the boats I would be picking the late 1950’s.

Interested on others opinion and can we ID a few to the boats?

Flossie

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FLOSsIE

Today’s woody is named Flossie and the photo comes to us via Paul Drake. Paul commented he uncovered the photo recently and that Flossie was at Lake Taupo in the 1950’s. He recalls that she was noted especially for her narrow beam and that one day the young Drake brothers observed her ram the breastwork as she failed to go astern whilst berthing. In the photo the repaired stem is clear to see. 

Paul last saw Flossie berthed at Westhaven Marina after she disappeared from Taupo. There is an ‘old’ hull there semi-hiding under several sheets to what looks like plywood 🙂


Can we uncover what happened to Flossie post Taupo and any other details on her.