HOANI
I was contacted recently by John Managh whose father (Keith Managh*) bought the 36′ Hoani from Charley Turner in October 1979, Charley designed & built her over a 15 year period in Coromandel. Charley was ‘just’ going to build a little fishing boat for himself and his mate but she grew in size & build time 🙂 He wanted to call the boat Joanne after his granddaughter. However he thought Joanne was much to common a boat name. So he asked a local what the Maori translation for Joanne was and he told her Hoani. So that is how she got her name. Quite some time later it was discovered that Hoani is actually John in Maori.
John recently found Hoani’s original log book, below are the first three pages that give us an insight into her specs, launch day & first cruise.
From the photos above you can see she is a straight sedan top launch. A year after the family bought her, Keith took her to Salthouses. They did an extensive reno to make her suitable for a family of seven. Keith told the story that he gave Salthouses the list of all the stuff that he wanted in the boat. They said ‘you need a 45″ boat’. Dad said ‘you will do it…’ And they did.
John would love to know where she is now & hopefully get the chance to view her.
*A little about Keith Managh. He was a sawmiller in Thames. Owned what was called then Thames Sawmilling Company that is now called Thames Timber. He unfortunately passed away in 2006. He was a natural boatie. Albeit he did not grow up boating. His nick name from the Thames crew was Captain Rock Hopper. He would take her places most boaties would never go. It did come with its misfortunes. The family spent more than a few nights on the hard after Keith run aground going where he should not have. Especially in Mania Harbour.
11-03-2017 Input from Mark McLaughlin
Below are a couple of more recent (10yrs ago!) photos of Hoani as she currently appears. She has been based in Havelock for over 10 years. She is beautifully maintained and is in regular use around the Marlborough Sounds and Nelson region.
HELP WANTED – GRACE
Woody, Paul Beachman was down at the Devonport Yacht Club yesterday morning post the big SE blow & spotted a lot of flotsam washed up, including timber & some boat gear. Late morning low tide indicated awash alongside a yellow mooring buoy a foundered launch that Paul fears maybe the launch Grace, that belonged to the late DYC member Ken Smith. A certain amount of material such as squabs, plastic objects was also seen ashore.
Paul understands that Grace was about 7m and had that pre 1914 look. Does anyone know more about Grace & whether she was anchored anywhere near DYC?
Hopefully not another centurion lost.
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 15+ million views 