Category Archives: Spirit of Tradition

waitematawoodys.com Gets One Million Views

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waitematawoodys.com Gets 1,000,000 Views

At some stage today the counter on the watematawoodys.com blog site will tick over & show that people have viewed the site 1,000,000 times.

I choose the above photo for todays post because to me it captures what the classic wooden boat movement was / is all about. Its got everything there – motor boats, yachts, dinghies, people hanging out having a good time – there is even a dog 🙂 . The location is obviously Mansion House Bay at Kawau Island. The photo was sent to me by Robert Brooke & is from his father’s, Jack Brooke, stunning collection. (click on the photo to enlarge)

When I look back at the first few posts on waitematawoodys its amazing how we have evolved & now how big the audience is both in terms of numbers & the geographical reach.

I would like to thank all the followers of the site, but special thanks must go to everyone that sends in material (photos & info). Doing a daily post can be a little challenging at times but just when I start to panic, an email arrives from someone with some old photos of granddads boat. I would also like to thank Harold Kidd who gave me a swift kick in the backside 2 years ago in terms of getting serious about the site & the accuracy of the content. I would be embarrassed to say how many hours I had to spend to go back & populate the existing posts in terms of year, designer,builder etc but now the site is the #1 reference tool for New Zealand classic wooden boats. But that is a by-product, the real success of the site is that everyday it delivers to people something fun & enjoyable to read & interact with, something that puts a smile on their face.

Way did I start waitematawoodys ? – well the idea came to me via my involvement in the NZ Classic Yacht Association, the CYA is a great club but like most small clubs it can be seen as slightly cliquish, we do so many neat things but the audience is small & there are so many more people out there with an interest in wooden boats. With the birth of social media networks, stuff (photos, stories, info) that had previously been packed away, could now be available to anyone with a computer or smart phne. The future was all about content being on-line & easy to access. It was also about being collaborative. With the advent of personal websites (called blogs) people like myself are able to create a communication channel that has no boundaries. But more importantly blogs are able to be managed/controlled so that they remain true to the topic, which in the case of waitematawoodys is – the study & appreciation of classic wooden boats & the desire to tell the stories behind them & the people who built them, owned them & crewed on them.
At the start the content was all about motor boats but as the audience has grown the readers now have a broader interest in all classic wooden boats & things related to them.

Why did I call it waitematawoodys – now I could put my advertising hat on & rabbit on about what the words mean to people but the simple truth is its just a cool name & looks great on a tee-shirt 🙂

I still get a buzz out of posting daily & from the feedback I get, so do you. But folks – do not hold back on spending stuff to me, some of it in isolation may not be enough for a post but I file it & then bang, someone else sends me something on the same topic & we have a story.

Again thanks for being part of waitematawoodys & remember – its all about wooden boats.

Cheers Alan

ps below is an advertisement I made to plug membership of the CYA (you should join up) the photo (ex Chris Miller) shows we are still enjoying these wonderful craft. If you look hard that’s me in my number one clinker dinghy – I say #1 because there are a few…………..  🙂

USA Classic Yacht Magazine – On-line May/June 2015 Edition

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USA CLASSIC YACHT MAGAZINE – Digital Edition

Lots of great looking woodys in the latest edition – click the blue link below to view the whole magazine on-line.

Classic Yacht On-Line Magazine – USA – May/June 2015

Marire

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MARIRE

photos & details ex Blair Valentine (owner)

Several months ago Blair contacted me about Marire, in his words a ‘neo classic wooden yawl’. She was designed by Bruce Askew & built by Paul Wickham in 2004.
She featured in Boating NZ back in August 2007 (Issue #252)
Now Bruce has no desire to part company with Marire but her crew are getting on & Marire needs to be sailed more than she is at present so I understand that to the right person she would be on the market.

For more information, contact Blair direct at   valplace@xtra.co.nz

Lady Jade

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LADY JADE
photos & details ex John Sankey & John Pryor

A ‘new’ classic was launched last weekend at Hamilton’s Landing on the Mahurangi River.

Lady Jade at 39′ is a Dave Jackson design and there are a further 3 sister ships currently under construction locally.
Her hull was started by local boating identity Col Bell and purchased by Andrew Hamilton when Col struck health problems.
She was worked on by both Andrew and his son Grant over the last year or so. The Hamilton Family have been boat builders and farmers on the Mahurangi for at least 5 generations, starting as scow builders and there are currently 3 generations still living on the property. They have been launching boats at this very un-marina launch site for 150+ years.

The mast on Lady Jade came from the wrecked (rescued & restored) Logan yacht Gypsy. Her bow roller is from the ex Logan lifeboat Tuna. She is powered by a 6lxb. Gardener, an ex show engine from Gardner UK. Supposedly, the last Gardener ever built.

The Future of Classic Wooden Boating

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I Think I’ve Just Seen Future of Classic Wooden Boating?

A pretty bold headline but what I saw on Saturday at Whangateau was special – have a good look at the photos & you’ll see –

1. A collection of very cool small boats (sail, oar,motor) some restored to concours condition, so just managing to stay afloat.

2. A group of boating enthusiasts of all ages & gender that just wanted to have some fun in classic wooden boats.

3. Everyone helping each other unload & rig up.

4. No macho, bump bump racing, just folks mucking about in boats.

5. Crusty old salts showing grand-kids how to sail.

6. BBQ’ed sausages in white bread.

7. Yachties that had become launchies that were now having to use their iPhone to Google “How to rig a Frostbite”

8. A classic dinghy that had been gifted to the next generation of yachtie that was now sitting on a state-of-the-art carbon-fiber beach trailer.

A lot of people help make the above happen but none of it happens without Pam Cundy & George Emtage, these two are the guardians of today’s venue – The Whangateau Traditional Boat yard.

They might not know it, but they are at the leading edge of the next stage of the classic wooden boating movement.

It was a great day, we need more of these 🙂 in the mean time – enjoy the photos. Remember click on any photo to enlarge it & on forward the link to today’s post to all your friends & tell them to cut that boat down from the garage rafters 🙂

Wee Tawera

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WEE TAWERA
photos ex Baden Pascoe

A group of kiwis (& CYA members) led by Mike Mahoney recently attended the 2015 Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania, Australia, whilst the show is one of the worlds leading classic wooden boat events – their main objective was to partake (compete & win) in the events for the very popular St Ayles rowing skiffs. To this end Mike had commissioned one of the skiffs to be built in Auckland at the NZ Traditional Boat Building School & shipped to Hobart for the event. The skiff was christened ‘Wee Tawera’, Mike owns the magnificant 1935 Arch Logan yacht Tawera.
Little Tawera carried a little extra weight as the boys set her up to carry a little canvas, which she did very well in the events that this was permitted.
Baden or Steve Cranch I’m sure will chip in with their results from the regatta’s – lots of wins.

To see more photos of Wee Tawera & read about these craft, check out     http://nzcoastalrowing.org/about-2/

Hinewai

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HINEWAI
details & photos from Dean Wright ex John Gander.

Hinewai a 40′ motorsailer was designed by Roger Carey (taken off Carey’s Taonui, a 1950s design) & built by John and Bev Gander in 1968. 39′ LOA, 11′ Beam, 4′ 6″ Draft. 17 tonne displacement.
Built with miro planking, tallowwood keel and stem & red birch frames. Sporting an oregan mast.
Powered by a 3 cylinder  371 Series GM, she has been re-powered with a John Deere.
Her teak decks were built from timber recovered from the wreck of the Amokura.
John Gander sold her many years ago. The current owner is Martin Farrand, who also owns the beautiful 1900’s classic 6m yacht, Scout.

Photos & classified advert ex Russell Ward

16-03-2018 UPDATE

Photo below ex trademe, so yes, she is for sale – a very salty girl that could take you almost anywhere.

Screen Shot 2018-03-16 at 2.35.47 pm

Which Boat Today ?

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Which Boat Today ?

If your names not Tony Stevenson that’s not a question many of us ask ourselves. When I picked up the Jan/Feb issue of the uber cool kiwi lifestyle magazine – NZ Life & Leisure, I discovered that there is someone else out there that’s been bitten by the classic boating bug, big time 🙂 Enter Charlotte & Richard Stevens, their menagerie of boats includes – ‘D’Urville’ a 70′ kauri, Laurent Giles designed motor boat, built by McMullen & Wing in 1975 – ‘Mickey Mouse’ a 1967 Ford 10 powered Albatross Motors speedboat – ‘Carvel’ their exquisite 1962 Norm Keen designed & built lake boat – a Frostbite, a Lazer, numerous canoes/kayaks & paddle boards AND a 45mph V8 powered ski boat. That ww followers is an impressive collection.

The article is a both a great read & a wonderful visual insight into the life & boats of Charlotte & Richard & we thank them for sharing it with us.

Todays post has been reproduced with the permission of Fairfax Media. The spectacular photos are from the camera of Tessa Chrisp & the words from the typewriter of Rebecca Hayter (NZ Boating editor). Check out the magazine at their website     http://nzlifeandleisure.co.nz

Note: if the images above are a little hard to read – you can view it here as a PDF file, click the blue link 😉

Lake Rotoiti

2015 Lake Rotoiti Antique & Classic Boat Show – Nelson Lakes

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Lake Rotoiti Antique & Classic Boat Show – Nelson Lakes
photos & details from Greg Lees & Gary Drummond

As featured on the ww post ‘Summertime’ Greg Lees daughter Rosie recently launched a run-about / speed boat that she built. No sooner had she splashed it but she was off down south (home) with the the boat in tow. Post launch the first major outing for the boat was the Nelson Lakes, 2015 Lake Rotoiti Antique & Classic Boat Show. Rosie had entered Summertime in the “Best New Build” competition category & Greg reports that she missed out on this award, the winner being a 14 year old whom had built a mini hydroplane, and according to Greg, he deserved the prize. Nor did she win best ‘Outboard Boat’ or ‘Powerboat’ prize.

BUT –  she won “Best Boat of the Boat Show”.  That young lady is a winner 🙂

Rosie is pictured in one of the photos above with a bottle of Mumm champagne, she has been carrying that bottle around with her since it was given to her by Barbara & David Cooke at the launching of Summertime – given the absence of a cork its safe to assume it was cracked at the prize giving.
Rosie went on to win her race in the ‘Over 40 hp’ division the next day.  A T-shirt was the trophy.
In the photos above there is a red row boat – one of very popular, Ian Oughtred designed, St Ayles skiffs, this one ‘Kaikoura Lass, was built in Kaikoura as a community project.
The event is a magic gathering of classic boating enthusiasts & the organisers welcome all i.e. not just wooden vessels , plus  classic cars are invited along to the weekend so its a hit with young & old.

Note: Press clipping below from the Nelson Mail

Aristos

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ARISTOS
details ex Ken Rickets & Alan H. photos ex KR

Aristos was launched in October 1985 & designed by Des Townson, in fact the only launch Townson designed that was built. I understand there was a small launch designed but not built. Aristos was built by Noel May, is 36 feet long,  3 skins of kauri in the hull, with solid mahogany coamings & glassed ply decks .

She is powered by twin 60 HP Nissan diesels & cruises at 8 knots.

She  sleeps 6 & was built for Ian & Vivienne Stembridge . She remained in the Stembridge family from new until early 2013. Being kept the whole time at Whitianga.
Aristos has recently been sold to Ray Haydon & Sarah Elleray of Auckland.

Note: Noel May also built in 1993 a very similar launch Summer Wine (view her by entering her name in the ww search box)